Jason Kidd finally cracks the code to unlock the Mavericks' most polarizing player

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd finally found the tweak that could unlock D'Angelo Russell's season. He moved Russell to shooting guard over the last two games, and this looks like the change that he needed to get back into the groove of things after a rough start to the year.

Before Monday and Wednesday's games, Russell was benched for two straight games. He was active and available to play, but Kidd never subbed him in. He favored Ryan Nembhard and Brandon Williams, and Mavericks fans feared that his journey with the team had crumbled into oblivion due to his inconsistency, poor shot selection, lack of defense, and inability to be an effective floor general.

He was the team's marquee free agency signing and has definitely had some great moments this season, but coach Kidd was favoring a two-way rookie and a player who was just on a two-way deal last season. Both Nembhard and Williams deserve credit for how well they've played, but this had to be a major gut-punch for Russell. He is a one-time NBA All-Star, and to be a DNP-CD for two games in a row had to be humbling.

Jason Kidd just re-unlocked D'Angelo Russell's game with small change

And then came Jason Kidd's change.

Kidd opted to play Russell as the team's shooting guard alongside Nembhard and Williams rather than as the team's sole point guard, and this shift has definitely worked thus far. Dallas won both games that Kidd tested this plan, against the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, and this is no small accomplishment.

Denver is the No. 5 seed in the West, and Miami is the No. 4 seed in the East, meaning the Mavericks got some big wins under their belts against strong teams despite having multiple key players out of the lineup due to injuries. Nembhard's heroics and Flagg's excellence helped will them to these wins, but Russell was quietly effective in his limited minutes as a two guard.

Over these two games, Russell averaged 9.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 40 percent from downtown. He did all of this while playing just 33 minutes in the two contests combined, and his new role in these games allowed him to flow into the game rather than having to make everything happen himself.

Russell is known for being a trigger-happy player, especially from long range, but making him an off-ball guard and secondary playmaker rather than the primary offensive maestro makes his role significantly different. Rather than having to create his own shot and lead the offense, he got to play off the ball and allow others to create open looks for him.

"Being able to have DLo out there as another ball handler but also another shooter, and then when you have B-Will or Ryan with him, letting those guys be able to make the plays for him," Kidd said when asked about Russell playing shooting guard earlier this week. "I think he’s flourished in this new role playing off the ball for us. The trust of him being able to shoot it but also for him to be able to make plays too."

Despite his struggles from three this season, he has been a good shooter throughout his career, and the limited volume in these two games has proven that he can still be a threat from beyond the arc. His shooting over these two games as a shooting guard has been one of his best two-game stretches from downtown over the season, and this heavily lies on the fact that he is getting to shoot open looks off the catch.

All four of his made threes over the last two games were assisted, and three of the four made shots were off the catch. This isn't how he usually gets rolling from three, but it could lead to a resurgence if Kidd continues to tinker with this small tweak in his rotation.

Russell constantly not having to hunt his own shot changes everything when it comes to his effect on the game, and it simultaneously limits the damage that he can inflict on the offense when he gets into one of his occasional turnover-heavy spells. He tends to try to do too much at times when running the offense, rather than making the right play and being the captain of the unit, and making him a combo guard rather than strictly a point guard should help these solid games continue to roll in.

This is a role that he is used to from his previous stops around the NBA, and Kidd should continue to see if this changed outlook continues to benefit the 11-year veteran.