Mavericks already have a Klay Thompson problem before season even begins

With preseason now over and the Dallas Mavericks' 2025-26 regular season debut versus the San Antonio Spurs just days away, fans and analysts were able to gather some sort of the semblance of what this Mavericks team could look like over the last couple weeks, but it's unfortunate that one of fans' underlying suspicions in regard to one of Dallas' biggest weaknesses looks like it may come into fruition this season.

This is regarding Dallas' lackluster perimeter defense in their starting unit, as all signs are pointing toward Dallas starting 29-year-old D'Angelo Russell and 35-year-old Klay Thompson in their backcourt.

Heading into training camp, it was fairly unclear whether P.J. Washington or Thompson would earn the starting nod, but if Jason Kidd continues to stick with Thompson like he did in preseason, the Mavericks may have some trouble shutting down elite ball handlers and shot creators this season.

Early signs spell trouble for Mavericks' perimeter defense

While Russell has solid length at the point of attack and is fairly witty as a defender, his lack of lateral quickness and strength compared to other guards on defense has been a harping point from critics over the course of his career. Meanwhile, Thompson was once one of the best ball-stoppers in the entire league, but waning athleticism due to age and injury has made him less versatile defensively, even if he still has his moments where he anchors down and locks someone up.

While Dallas won three of their four preseason contests, they were playing against rotations that were primarily featuring third and fourth stringers in their three wins, as the only game they played that had any real juice to it was their loss to the Charlotte Hornets, but that was also easily their worst performance from a perimeter defense perspective.

The Hornets canned 16 3-pointers in that contest, 10 of which came from their primary initiators in Collin Sexton, Miles Bridges, and LaMelo Ball. Charlotte also got plenty of looks off offensive rebounds when Dallas failed to rotate on the perimeter, and Bridges and Ball were able to sneak past the backline to get all the way to the rim on multiple occasions.

This was obviously just one preseason game, but it was arguably the only time the Mavericks faced some real competition throughout preseason, and Russell and Thompson struggled mightily to hold down the point of attack in the contest.

The Mavericks can mitigate some of these struggles in their starting unit through the likes of Max Christie, Naji Marshall, and Caleb Martin off the bench, but this could be a natural weak point with Thompson and Russell looking to assume the majority of the minutes in Dallas' guard rotation until Kyrie Irving returns.

Someone like Dante Exum is being sorely missed right now for this very reason, as Exum is dealing with a knee issue and has an indefinite timetable to return as far as fans are concerned, so this issue could get exasperated worse than it actually is early in the season for the Mavericks, but we'll see soon enough with real action right around the corner.