Spencer Dinwiddie Will Still Start; Also Lead Mavs' Bench Unit At Times, Says Coach Jason Kidd
As much as the Dallas Mavericks' front office played off the team's need for a secondary playmaker and ball-hander off the bench before training camp began, coach Jason Kidd is already realizing that leaning on Josh Green or Frank Ntilikina in that particular role might not cut it … at least not full-time. This isn't to say Green or Ntilikina can't be good players for Dallas this season, but rather that they're just cut out for different roles.
During the offseason, it was assumed that Spencer Dinwiddie would move into the starting lineup next to Luka Doncic with the departure of Jalen Brunson … and that is still the case according to coach Jason Kidd. However, given that the Mavs lack a true bench point guard, Kidd also says his plan is for Dinwiddie to lead the second unit when possible as well.
“Right now we are looking at Spencer running that (second) group," said Kidd over the weekend. "I thought he did a good job with that group yesterday being able to set the table for those guys.”
There was some media confusion about those comments, as some thought Kidd was declaring Dinwiddie as no longer being the starting two-guard next to Doncic. However, that’s not the case based on Kidd’s most recent comments.
"Yeah, you look at Spencer starting there with Luka. Just Spencer being Spencer. Looking at being able to have two ball handlers out on the floor. Also, I think those two are a pretty good combination,” Kidd clarified after practice on Monday. “Then, being able to split those two, so Spencer can come back and run that second group."
So, basically, Dinwiddie will start with Doncic, then their minutes will be staggered so Dinwiddie is leading the second unit throughout the game.
The Mavs deployed a starting lineup of Doncic, rookie guard Jaden Hardy, Reggie Bullock, Dorian Finney-Smith and JaVale McGee in Friday's game against the Orlando Magic. Dinwiddie, Tim Hardaway Jr., Christian Wood and Maxi Kleber were the main fixtures of the second unit. Kidd liked what he saw from both lineups.
“We talked before the game (about) making the pass, sharing the ball. I think that group did that at a very high level and defensively," said Kidd. "Again, the carryover from practice or training camp and last year, that group is understanding of what we are asking them to do.
"I thought they did it at a high level there in that first half, well first quarter really, and once we got the lead we kind of shut our engines down. So we have to get better and understand that that’s going to happen during the season and we have to learn from that.”
Given the Mavs' current roster construction, pairing Dinwiddie with the second-unit guys makes a lot of sense. The biggest question is who will get the leftover bench point guard minutes or starting minutes at the two-guard spot next to Doncic when Dinwiddie isn’t there?
After leading Dallas with 21 points in his preseason debut on Wednesday, Hardy was thrown into the starting lineup on Friday. He struggled by tallying just six points, three rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes while shooting 2-10 from the field, but he only turned the ball over once and was a +5 in the boxscore plus-minus.
Continuing to play Hardy could be the Mavs' best course of action when in comes to the team's future. Throwing the 20-year-old prospect into the thick of it now and allowing him to grow next to Doncic will only help him going forward. The more experience he gets now, the better he will be in shorter amount of time.
We'll see which way Kidd leans with those excess minutes soon enough, as the start of the regular season is just 11 days away. The Mavs' lineups are likely to change a few more times over the year, so it’s best not to overreact to one move or another.
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