Mavericks guard goes from benched to prized possession after special performance

As hard as it may be for fans to think about positives after a three-game losing streak, there are a few things to look forward to.

The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night by a score of 120-117. The Mavericks had looked like they were going to get the win, but once again due to their poor late-game decision-making, they let this one slip.

In the Mavericks' first six clutch games last season, they had a record of 5-1. This season their clutch game record is 1-5.

Quentin Grimes has the potential to be an elite role player for Dallas

Now the positive takeaway, Quentin Grimes.

Grimes has been unable to find a consistent role in this guard-heavy rotation the Mavericks have, but after his performance against the Warriors, all of that might change.

Throughout the first 10 games of the season, Mavericks head coach, Jason Kidd, had been constantly shuffling in lineups with Grimes, Jaden Hardy, and Spencer Dinwiddie. It now seems like he will potentially stick with just Grimes and Hardy for the foreseeable future when it comes to having these guys in the set rotation.

Grimes played a season-high of 29 minutes against the Warriors and was able to knock down two 3-pointers and also grab six rebounds. He proved why he deserves to be in the rotation right away, and he built a solid foundation for a role moving forward.

What stood out the most though was his defense and how he was able to agitate each player with the way he was guarding them.

With under 30 seconds left in the game and the Mavericks trailing by four, Grimes hit Stephen Curry with a clean step-back 3-point shot and sunk it to cut the Warriors lead to just one point. The most painful part about it though was that there was a debatable foul call that could've given Grimes a chance to head to the free throw to tie the game.

Although the Mavericks weren't able to pull out the win, it seems like the coaching staff now understand that Grimes is capable of being in this rotation.

With P.J. Washington still being listed as out due to a right knee sprain, the Mavericks will have to rely on Grimes and Naji Marshall to take on the hardest defensive tasks against opponents.

If Grimes is able to knock down shots at a mildly consistent volume and still guard the ball at an efficient rate, he will without a doubt stick in this rotation and continue to be a big piece to this team.