5 Obvious, 5 subtle moves Jason Kidd must make to turn Mavs into legit contenders

The Dallas Mavericks are currently 36-28 after back-to-back wins over the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons, and they have gotten back to playing better after an extremely concerning stretch of games where they lost five of six.

Dallas' poor defense was at the root of it all, and it didn't seem like the team had good energy, effort, or communication either. This was happening at the worst possible time considering that every game matters, but now Dallas is back on the right track of turning their playoff hopes into a reality.

Although the Mavs are playing much better, there are still some things that they could improve upon.

5 Obvious, 5 subtle moves Jason Kidd must make to turn Mavs into legit contenders

This team is far from being NBA Finals contenders, and there may be a few moves that Jason Kidd can make to help this squad.

Kidd has been scrutinized by many for the team's performance as of late, but a deep playoff run could keep him around for the next couple of seasons rather than Dallas making a coaching change.

Here are five subtle and five obvious moves that Jason Kidd must take to turn the Dallas Mavericks into legit playoff contenders.

10. Obvious: Close games with Dante Exum

On Thursday night against the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks guard Dante Exum showcased the exact type of player he can be for Dallas. Exum hadn't been great since returning from injury, but this is the type of game that the Mavs need from Exum consistently.

Exum finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and five assists while shooting 3-5 from the field, 2-2 from downtown, and 5-5 from the free-throw line. He made big plays when it mattered most, including some clutch free throws, a big 3-pointer, a beautiful fadeaway in the middle of the lane, and superb defense.

Exum also was a great creator in this game and he seemed to gain some of his confidence back. He made it clear that he needs to be in the closing lineup alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, as he is a great defender and shooter off the catch.

He can also be trusted as a ball handler when needed, and his composure was big for the Mavs in that game. Exum has what it takes to close games out, and the Mavs will benefit if Jason Kidd chooses to keep Exum in the team's clutch lineup.

9. Subtle: Bring Jaden Hardy into the rotation

Jaden Hardy is someone whose minutes have fluctuated heavily this season, and one move that could make the Dallas Mavericks legit NBA Finals contenders is Jason Kidd bringing Hardy back into the rotation.

Hardy brings energy on both ends of the floor and has a knack for scoring the ball. The Mavs don't necessarily need more scoring, but Hardy is clearly better than one of Dallas' other options as a scorer off the bench, and we'll discuss that more later.

This season for Dallas, Hardy is averaging 7.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 40.5 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from 3-point land. These stats are even with a rough start to the season for Hardy, and he has proved that Kidd needs to give him a chance.

Outside of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Hardy is the third-best isolation scorer on this roster. He has been a much better driver and finisher this season, and his mid-range jumper off the dribble has also improved.

Hardy seems to make a positive impact every time that he is in the game, and his energy is contagious. The American Airlines Center crowd always seems to have a different energy when Hardy is knocking down shots, and he is one of the best shooters off the catch on the team.

Kidd should consider using Hardy as a spark plug off the bench while also giving him some minutes alongside Doncic. His offensive versatility should not be wasted, and his improvements as a defender are promising.

8. Obvious: Decrease Tim Hardaway Jr.'s minutes even more

One of the biggest storylines coming from the Dallas Mavericks' play as of late has been guard Tim Hardaway Jr.'s struggles. Over the years, Hardaway Jr. has been an important piece for Dallas off the bench, but his play has nosedived over the last month.

Over his last 10 games (before Saturday night's game against the Detroit Pistons), Hardaway Jr. is averaging 8.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 31.3 percent from the floor and 29.3 percent from downtown. His inefficiency, bad defense, and bad shot selection have hurt the Mavs, and he doesn't provide much of a positive impact in the minutes he does get.

Jason Kidd has decreased Hardaway Jr.'s minutes lately, but it may be time to decrease them even more. Now that Dante Exum is playing at a high level, he is someone who should be playing over Hardaway Jr. So should Jaden Hardy due to the reasons previously mentioned, but he may not get his chance for the rest of the season.

Hardaway Jr.'s shooting has been crucial for the Mavs in the past, but it's confusing why Kidd doesn't at least try someone else. Hardy would give the Mavs a new energy if he took some of Hardaway Jr.'s minutes, and it doesn't seem like Hardaway Jr. is ready to make big contributions again.

Decreasing Hardaway Jr.'s minutes for someone like Hardy seems like it would benefit the team tremendously, but it looks like Kidd will stick with Hardaway Jr. unless something drastically changes.

Hardaway Jr. had a great bounce-back game against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night, and the Mavs need more games like that from him.

7. Subtle: Play Maxi Kleber at power forward more

Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber's last two seasons have been riddled with injuries, including a torn hamstring and a nagging dislocated toe, but now he seems to be fully healthy and is playing big minutes for Dallas.

This season for the Mavs, Kleber is averaging 4.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 42.3 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from downtown. All of Kleber's stats are pretty much down from what we've seen from him in the past, but his role in Dallas remains big.

He plays 22 minutes per game and can play both power forward and center. While Jason Kidd seems to like to play small ball often with Kleber at center, it may be a good idea to play Kleber more at the four.

Power forward is Kleber's true position, and pairing him with Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford is a solid defensive frontcourt. While Gafford isn't as good of a defender as Kleber or Lively II in space, pairing him with Kleber will allow him to have some weak-side rim protection if he gets beat.

Dallas closed their game against the Miami Heat with Kleber at power forward, and the Mavs' struggles while playing small ball show that Kleber needs to be playing more power forward than center.

6. Obvious: Bring Josh Green off the bench

After playing great towards the end of January and for the first half of February, Dallas Mavericks guard Josh Green's play has come back to earth. Green had a stretch where he dropped double-digit points in eight of 10 games and was playing at an extremely high level.

Now Green has scored in single digits in nine of the last 10 games.

Green's inconsistency has always been an issue throughout his young career, and although he signed a big contract extension over the offseason, it doesn't appear that Green is ready to be the starting wing next to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. There are stretches where it looked as if there was a chance, but now it's clear that he needs to be coming off the bench.

Green isn't good enough of a defender to make up for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving's average defense just yet, and they are better fit starting someone else on the wing next to their two stars. Green's struggles while navigating screens hurt Dallas, and he has had a lack of energy recently as well.

Jason Kidd opted to start Derrick Jones Jr. over him on Thursday, and while Jones Jr. is a better defender than Green, he didn't do the best while starting either. Once Kidd ramps up his minutes more, Exum is someone who could start on the wing, but this could take a while.

Green remains someone who brings energy and deadly 3-point shooting, but he should not be the starting wing for Dallas.

5. Subtle: Run more pick and rolls with P.J. Washington

After a rough start for the first few games after getting traded to the Dallas Mavericks, P.J. Washington has found his groove on offense.

So far for the Mavs, Washington is averaging 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 43.6 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from downtown. Washington's 3-point percentage may look concerning, but this is due to the slump that he started in after first joining the team.

Washington has become a consistent 3-point shooter as of late, and he has been the best defender on the Mavs since the moment he stepped on the floor. While Washington's shooting and defense have been solid, Jason Kidd has to get him involved more offensively.

One way he can do this is through using him as a screener in the pick and roll. Washington has a great floater, and his touch around the bucket is underrated. If the Mavs use him more as a screener in the pick and roll, it will allow him to get more touches to score in the paint while also giving him the chance to be a passer in the short roll.

Washington is talented enough offensively to make these reads, and Kidd running more actions for him on offense could be a game changer.

4. Obvious: Start Daniel Gafford

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd changed the starting lineup for the first time in a while on Thursday night as he started Daniel Gafford over Dereck Lively II. It was clear after Gafford's first game with Dallas that Kidd may eventually have a tough choice to make on who to start, and Gafford got the starting nod over Lively II on Thursday night.

Against the Miami Heat, Gafford finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, one steal, and one block while shooting 5-5 from the field. Gafford brings more energy than anyone else on the team, and making him the starting center consistently could benefit both him and Lively II.

While both centers remain crucial for the Mavs, starting Gafford helps Lively II because it allows him to see the game before checking in. Lively II occasionally gets into foul trouble at the start of games, and starting Gafford lets Lively II see what kind of fouls the refs are calling and how the opposing big men are playing.

With Gafford starting, he can bring energy, protect the rim, and catch some lobs, and then Lively II can check in and do the same thing. It seems that the Mavs aren't running as many pick and rolls for Lively II as they did at the beginning of the season, and Dallas having two starting-caliber centers is a great problem to have.

3. Subtle: Play their style of game and don't switch up

This subtitle may seem confusing, but let me explain.

Sometimes the Dallas Mavericks get too caught up in playing the other team's game, and it can hurt them. For example, it seems they get caught up with playing small ball so much that they under-utilize Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II sometimes.

Both of their centers are too good to be riding the bench, and while Maxi Kleber has the ability to play the small-ball five at times, the Mavs should also force the other team to play their game occasionally and go big with Kleber or P.J. Washington at the four with Lively II or Gafford at the five.

Playing small ball occasionally is fine in spurts, but Jason Kidd shouldn't make it their identity. Kidd ended up playing Kleber at the four and Lively II at the five to close the game against the Miami Heat on Thursday, and it worked wonders for them. Lively II played great defense on Bam Adebayo down the stretch, and the Mavs had great size.

The Mavs are good enough to force teams to play to their playstyle, and this team creating their identity down the final stretch is important.

During the losing streak, it seemed like this team had no identity and that must change if they want to be serious contenders.

2. Obvious: Make sure that P.J. Washington closes the game on a nightly basis

The Dallas Mavericks' trade for P.J. Washington was a move that tremendously helped the Mavs on both ends of the floor, and he has had a solid start so far with the team. Washington is averaging 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 43.6 percent from the field and 29.7 percent from the field.

Washington is Dallas' best defender and is becoming a consistent 3-point shooter, making him an indispensable piece for this team. Due to his value on both ends of the floor, he needs to be in Jason Kidd's closing lineup every night. He's too valuable to be on the bench, and he wasn't in Dallas' closing lineup against the Miami Heat.

There aren't many scenarios when Maxi Kleber should be in the closing lineup over Washington, and he needs to be utilized at the end of games. Washington can play defense, rebound, and shoot just as good as Kleber, and his intensity on defense is made for the clutch.

Washington is always locked in on that end of the floor, and his versatility and ability to stay with quicker wings is much better than Kleber's.

Kleber closing the game against Miami could have been due to Washington's shooting struggles in that game, but Washington should be the closer moving forward.

1. Subtle: Make sure both centers play over 15 minutes every game

During the Dallas Mavericks' game against the Boston Celtics last week, the Mavs played tons of small ball in the second half. Despite Dereck Lively II playing great in the first half, he didn't play much in the second half.

Jason Kidd talked about how Boston struggled against smaller lineups, but this goes back to how Dallas needs to force teams to play their game rather than adhering to their opponent's game, and they were way too fixated on playing small ball with Maxi Kleber.

This came at the expense of Daniel Gafford's minutes, and he didn't play at all during the second half. The Celtics are a unique matchup, and Gafford isn't the best at closing out on shooters, but Kidd and the Mavs must ensure that both centers are making their impact felt in every game.

Both players can make big impacts at any moment, and we saw that with Gafford last night. Gafford finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks, and has been the Mavs' new starting center over Lively II for the last two games.

The Mavs went from having no great centers last season to having two great centers this season, and they can't take that for granted.

For all the latest on Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gaford, Jason Kidd, and the Dallas Mavericks this season, stay tuned.