Mavericks need to find minutes for Moussa Cisse despite their center logjam

The Dallas Mavericks have loaded up on the frontcourt, but it doesn't necessarily come as a surprise. Newly tabbed president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri has a well-known infatuation with size and length. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean one of the Mavericks' unheralded bigs, Moussa Cisse, shouldn't see the floor despite a deep big man rotation. He's too good.

The Dallas Mavericks' frontcourt is crowded

Cisse, as it stands, is Dallas' third center, behind Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford. Yet, it's plausible that both 7-foot offseason acquisition Santi Aldama and the 6-foot-9, 250-pound No. 9 overall pick, Morez Johnson Jr., also see time at the five spot.

Throw in Cooper Flagg and P.J. Washington, who will both soak up some minutes at the four, and Dallas is absolutely loaded up front.

The Mavericks won't even have to trot out a traditional center if they don't want to, but considering how talented this trio is, they'll have to find a way to get all three involved.

Lively II is arguably the most talented of the bunch, as a 22-year-old former lottery pick who has impressed whenever healthy. Gafford, on the other hand, is the oldest of the trio at 27, but holds a career field goal percentage of 70.2 percent and dunks and blocks almost anything in his vicinity.

Cisse is perhaps the most intriguing. He doesn't have the draft pedigree like Lively II, nor the career statistics to match Gafford, but the 24-year-old was phenomenal in his rookie season with the Mavericks.

Moussa Cisse has already shown he belongs

Okay, fine, averaging 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game doesn't scream phenomenal. On the surface, Cisse is a replacement-level player. But looking deeper, the big man put up those numbers as an undrafted rookie in just 13.9 minutes per game. Per 36 minutes, his averages jump to 11.5 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per contest. Now those are some good numbers.

There's certainly some untapped potential to Cisse's game. Once he picks up the nuances, his frenetic energy, top-notch athleticism, and rugged style will surely feel more fleshed out. But he's already able to make such a strong impact while being a relatively raw player.

Again, digging a bit deeper, Cisse still managed to rank among the top 15 players league-wide in both rebound and block percentage, and was especially stingy at the rim, placing 25th among 399 players who suited up in at least 30 games in defensive field goal percentage. His opponents shot 11.2 percentage points worse when he was the primary defender.

Cisse might not have the draft pedigree, the career statistics, or even the contract to back up his playing time, but he's shown so much promise in a limited role that he's deserving of it. Even though the Mavericks' frontcourt rotation is deep, they must find a way to get Cisse into that rotation.

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