Should Seth Curry Stay in the Starting Unit?

Seth Curry was inserted into the starting lineup in Mexico City and the Dallas Mavericks came back home with a victory. Should Curry stay in the starting unit?

When the Dallas Mavericks signed Seth Curry to a two-year, $6 million deal over the summer, expectations were all over the place for the younger Curry brother. Would he take the next step in his career or would he stay at the end of the bench?

Either way, Curry had four veteran guards ahead of him in the rotation; Wesley Matthews, Deron Williams, Devin Harris and J.J. Barea. In Carlisle’s system that typically values veterans over young flyers, finding quality time on the court seemed like something that was unlikely to happen.

But then injuries took place and Curry found himself logging minutes all up and down the spectrum.

With Williams, Harris, and more recently, Barea, all missing time due to injury, Curry has naturally had a bench role in the rotation. But everyone wondered what role Curry would have once the whole guard rotation was back healthy and that came last Saturday night against Atlanta at home when J.J. Barea returned to action.

It was in that game that Curry logged 13 minutes compared to Harris’ 14 and Barea’s 15 in the loss to the Hawks. Then the Mavs took the trip to Minnesota where Curry found himself logging 30 minutes off the bench.

Dallas lost both games until they traveled to Mexico City on Thursday night where they faced the Phoenix Suns. It was before the game that the starters were announced and Seth Curry was in the starting unit.

With Andrew Bogut being replaced in the starting lineup by Dirk Nowitzki at center, Dorian Finney-Smith regained his spot at power forward. But when Curry was inserted into the starting unit, it was Finney-Smith he was replacing. Matthews moved to small forward and Barnes moved to power forward while Curry joined Williams in the back court.

Suddenly, the Mavericks had all five starters that were threats from behind the arc.

Curry led the team in scoring through the first quarter and finished the game with 12 points in 24 minutes in the Mavericks victory. So will Curry remain in the starting unit?

As I have previously mentioned, I never thought I would see Rick Carlisle start and give more minutes to Seth Curry over his veterans in Devin Harris and J.J. Barea. But with the Mavericks at the bottom of the West, times could be changing for Carlisle.

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Now he has a couple of different routes to take.

He could play everything off of the matchup and change his starting unit on the fly depending on the opponent. Bogut could be in there against defensive anchors, Finney-Smith to guard an athletic four, or Curry for a smaller, quicker team.

He could also keep this starting unit together and let Curry maintain that spot in the backcourt beside Williams. Being able to space the floor with all five starters could pose some matchup problems and they could take a Houston approach in shooting more shots from behind the arc.

Next: Mavs Down Suns in Mexico City

Only time will tell what Carlisle will do with his starting lineup, but as long as Seth Curry is getting some heavy minutes, I’m fine with whatever.