Dinwiddie is strangely becoming Mavericks' best friend and enemy at the same time

It's been a weird season to start for the Dallas Mavericks to say the least.

Injuries to Luka Doncic, Dereck Lively II, P.J. Washington, and Maxi Kleber have made the team embrace the next-man-up mentality.

The depth of the Mavericks is strong, and everybody is doing the best they can to take charge and step up. This has been exactly what Dallas needs right now.

There's one key reserve that's been up and down this season and it's starting to make an impact on the rest of the team.

Spencer Dinwiddie is always either boom or bust for the Mavs

This hasn't been the consistent Spencer Dinwiddie we saw back in 2022.

Earlier this month, Dinwiddie played 28 minutes in a loss against Phoenix, only providing three points, in a loss at Utah, he provided no points in 16 minutes of play. Of course, there are bigger problems besides just one bench guy, but his play has an impact when it's a positive one. His poor shooting also can't be ignored.

For instance, in an overtime loss against the Miami Heat on Sunday night, Dinwiddie looked unplayable as he shot 1-12 from the field and a dismal 0-9 from downtown.

Jason Kidd defended Dinwiddie after the Miami game by praising his aggressive play even though his shooting was much less than satisfactory. His shooting shot Dallas out of that game, and he was settling for poor shots down the stretch.

Dinwiddie made a strong comeback in the second round of the back-to-back against Atlanta on Monday night.

In a game where Doncic or Klay Thompson did not play, Dinwiddie stepped up to the plate when he needed to in the second half. He finished with 22 points in 36 minutes and knocked down four 3-pointers on the night.

This was Dinwiddie's best performance of the season. The Mavericks need more of these performances from him in order to maintain his relevance on the team. He was lighting it up from behind the 3-point line, and his confidence to get to his spots and go get a bucket was clear.

With Klay Thompson struggling to shoot the ball at times, Kidd is going to have to look in Dinwiddie's direction to make up for Thompson's poor shooting performances when his number is called. Dinwiddie hasn't been someone who plays in the regular rotation every game, but injuries have caused him to play much more lately.

Consistent guard play off the bench is the most at question here for Dallas, and Dinwiddie is right in the middle of that conversation.

When Doncic and Thompson come back from injury, it will be up to Kidd to watch Thompson closely.

Jaden Hardy, who played a phenomenal game against Atlanta with 23 points in 32 minutes, will still likely continue to get big minutes if Doncic or Thompson are missing. That's where bench players like Dinwiddie come in and hit shots.

If Dinwiddie is still a boom-or-bust player by the end of the calendar year, it wouldn't be long until Dante Exum comes back from injury. He might need to tear into Dinwiddie's minutes if this kind of play continues.

Dinwiddie must be able to provide some consistency moving forward, and his next chance to do that is on Wednesday night against the New York Knicks.