Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd finally found the adjustment that could unlock D’Angelo Russell’s season. He’s moved Russell to shooting guard over the last two games, and that seems to be the change he needed to get back into rhythm after a rough start to the year.
Before Monday and Wednesday’s games, Russell was on the bench for two consecutive games. He was active and available to play, but Kidd never replaced him. He favored Ryan Nembhard and Brandon Williams, and Mavericks fans feared his run with the team had faded into obscurity due to his inconsistency, poor shot selection, lack of defense, and inability to be an effective floor general.
He was the team’s free agency signing and certainly had some good moments this season, but Coach Kidd favored a two-way rookie and a player who just signed a two-way contract last season. Both Nembhard and Williams deserve credit for their quality of play, but it must have been a big blow for Russell. He’s an NBA All-Star, and being DNP-CD for two straight games had to be humbling.
Jason Kidd Just Unblocked D’Angelo Russell’s Game With One Small Change
And then came the Jason Kidd change.
Kidd opted to play Russell as the team’s shooter alongside Nembhard and Williams rather than as the team’s sole point guard, and that change has definitely worked so far. Dallas won both games in which Kidd tested this plan, against the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, and that’s no small feat.
Denver is the No. 5 seed in the West and Miami is the No. 4 seed in the East, meaning the Mavericks have some big wins under their belt against strong teams despite missing several key players from the roster due to injuries. Nembhard’s heroics and Flagg’s excellence helped them earn those wins, but Russell was quietly effective in his limited minutes as a two-guard.
In those two games, Russell averaged 9.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 40 percent from downtown. He did all of this while playing just 33 minutes in the two games combined, and his new role in those games allowed him to immerse himself in the game rather than having to do everything himself.
Russell is known for being a trigger-happy player, especially from long range, but making him an off-ball guard and secondary playmaker rather than the primary offensive maestro makes his role very different. Rather than having to create his own shot and run the offense, he was able to play off the ball and allow others to create open looks for him.
“Being able to have DLo as another ball handler but also as another shooter, and then when you have B-Will or Ryan with him, letting those guys be able to play for him,” Kidd said when asked about Russell playing the shooter role earlier this week. “I think he’s thrived in this new role playing with the ball for us. Confidence in his ability to shoot but also his ability to make plays as well.”
Despite his struggles from three this season, he’s been a good shooter throughout his career, and the limited volume in these two games proved he can still be a threat from beyond the arc. His shooting in those two games as a shooter was one of his best two-game stretches from downtown during the season, and a lot of that is based on the fact that he can shoot open looks on the catch.
All four of his threes in the last two games have been assisted, and three of the four shots taken have not been caught. This isn’t how he usually starts from three, but it could lead to a resurgence if Kidd continues to tinker with this little tweak in his rotation.
Russell constantly not having to chase his own shot changes everything in terms of his effect on the game, and it simultaneously limits the damage he can inflict on offense when he goes for one of his occasional big turnover spells. He has a tendency at times to try to do too much when running the offense, rather than making the right play and being the captain of the unit, and making him a combo guard rather than strictly a point guard should help those solid plays continue to flow.
It’s a role he’s accustomed to in his previous stops in the NBA, and Kidd should continue to see if this change in perspective continues to benefit the 11-year veteran.
