Dallas Mavericks: How the center minutes should be divided after the trade

Starting small ball

Coach Carlisle has options. The Dallas Mavericks are a deep team with a plethora of capable rotation players. They can and should play the matchups. Exploiting the opposition’s weaknesses is a fantastic way to gain a competitive advantage. The Mavs need every win if they hope to secure homecourt in at least one playoff series.

When Coach Carlisle decides to start the small ball lineup, Kristaps Porzingis will start at the five. He plays the first six minutes before subbing in Maxi Kleber. Kleber gets two minutes at center before Cauley-Stein enters the game. The two bigs share the court for the remaining four minutes in the quarter.

Carlisle comes back with KP and Kleber to start the second. He takes Kleber off for Dorian Finney-Smith after three minutes leaving Porzingis as the lone big again. He inserts Cauley-Stein for a three-minute stretch in the middle of the quarter to give KP a break before bringing him back to finish the half.

Carlisle follows a similar rotation in the second half, so the minutes end up as Porzingis 31, Kleber 25, and Cauley-Stein 14. Obviously, most of Kleber’s minutes come at the four.

Playing KP and WCS at the same time could be a bit problematic. Neither play can guard well on the perimeter making it a bit hairy against most teams.

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