The Dallas Mavericks' X-Factor: Rodrigue Beaubois
In order for the Dallas Mavericks to sustain their regular-season performances from the last few seasons, they will need big contributions from veterans such as Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd. However, the most important piece to the puzzle could prove to be their 2009 draft pick, Rodrigue Beaubois.
Beaubois has been sort of an unknown quantity since the day he entered the league. Not many people were familiar with Beaubois going into the draft because he had spent his entire life up to that point living in the French archipelago of Guadeloupe. However, he did have some valuable basketball experience after having made his professional debut in 2006 with Chloet Basket in the French Pro A League.
Beaubois was selected 25th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder before being traded along with a future second round pick to the Dallas Mavericks for the 24th overall pick in the draft, B.J. Mullens.
Despite playing an average of only 12.5 minutes per game last season, Beaubois proved to be an explosive player. In fact, he put up 40 points and made an NBA rookie record 9 of 11 three pointers against the Golden State Warriors. These flashes of brilliance led many to believe that he should have been playing more minutes. Even Jason Kidd acknowledged the fact by saying that, "the more minutes he can get now, the better it is for us, not only in the long term, but in the short term, too."
Now with the 2009-2010 season in the books, the question becomes, what kind of impact will Beaubois have during the 2010-2011 season?
Rick Carlisle, head coach of the Mavericks, believes that Beaubois will play a big role this year. On ESPN 103.3’s Galloway & Company, he was recorded as saying that, "he’s a major part of next year. There’s a very realistic chance that he could be one of our starters. I don’t think there’s any question about that."
These are pretty lofty expectations on a team that is already guard-heavy with the likes of Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, J.J. Barea, Caron Butler, and Dominique Jones. Yet, they are not completely unrealistic. Beaubois was arguably the Mavericks' most efficient offensive threat last season. His 51.8 field goal percentage ranked behind only centers Erick Dampier and Brendan Haywood, while his 40.9 three-point percentage left him behind only Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki. These numbers are almost unheard of for a rookie. In fact, he is the only rookie in NBA history to shoot at least 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from three-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line.
Yet, despite being listed as a point guard, there are still many questions regarding his ability to play the position. He has a great offensive skill set and a knack for getting to the basket, but he has yet to demonstrate the decision-making ability that is so vital to becoming an effective point guard in the league.
Luckily for the Mavericks, they already have one of the best decision-makers in the league playing the point in Jason Kidd, so they will not be forced to put Beaubois into a role he is unprepared for. Expect to see Rodrigue playing primarily at the shooting guard position next season. By utilizing him at the two, the Mavericks will be able to capitalize on his offensive and defensive abilities without having to expose him to the pressures of running the offense.
Should Rodrigue Beaubois continue his development during the off-season, he will be able to challenge Jason Terry and Caron Butler for the role of starting shooting guard. If Beaubois is then successful in his campaign for a starting spot, Butler will be able to return to his more natural position of small forward, Terry will retain his role as sixth man, and the Mavericks will have finally found the consistent scorer they have so desperately needed to take some of the pressure off of Dirk Nowitzki.
