Should Maxi Kleber be in the Mavericks starting 5?

Case against Maxi Kleber being in the Dallas Mavericks starting five

Kleber is no stranger to being in the starting five after opening 40 of the 50 games he played last season, but he played just 26.8 minutes per game. Head coach Jason Kidd has to watch his minutes closely because injuries have been an issue dating back to his Euroleague days.

The new staff may prefer to bring him off the bench just to keep his playing time down. Dallas wants Maxi healthy and playing his best basketball come playoff time, so starting him during the regular season may be looked at as counterproductive in keeping his playing time in check.

Starting Kleber also changes the rotation. If Powell shifts to being the backup center, it eliminates the remaining minutes for Willie Cauley-Stein and Boban Marjanovic in the rotation and opens the door for more guard and wing playing time.

The Mavs should want more Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown over the big men, but both players have struggled in their first season in Dallas. Getting them back on track is key to making the plan of starting Kleber a success. After 16 games, both Bullock and Brown are shooting under 29 percent from 3-point range after both connected on north of 40 percent last season.

Starting Maxi Kleber changes the rotation and puts more work on his shoulders, which could be two things head coach Jason Kidd wants to avoid, along with forcing Kristaps Porzingis to play more at the five.