Lamar Odom, Vince Carter Give Mavericks Lineup Versatility

The Dallas Mavericks quietly made one of the best moves of this short NBA offseason late last night, and they did it without trading away any youth or making a long-term commitment.

Lamar Odom is coming to town, and his presence in Dallas might be the X-factor type move that will make fans forget about Tyson Chandler come next June.

Personal and reality-TV feelings aside, Odom is one of the most versatile athletes that the NBA has ever seen. He's 6'10", can handle the rock, shoot threes and mix it up with bigger forwards and centers. 

Aside from that, he cripples the Lakers' advantage they had over teams, and provides that same advantage to his new team in their title defense. 

But looking ahead to the postseason might be a little premature. Instead, think about the lineup combinations that Rick Carlisle is going to employ during the course of this season.

Factor in Vince Carter, Rudy Fernandez and a healthy Rodrigue Beaubois, and the Mavericks have flexibility in their roster that many teams can only dream about.  

Think about a closing lineup that looks something like this:

PG Jason Kidd

SG Jason Terry

SF Vince Carter

PF Lamar Odom

C Dirk Nowitzki

If you need a basket at the end of the game, who do you choose to defend in this look? Do you double Dirk and leave Odom free to roam? Do you adjust to Terry, who then finds Carter? It's going to be tough for opposing coaches to make up their mind in defensive adjustments. 

But that's not where the lineups get interesting. Think about the other nine guys currently on the roster, and each can contribute in different lineup combinations that Carlisle can mix and match as needed.

That's what made the Mavericks such an interesting matchup during their magical run last season. Carlisle will call on anyone at any time; just look at the contributions Ian Mahinmi and Brian Cardinal provided after being at the end of the bench for most of the season.

It's not always about the offense, though, and the Mavericks found out better than anyone that defense wins championships. So if you need a stop late in the game, what lineup better to throw at opposing teams than this one:

PG Kidd

SG Corey Brewer

SF Shawn Marion

PF Odom

C Brendan Haywood

The scary thing is, that's just the tip of the iceberg for Dallas. They have a distinct advantage in the matchup department and it's going to force opposing coaches to get creative in defending and attacking Carlisle's latest creations.