Mavericks' preseason standout is making Jason Kidd's job much harder than expected

The Dallas Mavericks lost their third preseason game of the year to the LA Clippers by a score of 110-96 last night, as the Mavericks likely played their final non-dress rehearsal before their final preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday back home.

There was a lot of sloppy aspects to this contest by the Mavericks, as the Clippers defense was able to pester Dallas' ball handlers all game without the likes of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving playing. It's just preseason, so at the end of the day we can just be thankful that Dallas didn't see anyone on their roster fall victim to an injury, but it's still not particularly encouraging that the Mavericks are 0-3 in preseason now.

However, this game still featured some positives that we can extract, one of which was the continued stellar play of Jazian Gortman in this preseason. Monday night marked Gortman's second time finishing in double figures this preseason, as Gortman scored 13 points on 5-11 shooting for the Mavericks in a starting role.

Jazian Gortman may force Jason Kidd's hand for last two-way spot

Gortman obviously only started because of the myriad of individuals Dallas had out due to injury or precautionary reasons, but he continued to show that he is making the most of his opportunity this preseason. Even though he's only 6-foot-2, Gortman is extremely quick and possesses a 6-foot-9 wingspan, which has shown through his solid point-of-attack defense all preseason long.

Gortman seems like he has an endless gas tank at times with the way he's able to pick up opposing ball handlers full court, and this doesn't seem to affect his offensive production whatsoever. Gortman may not have the playmaking chops that are ideal for a smaller guard, but he can get buckets in bunches and is proving that he is a reliable 3-point shooter both off the catch and off the dribble as each preseason game goes by.

Even though Gortman's playmaking skills are a work in progress, his feel for the game is clear, as he has the ball on a string when dribbling and is a solid finisher when able to beat defenders off the dribble. With the amount of score-first guards on Dallas' roster, it wouldn't be surprising if Dallas finds a way to finagle Gortman onto their final 18-man roster, as Jason Kidd specifically mentioned Gortman's name when talking about the last two-way spot after Gortman's performance against Memphis last week.

Outside of Quentin Grimes, the Mavericks don't have an elite point-of-attack defender against guards barring the injured Dante Exum. Gortman could fill that role for the Mavericks in limited opportunities if the Mavericks decided to make room for him, though Dallas' 18-man roster is currently set for the time being.

However, the Mavericks can still waive two-way players if they want to tinker with the back half of their roster, and there's a strong argument to be made that Gortman is more deserving of Dallas' final roster spot than guard Brandon Williams is.

Williams is a three-level scorer who has been challenged to polish his playmaking and 3-point shooting since he's been in Dallas, though he wasn't able to play in Dallas' first two preseason games due to a calf strain. Williams had nine points on 3-10 shooting from the field in his preseason debut last night, but needless to say Gortman has outperformed him this preseason.

With Dallas having re-signed A.J. Lawson already and Kessler Edwards having yet to make his preseason debut, it seems unlikely that Dallas would waive either of them, especially since the Mavericks need wings more than they do guards. The obvious choice by Kidd and Dallas' management would be to waive Williams and sign Gortman to Dallas' last two-way spot with the way Gortman has played this preseason, but we still have Thursday night against Milwaukee before any final decisions are likely to be made.