Mavericks' crucial starting lineup change is staring Jason Kidd in the face

The Dallas Mavericks fell short on Christmas Day versus the Golden State Warriors by a score of 126-116, as Anthony Davis exited the game in the second quarter with a groin injury and didn’t return, but the main silver lining from this game was Brandon Williams’ performance.

Williams has strung together some solid basketball recently, and given rookie Ryan Nembhard’s up-and-down play through the last handful of games, perhaps Dallas could look at re-inserting Williams into the starting lineup.

Williams had 26 points on 9-12 shooting from the field, helping keep the Mavericks within striking distance because of his finishing and his ability to get in the lane and draw fouls. While 3-point shooting has been a sore spot for Williams this season, he banked in the only 3-pointer he took in this game, and he hit multiple long twos off the dribble.

It may be in Dallas' best interest to start Brandon Williams again

In the aggregate, it’s hard to make a case that Williams is more deserving of the starting point guard role compared to Nembhard, as Nembhard’s ability as a floor general helps raise others on offense in Dallas’ starting five.

However, just taking into account these last few games where Nembhard’s shooting has taken a dip, perhaps Jason Kidd should re-insert Williams into the starting five, as Williams is a wildly different player when he gets his shot going like he has the last few games.

Williams is definitely a worse playmaker compared to Nembhard, but it’s definitely not by a huge margin, and Williams’ playmaking may even be better against teams with more length, which Nembhard has struggled with on occasion.

Nembhard still has all the potential in the world to be a building block alongside Cooper Flagg in Dallas for years to come, but with him potentially hitting a rookie wall here, Kidd should consider riding the hot hand by putting Williams back with the first group.

With Davis potentially due to miss more time with this groin injury, Dallas needs the rim pressure and go-getter scoring mentality that Williams has in their starting five, as Nembhard is more optimal as a table-setter when someone like Davis is still in the lineup.

For Williams to etch a permanent spot in the starting five until Kyrie Irving returns from injury, he’d definitely need to start shooting better from outside, which isn’t as much of a far fetch as it seems, considering how well he shot toward the end of last season.

Overall, Nembhard and Williams have both proven to be a viable solution to Dallas’ stop-gap point guard void, and one of them always seems to have it going, even if the other one is having a rough outing. Both are guys Dallas would love to keep beyond this season, as they offer different looks off the bench once Irving returns to the lineup, but with Williams playing as well as he has all season and Nembhard struggling shooting-wise, Kidd may need to make a temporary change in the starting five.