Mavericks' over-reliance on Walter Clayton Jr. exposes a glaring roster flaw

Walter Clayton Jr. has been phenomenal since the Dallas Mavericks signed him to a two-way contract on October 21. He's averaging 7.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from long range.

Walter Clayton Jr.'s role exposes Dallas' lack of backcourt depth

The former Florida Gator's 3-point shooting, on-ball playmaking, and three-level scoring have been welcome additions for a team that needs more shot creation, and his responsibilities within the offense continue to grow each game. Clayton played 20+ minutes in each of the last two games. This includes 11 minutes in the fourth quarter in Dallas' narrow loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.

Dusty May clearly trusts the second-year guard, and he has proven that he deserves a standard contract, but the Mavericks are overrelying on him. Many Mavs fans were concerned that Dallas didn't add enough creation behind Kyrie Irving in the offseason, considering that their only other true point guards outside of Kyrie and WCJ are Marcus Sasser and Sergio De Larrea, and Clayton's massive workload thus far proves that these fans were right.

This is not to take away from what Clayton has done on the floor for Dallas so far. His impact was on full display late last night in San Antonio, as he scored a nice layup after looking off Victor Wembanyama, grabbed four rebounds (two offensive rebounds), and dished out four assists in the fourth quarter alone, but the Mavericks shouldn't have to rely on him this much.

Clayton shouldn't be forced to play this much

It would be different if Dallas had multiple key point guards out, but the only true point guard who is injured right now is De Larrea. It remains to be seen how big of a role he'll play once he's healthy again, and it seems like Clayton will be in front of him upon his return.

The problem with Clayton playing so much is that Dallas signed him just over two weeks ago and they clearly underestimated their need for more initiators. May's trust in Sasser is already running thin, as his leash seems short and he has only played 10.3 minutes per game over the last three games. He's averaging 1.3 points per game on 28.6-percent shooting in this span, and he's cooled off significantly off a scorching hot start.

Sergio De Larrea and Naji Marshall aren't the answer

De Larrea had a breakout moment as well, scoring 21 points against the Spurs on October 24, but May hasn't leaned on him when the team is fully healthy. The reason that he had such a big role the first time the Mavericks played San Antonio was that Irving was out. In the three games that Sergio has played in that Kyrie was in the lineup, he played a combined 13 minutes.

May has also utilized Naji Marshall as a point guard, and while he had a strong outing against the Spurs on Wednesday night and nearly helped them win the game with a 13-point fourth quarter, he hasn't been very consistent.

He was shooting 20 percent from three before going 3-of-3 from beyond the arc last night, and with Irving and Cooper Flagg needing shooters around them, Marshall can't always be relied upon. His playstyle relies on him having the ball in his hands when his shot isn't falling, and his fit will look shaky once again if his shooting numbers go back to the norm.

The Mavericks need another reliable point guard

Dallas needs another shot creator who can score at all three levels and playmake for others in their lineup, and Clayton's massive early role illustrates this. Clayton has proven that he could turn into a key piece of the Mavs' young core alongside Cooper Flagg, but the fact that he is playing down the stretch against one of the most dangerous teams in the Western Conference shows that Dallas didn't plan accordingly when building their roster over the offseason.

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