Examing The Mavs' Three PG Lineup

The Mavericks have left me speechless. They are putting a crunch-time lineup out there of: Kidd, Barea, Terry, Bass, and Dirk. What's more confusing is that it's working.

It worked (kind of) against the Lakers, it pulled them out of a hole against the Clips, it worked against the Suns, and they got the W against Atlanta, and I just don't get it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the reason Terry wasn't a permanent fixture at the two is because of his lack of size. But somehow putting in a 5'10" guy at the two, and moving Terry to the three is working?

Speaking of a 5'10" SG, J.J. Barea is blowing my mind. Hopefully he will give the Mavs a legit No. 2 point guard.

The key to winning eight of nine for the Mavs has been: the times without Kidd haven't been a black hole.

Barea looks like he has been learning from both Kidd and Devin Harris, passing well and getting to the basket with ease.

Saturday night's game against the Hawks was an interesting case. The Atlanta Hawks are chock full of athletic swingmen, the kind that should easily be able to beat someone like JJ if he's playing the two.

Halfway through the third quarter the ultra-small lineup hadn't come out, but Kidd-JJ and Terry-JJ had been out there together.

One thing that has helped the Mavs in this respect is giving Devean George the start. While he is technically playing the three, he's helping guard people like Joe Johnson and Josh Smith.

The Hawks flaws are very evident from someone who has been watching the Mavs for the past few years.

They are athletic and good jump shooters, and they are very good at getting to the line at will. They've caused some foul trouble for both Dirk and George.

But they also rely on their jump shots too much, which leads to quick threes that usually clank out, when they could have been better served by setting up a halfcourt offense.

J.J. Barea (a recent addition to my fantasy squad, I might add) provided another bonfire (as opposed to a spark) off of the bench, guiding Dallas to a 15-point lead by scoring 16 in the third quarter.

They kept the three PG lineup out there for the end of the Hawks game. And they barely escaped with the win.

Let's down the last four minutes of the game:

1. J.J. Barea enters the game with Dallas up by 11, 77-88, and 3:55 to go.
2. Joe Johnson hits two free throws, then Barea is blocked by Pachulia, leading to a Joe Johnson three.
3. Dallas up by six: 88-82.
4. Joe Johnson continues to exploit the size mismatch, by hitting another jumper, only Terry's pair of buckets keep Dallas up by ten.
5. Two turnovers (by Dirk and J.J.) lead to consecutive threes by Bibby and
6. Johnson. The size mismatch is hurting them. Badly.
7. Bibby scores again on a runner, bringing the game to two, Dallas up 94-92, all in the span on 36 seconds.
8. Two steals and two key outlet passes from Kidd to Bass are able to stem the tide, but this should show Carlisle that he needs to find another crunch time lineup against teams like that.

Of all the teams with big, athletic two-guards (Lakers, Bobcats, Hawks, Rockets, Celtics, Cavs, and the Blazers) the Hawks are the second worst behind the Bobcats.

The Mavs only won by two (five if you take away the last minute, uncontested three from Joe Johnson)

The other five are playoff teams, three of which are in the Western Conference.

How do you think a Kidd, JJ, Terry, Dirk, and Bass lineup is going to fare against Alston, T-Mac, Artest, Scola, and Yao?

Or against Fisher, Kobe, Odom, Gasol, and Bynum?

I don't like those odds.

So the Mavs need to get themselves a different crunch time lineup. Sure, it will be different when Howard and Wright are back, but how does the lineup shake out then?

I would guess: Kidd, Terry, Howard, Dirk, and Bass, but that presents the same size problems.

If you put Wright in at the two, then you lose Terry's shooting, speed and energy.

At this point neither Mavs center can be counted on to be in good shape foul-wise at the end of the game. Not against a team that drives to the hoop.

I don't have too many concerns about rebounding, Bass makes up in presence what he lacks in size, but with a seven-foot center in there, what's to stop said center from backing to the basket and knocking down five-footers all night?

I'm not saying the new lineup (which needs a nickname by the way) doesn't have a place, I think it's a good way to either end the third quarter or start a fourth quarter with some energy.

But they'll need some size if they're to go deep into the playoffs. Either that or be ahead by more than 15 in the closing minutes.

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