The Dallas Mavericks have a bunch of point guards on their roster after bringing in Deron Williams this offseason. Williams is expected to be the starter at point guard when the regular season begins but the backup minutes are a bit of a question mark with Devin Harris, J.J. Barea and Raymond Felton all in the fold. Even with all of this depth at the point guard position Barea figures to see the bulk of the minutes as Williams' backup, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com.
Williams has dealt with injuries over the past few years and is currently dealing with a calf issue so the starters spot may not be so set in stone either but the backup minutes will be interesting to watch. Harris is again expected to be the Mavericks' sixth man but will be looked upon to score which means he will likely see most of his time off the ball. Because they want Harris to play off the ball that leaves Barea as the primary point guard off the bench.
Last season Barea was in his second stint with Dallas and he was very solid, having his best season, in terms of PER, of his career (15.1.) In 77 games Barea averaged 17.7 minutes per game and averaged 7.5 points and 3.4 assists which, when extrapolated out to 36 minutes, is 15.3 points and 7 assists per game, very solid numbers. Barea is now 31 years old and still capable of being a sparkplug off the bench that scores and creates off the bounce.
While Barea is expected to take over the backup job head coach Rick Carlisle said he won't hesitate to give Felton minutes too.
"Look, Felton has been playing good ever since he's been here. The only thing that's gotten in the way was the injury last year, and we've been deep at that position. But I'm open to moving guys around. Some of our best players are smaller guys, which puts us in a real good attacking mode. So, there's an opportunity to be creative," said Carlisle.
Felton was able to play in just 29 games a season ago, his first with Dallas, and wasn't very effective in those minutes shooting just 41 percent from the field and 29 percent from three but Carlisle still likes the way he plays.
The biggest concern for the Mavericks is the center position as they lack quality there but provided they stay healthy, the depth in their backcourt should be a huge strength for Dallas heading into the season and could be the key to getting them into the playoffs again.
