Mavericks have little reason to keep Zaccharie Risacher out of the starting five

Since moving Max Christie to a reserve role and starting Caleb Martin in his place, the Dallas Mavericks are 3-1. However, it's not necessarily because of Martin, who's averaged merely 1.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 17.6 minutes as a starter. Martin provides quality defense, sure, but he's certainly not the answer for Dallas' fifth starting spot. The answer is Zaccharie Risacher.

Risacher isn't exactly wowing anyone with his production so far, averaging 7.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 24.2 minutes per game while shooting 38.8 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from beyond the arc.

But he has two things going for him. First, he's a menace defensively, averaging 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game while holding opponents to a -1.2 field-goal percentage differential. Second, he's still just 21 years old and a former first overall pick, making him an intriguing long-term piece for Dallas.

Mavericks have a better defensive option in Zaccharie Risacher

Okay, okay. Yeah, Martin's opponents are shooting 5.6 percentage points worse when he's the primary defender. That's the best mark of any Maverick who's appeared in at least four games this season.

This isn't to say Martin shouldn't have a role. Again, he's a terrific defender, a good connective passer, and doesn't make many mistakes. It's just that he doesn't offer much upside, and his offense is, well… almost nonexistent.

Risacher, on the other hand, offers a comparable impact as an individual defender, based on his defensive playmaking numbers, while providing even more as a team defender. The 21-year-old wing is one of four players averaging at least 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. Moreover, he's one of just two players in the association to rank among the top 30 in both steal and block percentage. Risacher's defensive playmaking is for real.

Risacher's impact is showing up in Dallas' best lineups

Regarding his team impact, Dallas is nearly 4.0 points better per 100 possessions with Risacher on the floor, compared to 5.2 points worse with Martin. Additionally, all five of Dallas' best five-man lineups to play at least five minutes together include Risacher. Not one includes Martin.

Perhaps most intriguing, Dallas' best three-man lineup to appear in at least 50 minutes together features, you guessed it, Risacher alongside franchise stalwarts Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving.

Even though Risacher's shotmaking has yet to come around this season, he's still been highly impactful. And there's good reason to believe his shot will come around. He shot 36.0 percent from beyond the arc in his first two seasons in Atlanta.

Dallas needs all the help spacing it can get. And while Martin is making 50.0 percent of his threes, he's attempting just 1.4 per game. That's hardly enough volume to make him a threatening perimeter shooter.

Risacher offers Dallas something Caleb Martin can't

Lastly, Risacher is 10 years younger than Martin. So, naturally, he's the more intriguing option moving forward. The Mavericks surely traded for Risacher because they believe in his upside, especially considering their lack of draft capital over the next few seasons. He's essentially another draft pick. (For what it's worth, Risacher is less than a year older than Dallas' first-round pick, Morez Johnson Jr.)

Inserting Risacher into the starting five alongside a solidified foursome of Flagg, Irving, Daniel Gafford, and P.J. Washington would give the Mavericks some much-needed stability in just the second month of the season. Risacher hasn't exactly done enough yet to make an airtight case for the starting shooting guard spot, but his defensive playmaking, fit alongside Flagg and Irving, and considerable upside make him the ideal starter, now and moving forward.

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