Jason Kidd must quickly correct his Klay Thompson mistake and make key change

The Dallas Mavericks were able to edge away a 137-136 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night, as the Mavericks were able to score at a very high volume despite New Orleans testing Dallas' defense on the other side of the ball all night long. Dallas finally got some help from the injury department as Naji Marshall returned to the lineup after missing four games due to illness, and Marshall chipped in five points against his former team despite being on a minutes restriction.

Dallas still isn't fully healthy by any stretch of the imagination, but they are getting closer to that territory with each passing game and have survived this Doncic-less stretch respectably, even if they have dropped one too many clutch contests. Ever since Doncic went down on Christmas Day versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dallas has gone 7-12, and they could easily be around .500 over this stretch if they didn't drop so many close games as aforementioned.

The Mavericks still have the opportunity to be an elite team in the postseason this year, but they have to build up so momentum once the All-Star break comes to a close, and they could certainly use some more depth at the backup wing or big man position. Something else that can help the Mavericks maximize their lineup ahead of the playoffs would be to get Klay Thompson more involved offensively.

Kidd must keep running actions to unlock Thompson's offense

Dallas was trending toward making Thompson more of a focal point in their offense back in December, but Thompson hasn't been allotted the same level of spacing or looks with Doncic out of the lineup due to injury. In Dallas' last two contests, though, Thompson has attempted 15 field goals each, and it has revolutionized Dallas' offense. Kidd emphasizing getting Thompson more touches has been game-changing for the Mavs' offense, but it wasn't always this way.

Prior to Dallas' last two games, Thompson had only attempted 15 or more field goals twice in the entire month of January, which simply isn't enough for a movement shooter of his pedigree, even if buckets were harder to come by with Doncic sidelined. The Mavericks and their coaching staff were adamant about getting Thompson more involved offensively earlier in the season, but it seems like that notion shifted until very recently.

Dallas has gotten more creative with their off-ball actions to get Thompson open recently, as they are using a variety of pin-down, back screens, and cross screens to feed Thompson open looks on the perimeter and as a cutter. These actions tend to be more fruitful with Doncic in the game, but the Mavericks should've been trying to get Thompson more involved offensively all throughout January, as it could've been the perfect time to let Thompson get more comfortable as a secondary ball handler.

Dallas' offense is best maximized when Thompson is hitting on all cylinders, and while they don't need to force the ball down his throat when he's having an off shooting night, they could definitely look at him as a source of offense in pivotal scenarios more often. On the contrary, when Thompson is on a heater like he was during the first quarter of Dallas' Monday night victory over the Washington Wizards, the Mavericks need to do anything they can to keep getting him the ball, as Thompson made seven 3-pointers in the first quarter of that game.

Thompson getting going from beyond the arc like that pays huge dividends for Dallas' offense, as it gives Thompson the ability to use his pump fake and playmaking abilities more successfully when the defense is pressed to contain his outside shooting. Kidd even referenced this after Dallas' win over Washington on Monday.

"We set screens, we ran stuff for him," Kidd said. "He responded in a positive way. Klay is very unselfish…[his teammates] made a conscious effort to get Klay going early and he responded in a positive way and just made the game easier for everybody else."

Kidd has done a phenomenal job at encouraging his team to find Thompson over the last few games, and this level of urgency must continue moving forward to fully unlock his game.