Dallas Mavericks' true identity remains a mystery after rocky 10-game start

Before the regular season began, the Dallas Mavericks were widely known as a top contender in the NBA and an almost unanimous top-four team in the Western Conference.

Dallas was coming off an NBA Finals loss to the Boston Celtics, and they fulfilled their needs for more shooting and defense by signing Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall and trading for Quentin Grimes.

Dallas’ offseason was considered the best offseason in team history by many, but they have struggled to get their footing in a loaded Western Conference.

Mavericks' full identity is in question due to injuries and lack of continuity

After 10 games, Dallas is 5-5, and their true identity is nowhere to be found.

Dallas is currently without Dereck Lively II, P.J. Washington, and Dante Exum due to various injuries, and Maxi Kleber has also missed a handful of games due to a hamstring strain. These injuries have forced Jason Kidd to use various lineup combinations that we likely wouldn’t have seen if there weren’t any injuries, and there has been no continuity with his rotations just yet.

While Dallas’ offense was expected to be their driving force before the regular season began, that hasn't been the case. The Mavs’ offense currently ranks 10th in the NBA (by offensive rating), as everyone is still trying to get a feel for how to play with one another. Luka Doncic admitted that playing with Thompson hasn’t been as smooth of a transition as one would have thought, but they seem to be getting more comfortable with each other by the day.

Defensively, Dallas has been solid, and that’s even with their best defender (Lively II) missing the last four games. Thompson has far exceeded the defensive expectations that were placed on him before he joined the Mavs, and Marshall has looked like an outstanding defender as of late when fully engaged. Washington’s versatility on defense has also been on display when he’s been healthy, and they’ve clearly missed him over the last three games.

Playing .500 basketball is unacceptable considering how much talent the Mavs have, but Kidd has emphasized time and time again that these things take time. They are battling countless injuries, and the new guys haven’t found their groove just yet. We are yet to see Thompson at his best just yet, and even though Marshall has been spectacular lately, he could take his game to another level once everyone returns and he gets to share the floor with Lively II again.

While three of Dallas’ newcomers (Spencer Dinwiddie, Marshall, and Thompson) are seeing big minutes on a nightly basis, their other newcomer isn’t in the rotation right now. Kidd benched Grimes in the Mavs’ loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night, and he hasn’t impacted the team as much as fans expected he would. Fans must remember that Grimes’ role hasn’t been consistent, but he hasn’t gotten much of a chance to bring his deadly 3-point shooting and defense to the floor this season.

The Mavs are 5-0 in games where Grimes plays 12 or more minutes, and while this has largely been due to him playing in garbage time of some of their blowout wins, he has also been a big difference-maker in two of Dallas’ narrow wins from early in the season. Grimes’ deadly 3-point shooting in the second half helped the Mavs defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves in their fourth game of the season, and this performance gave fans a glimpse of how great he can be when he is shooting the ball with confidence.

Dallas has plenty of time to get rolling as it is an extremely long season, and we'll know much more about who this team is once everyone is healthy.