Marcus Sasser proved he should be the Mavericks’ backup point guard in just 1 game

The Dallas Mavericks don't have a lot to hang their hat on from their regular-season debut versus the Houston Rockets, but new addition Marcus Sasser's performance was certainly one thing they could hang their hat on. Sasser was Dallas' second-leading scorer, as he was uber-efficient en route to 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting, and 4-for-5 shooting from outside.

As promising as rookie Sergio De Larrea looked in preseason, Sasser proved in this game why he should be Dallas' backup point guard behind Kyrie Irving. Sasser is a true shot creator, and for a team that is starved of elite 3-point shooting and offensive punch in their second unit, he's exactly what Dallas needs off the bench.

Marcus Sasser gives the Mavericks reliability behind Kyrie Irving

Sasser shot over 40 percent from outside last season for the Detroit Pistons, and if he can replicate that efficiency in more minutes and increased volume for the Mavericks, they'll have no choice but to give him a prominent role off the bench.

As much of a playmaking punch as De Larrea has flashed in Summer League and preseason, he isn’t the same level driver, finisher, or shooter as Sasser. He also isn’t a terrible table-setter in his own right, even if that’s not his specialty, and he’s a solid defender for a smaller guard.

More important than anything, Sasser is going to enter his prime soon. He’s been buried in the rotation on a talented Detroit team over the past few seasons, but the 25-year-old is clearly good enough to be a capable role player. He’s also going to pick up tidbits from one of the best guards to ever touch a basketball in Irving, which will hopefully elevate less prominent parts of his game, such as his ball handling and passing.

Sasser's time in Detroit prepared him for this

New addition Walter Clayton Jr. is also someone who could find a role for himself in Dallas’ point guard rotation, but being on a two-way contract, he can only suit up for 50 games this season. Even though Sasser had the hot hand in Dallas’ opening game, it’s clear Dusty May trusts him over De Larrea at this point, as De Larrea only played seven minutes to Sasser’s 24, and most of De Larrea’s time came in garbage time.

Sasser knows how to run an NBA offense and takes care of the ball too, which is something De Larrea still needs to work on despite how prolific his court vision is. There’s certainly an argument to be made that Dallas is over-relying on Sasser, but if the Dallas native plays, as he did on Wednesday night, they may have found their backup point guard for this season and beyond, and the cherry on top is that they got him on a bargain contract.

Best of all, he’s solid enough off-ball and defensively to play next to Irving if Dallas wants to play an ultra-small lineup and prioritize shooting. De Larrea and Clayton still have plenty of time to get in the mix for backup point guard minutes this season, but for now, Sasser proved he’s ready to be Dallas’ backup point guard, as this is the natural progression of his career after playing behind a talented guard rotation in Detroit.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow