Dallas Mavericks: Jalen Brunson will play an important role

The Dallas Mavericks have two sets of guards on this year’s team: the old and the young. How will these two groups co-exist on the same team? Jalen Brunson may be the key.

The Dallas Mavericks are going to be a pretty guard heavy team once again. Between Dennis Smith Jr., Luka Doncic, J.J. Barea, Devin Harris and Jalen Brunson, you’ve got five guys that are more than capable of handling point guard duties for the Mavs this upcoming season.

Dennis Smith and Luka Doncic are the likely starters for the Mavs and, because they both can naturally play point guard, will likely switch off on those duties throughout the games. Coming off the bench will likely be Barea at point with Harris as a shooting guard, but that leaves Brunson, a player who was well-liked prior to the 2018 NBA Draft, as the odd man out.

And most Mavs fans knew this was going to be the case going into the season. That is why the comments made by Rick Carlisle at a practice last week are so important.

When asked about J.J. Barea and his current injury, Rick Carlisle had some important words to say, via Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star Telegram and the Dallas Times-Herald.

We all know that Barea and Harris have had significant injuries in their careers. Barea is currently nursing a sore hamstring which has brought up questions of how this season may go for the native of Puerto Rico.

Carlisle’s mention of Brunson in this conversation is noteworthy and relevant because the Mavs are going to almost assuredly have times where Brunson needs to play significant minutes. Whether it is Barea, Luka, Dennis or Harris that could go down with an injury, the Mavs will have Brunson ready to step in any time.

Brunson managed 8 points on 2-6 shooting last night against the Beijing Ducks, as well as 4 assists and 3 rebounds in 18 minutes of game time. Expect to see Brunson get some regular minutes for the Mavs this year and always ready on the bench for more.