6 Dallas Mavericks who have failed to meet expectations this season

2. Dwight Powell

Heading into this season, Dallas Mavericks fans were arguing about who should start at center between Dereck Lively II, Dwight Powell, and Richaun Holmes. Powell was Dallas' longtime center, Holmes was Dallas' new big man that they traded for that Mark Cuban hyped up, and Lively II was the rookie fan-favorite 7-footer.

No one knew who would start on opening night, but it ended up being Maxi Kleber. Lively II quickly took the starting spot with Powell as the second-string big. This season for Dallas, Powell is averaging 3.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.4 steals per game while playing 13.1 minutes per game.

This is the least he has played since his rookie year, and Powell's on-court production has steadily declined. Even though Dallas now has Daniel Gafford, making Lively II the backup center and Powell the third center, Powell still needs to be somewhat productive when they need him.

Lively II has had several injuries this season, and since Lively II is out right now, Powell will have to play some until he returns. Last night against the Golden State Warriors, Powell had zero points and three rebounds in nine minutes of action.

No one expected Powell to tremendously improve this season, but no one expected him to be nearly unplayable either. If Lively II is out until the playoffs Powell will need to make a little bit more of an impact.