Kyrie Irving is the Mavericks' key to reviving struggling youngster

Max Christie started off this season having a career year, as he was shooting with absurd efficiency from outside, and flashing some secondary shot-creation on a game-to-game basis with his ability to get to his spots at the rim and in the mid-range. Christie hasn't dropped off the face of the Earth by any means, but he hasn't been as consistent from the middle part of the season to now. Kyrie Irving's reintroduction to Dallas' lineup should help aid this problem next season.

Without consistent point guard play, teams have been able to gang up on Christie at the point of attack as the season has trudged along, as he's no longer getting nearly as many open looks from downtown, and is getting pressured as a ball handler far more often. Irving will make defenses have to think twice about sending extra pressure on someone like Christie, which should help give him more space to drive or shoot.

Irving is an elite creator, and while Brandon Williams and Ryan Nembhard certainly have their respective strengths, neither of them can replicate the same level of three-level scoring and playmaking that Irving can when he's on the floor. If Dallas adds another guard in this year's draft, that too would help Christie's floor game immensely.

Kyrie Irving coming back will help Christie's offensive game immensely

Christie is still averaging a career-high 12.2 points per game with shooting splits of 44.3/40.5/89.2, but either a dip in confidence or defenses simply having a more advanced scouting report on him has limited his production from what it was a few months ago.

Throughout January, Christie reached the double-digit points plateau in every game besides one, but he's had multiple games these past couple of months where he hasn't reached that standard, including some abysmal shooting performances. Christie is a solid defender, but he's certainly not elite by any means, as there are plenty of candidates in free agency the Mavericks could opt to replace him with as a starter.

With Irving coming back into the lineup, this could negate Dallas' need to use the MLE on one of those types of two-guards and potentially allocate that money elsewhere. Christie has proven he can be one of the best catch-and-shoot guards in the league when he's fully locked in, and there's reason to believe his decline over the back-half of the season could also be contributed from being on a Mavericks team that is constantly losing.

Why Christie's production has dipped

It's hard for younger players to keep their motivation up when losses are coming by the handfuls, and while Christie is an extremely hard worker, this doesn't mean he is necessarily free from the inherent trepidation that can creep into a young player's mind. Irving will help the Mavericks in many ways with his prolific scoring and drive-and-kick ability next season, and Christie should be one of the biggest beneficiaries of that.

Dallas elected not to shop Christie at the trade deadline this past summer, which seemed smart at the time, but is something fans are now starting to regret. Dallas could hand him a huge contract extension this summer if they really believe in him, and with him only being 23 years old, there's definitely enough proof in his play from this year to not give up on him so quickly, and Irving coming back will certainly help elevate this notion.