John Poulakidas just proved exactly why he shouldn't be on the Mavericks' hot seat

In the Dallas Mavericks' second preseason game last weekend, John Poulakidas didn't touch the court. This was shocking, as he is one of Dallas' three two-way players and had a strong finish to last season. He put up 63 points combined over the Mavericks' final three games, going 17-for-34 from three.

Poulakidas showcased how lethal he can be from long range in these games, and he finished his rookie season shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc. Considering how poorly the Mavs shot from three last season, and the fact that John is 23 years old, it seemed like Dallas would utilize him often during the preseason to see how he fit with the rest of the young core.

John Poulakidas' Mavericks future looked uncertain after two games

This wasn't the case during Dallas' two preseason games against the Houston Rockets in Macao, China, and there was even some speculation from fans that he could be on the hot seat after being benched.

It seems like the Mavs want to keep Dwight Powell, and one possible set of moves the team could make to keep him would be waiving Moussa Cisse, waiving Poulakidas, and signing Cisse back on a two-way deal to take Poulakidas' spot.

This is certainly a lot of moving parts, but it didn't seem impossible after seeing how Dusty May talked about Powell and seeing Poulakidas not play for an entire preseason game as a two-way guy. He was the only active player on the roster who didn't play.

Poulakidas showed why the Mavericks need to keep him

Despite the rough start, things changed for the better for the former Yale Bulldog on Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. Poulakidas played a key role off the bench, finishing with 16 points and four 3-pointers, reminding Dusty May and the rest of the coaching staff why he's a valuable player they need.

He remains one of the best shooters on the roster, and he's extremely comfortable off the catch, moves well off the ball, and can even put the ball on the floor to relocate and knock down a shot. May also complimented the grit Poulakidas displayed when attacking the glass, as he finished with three rebounds (two of these rebounds were on the offensive end).

The Mavericks are going to need more 3-point shooting, by the looks of things, and Poulakidas has already proven that this is his specialty. He knows that he needs to do other things as well, but his 3-point shooting is what makes him special.

Poulakidas was the only Maverick to make more than two 3-pointers in this game, and the team shot an unimpressive 10-for-49 from long range. It doesn't help that Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving were out, but Poulakidas still brought a spark off the bench that the team needed.

It's clear that Dallas is going to shoot more threes this season, but they also need to improve efficiency after shooting 34.4 percent from three last season. Poulakidas can help them take a step in the right direction, and his big performance against New Orleans showed exactly why the Mavs should invest in him and allow him to grow alongside Flagg for another season.

He's too good to cut, and the floor spacing he provides is too valuable to move on from him — especially for a team that struggled with shooting so much last season and is in danger of doing the same thing once again.

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