Dallas Mavericks: Bench Bigs Need More Playing Time

The Dallas Mavericks have been struggling to find any real consistency lately, and in the process, they have almost abandoned their valuable bench big men.

The Dallas Mavericks are currently caught in their worst stretch of the season. Near the end of February and the first of March, the team went on a three-game win streak to pad their cushion above the ninth-place position in the Western Conference standings.

However, since then, the team has gone on a forgettable stretch, losing to teams both above and below .500. On Mar. 3, the Mavs began a five-game losing streak by falling to the Sacramento Kings, followed by the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers. After picking up a key win in Charlotte against the Hornets, the Mavs returned to their losing ways against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.

During this recent slide, the Mavs have managed to drop from sixth place in the West to eighth place, with their lead on the Utah Jazz hovering between 0.5 games and 1.5 games.

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The Mavs have been experimenting with different lineups. Going small has been a recent trend, as head coach Rick Carlisle has often thrown Raymond Felton on the court instead of Zaza Pachulia, creating a three-guard lineup. Also, David Lee has gotten some time at center, as well as Dirk Nowitzki.

Though some of these techniques have led to short-term success, it’s obvious that the Mavs are still not finding the boost that they need to hold leads and finish games.

One dynamic that the team has almost completely turned away from is their bench depth — specifically their bigs. Nowitzki and Lee are obviously going to get the most minutes, along with Pachulia (even though he hasn’t been relied on as heavily lately), but take a look at the rest of the big men. Dwight Powell, Salah Mejri and JaVale McGee have been riding the bench for quite some time despite encouraging results earlier on in the season.

Dwight Powell

Dwight Powell, who came over as a part of the Rajon Rondo trade, has been a pleasant surprise for the Mavs with his energetic play around the rim.

From the beginning of the season to mid-December, Powell was averaging 19.0 minutes per game. To go with that, his numbers looked solid, with 8.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. He had established himself as a physical player, often crashing the boards for loose rebounds or flying high for hard dunks.

After that stretch, Powell’s playing time began to decrease and his numbers took a hit. Despite that, he still managed to make the Rising Stars game on All-Star Weekend, where he put up a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds).

Rick Carlisle spoke on Powell not seeing much action (via SportsDay):

"“Since David Lee has come, Parsons has been a backup four pretty much full time. We just don’t have the minutes. That’s not to say he couldn’t re-enter the picture. I’ve told him he’s got to stay ready.”"

Since the All-Star Break, he has been virtually non-existent for the Mavs as he has only played 37 minutes while scoring just 10 points and grabbing only six rebounds.

Salah Mejri

As the first Tunisian player to play in an NBA game, Salah Mejri has given the Mavs a major size advantage at times this season.

The 29-year-old, 7’2″ center played with Real Madrid before signing with the Mavs this summer. He registered his first points in the NBA against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 13 when he exploded for 17 points and nine rebounds after 25 minutes of playing time.

He didn’t see any more action until four games later when he began to string together five solid outings, including a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) against the Houston Rockets. He went on to play a few more times after that but his fate has been the same as Powell’s, playing no more than five minutes in just four games since the All-Star break.

JaVale McGee

JaVale McGee was one of the biggest question marks coming into the season. Coming off of leg injury, McGee had struggled in the past few seasons and was mainly picked up to provide relief off of the bench.

He made his debut with the team on Nov. 22 with eight points and six assists in 11 minutes of play. McGee provided the team with the athleticism and a high-flying playmaking ability that they had back when Tyson Chandler was on the team. However, just like the past two names mentioned, his minutes eventually disappeared and he hasn’t played in a game since Feb. 6.

It’s understandable that the Mavs have gone away from some of their big men because of their tendency to go small during rough times but, as we’ve seen lately, going small isn’t necessarily the best strategy to follow.

With seven losses in their last eight games, it’s obvious that their current setup is not working.

The Mavs need to utilize every weapon they have on their team, because they are losing valuable help by benching players that dished out solid contributions during their time on the court. It’s shocking to see them go away from players like Powell and Mejri who were, at times, the first forwards/centers off of the bench.

Obviously the acquisition of David Lee impacted their roles on the team, but providing more size and rebounding is never a bad thing.

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Though the Dallas Mavericks are in a terrible funk with a tough schedule on the horizon, a few small adjustments, like giving their big men a few more minutes off of the bench, could go a long way in turning the season around.