The Dallas Mavericks are in an early predicament heading into the start of the 2025-26 NBA season.
The Dallas Mavericks are 1-3 and are struggling without Kyrie Irving, who is out until early January.
One of the main issues the Mavericks have had so far has been guard play. They haven’t been able to make up for the loss of Irving.
The Mavericks tried to use rookie Cooper Flagg at point guard, but it didn’t work out, and D’Angelo Russell didn’t do well in that role either.
Former NBA point guard and NBA champion Jason Williams, also known as “White Chocolate,” spoke about the current state of the Mavericks’ point guard.
He doesn’t think the Mavericks’ plan to have P.J. Washington and Flagg carry the ball will be successful.
“If P.J. Washington and Cooper Flagg are their point guard plan, they’re not going to be successful. They’re not going to get to where they’re trying to get to.”
Williams also doesn’t trust D’Angelo Russell in key situations, and while he has shown he can put in big performances, he questions whether Russell has ever had success at point guard.
“I think he (D’Angelo Russell) is an okay point guard, but in a Game 7 situation, he has to command everyone and tell people to go here. I don’t know if he’s ready for that.
“That’s not to say he can’t do it, but I don’t know if he’s ever been successful in that position.”
The Mavericks have used Flagg as their point guard this season, but things didn’t go as planned.
Flagg playing out of position caused some ups and downs in his performance. The rookie is coming off the worst game of his career in which Flagg scored just two points and had zero assists in 31 minutes.
Williams doesn’t think it’s a good idea to bring the ball to the flag. Because the flag’s defense will take a hit.
“In the fourth quarter, he (Cooper Flagg) won’t be able to guard SGA because he’s tired of putting the ball up the floor all game long.”
The Mavericks are in a bad spot right now and need to turn things around quickly if they don’t want their season to get out of hand.