Do Dallas Mavericks End Samuel Dalembert Experiment?

Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Is it time to move on from Samuel Dalembert? Do the Dallas Mavericks need to be willing to sacrifice Shane Larkin, Brandan Wright, draft picks, and cap flexibility to fill in the hole at center? Should the Mavs try to go all in on the likes of Larry Sanders, Greg Monroe, and maybe a return of Tyson Chandler (highly unlikely).

It pains me to say this, but yes.

Are we really going to let the play of an erratic center waste a 38 point 17 rebound performance from the aging Dirk Nowitzki?

Are we constantly going to have to worry about which Dalembert shows up?!

Are we really going to let the team’s success and defense really on a player who decides when he wants to play?

Don’t get me wrong, Dalembert isn’t the only culprit for this putrid defense, but he was brought here to be the anchor.

At first I found myself excited and proud to have Dalembert at center. When he was asked about guarding Dwight Howard earlier in the season,

"It’s not as tough to guard him….One-on-one guarding him is not as tough. The post-up game is not really something you see. I don’t see them throw the ball on the post for him to go one-on-one. It’s just wall down in the middle of the paint and throw the ball high to him"

Dalembert showed the confidence that we need from our anchor to lock up inside.

How I was so wrong.

Howard made Dalembert eat his words, putting up averages of  24 points and 11.8 rebounds on 61.5 shooting. Plenty of those points were scored on the block with Dalembert seeming irrelevant to Howard.

Unlike Dalembert, Wright and DeJuan Blair at least have the ability to be a factor on the offense end and oh….catch the ball.

Are the Mavs going to waste this season because their center can’t stay on the court?

Even if Dalembert is able to turn it around for a game or so, will we actually trust him in a playoff series?

Scratch that.

If Dalembert is this team’s starting center throughout the rest of the season, you can just kiss the playoff good-bye.

What happens when a boat has a faulty anchor?

It gets lost at sea.

Luckily the Mavs have some time to swap anchors.

If not, they’ll be lost at sea, fishing with O.J Mayo and Chris Kaman again for the second straight season.