ESPN quietly exposes the elephant in the room of Mavericks' new starting lineup

Even with Cooper Flagg likely starting next to Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II, the Dallas Mavericks' point-of-attack defense may need some work, especially in the backcourt, and ESPN's Tim MacMahon recently discussed this in an episode of "The Hoop Collective" with Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps.

MacMahon dove into how Klay Thompson struggled some in his defensive matchup against LaMelo Ball on Saturday night, also stating concern that he and D'Angelo Russell playing next to one another may not have what it takes to be a strong defensive pairing.

"I saw Klay Thompson try to defend LaMelo Ball, he got that assignment, and that didn't go very well either," MacMahon stated. "I have some concerns about this stage of his career Klay Thompson and D'Angelo Russell as a backcourt, a starting backcourt on the defensive end."

Dallas' backcourt defense could get shaky

Thompson, of course, may not be the All-Defense-type of defender as he once was, but Kidd rolled with him to defend Ball for stretches of Dallas' second preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets. This is a matchup that the Mavs' coaching staff "wanted to see," according to Kidd, and even though Ball finished with 20 points on 8-13 shooting from the field, Kidd believes that Thompson did a decent job while defending him and competed at a high level.

Thompson will always be a top-notch competitor, as he wants to win his fifth ring in Dallas badly, but putting him in situations where he has to be a primary defender on a star is definitely a risky ask. Kidd made it clear that this isn't something that they will ask him to do every night, but when he does have to guard an elite guard for stretches, he has to be a bit better at navigating screens and limiting blow-bys.

Thompson has shown in stretches that he can still be a good defender as a member of the Mavericks, but with him likely primarily set to play shooting guard this season, he is going to have to take his perimeter defense to another level. His defensive skillset would likely be best utilized to defend smaller power forwards or wings, but while playing next to Davis and one of Lively II or Daniel Gafford, he is likely going to need to defend one of the opposing guards.

With Russell, the Mavericks are going to need the same thing out of him, as he will be primarily defending one of the other team's best guards as well.

Flagg could be asked to help in this way as well, but Russell and Thompson are definitely going to be asked to step up defensively, and them thriving as perimeter defenders could turn the Mavericks' starting lineup from scary into a nightmare. It's already obvious that Dallas' back line of Lively II, Flagg, and Davis is going to be an unbreakable fortress, but Thompson and Russell locking down and being positive defenders will make this unit truly unstoppable.

Russell has had his fair share of criticism defensively over the years, with concerns about him remaining engaged always being near the top of the list, but Dallas seems like it'll be the perfect spot for him to buckle down on that end and command respect from those around the league. He joined the Mavericks over other suitors because he believed that this was going to be a great fit for him, and this motivated version of Russell could quickly silence any defensive criticism that gets thrown his way.