Mavericks Playoff Push: Replacing Lamar Odom

Lamar Odom is gone. It seems as if all of Dallas was counting down the days until Mark Cuban would come to his senses and release this “cancer” from the Mavericks. Make no mistake Mavs fans – not having Odom will be tough. He may have been unproductive, but he was a constant threat and fit in perfect at the 4 spot in Rick Carlisle’s system. But let’s be honest, Odom didn’t want to be here and had no problems showing it on and off the court. He had to go, and it’s time for the Dallas Mavericks to move on and focus on making the playoffs.

Good thing the Mavs have one of the deepest benches in the league.  In last night’s 110-100 win over the Kings, the Mavericks had one of their most balanced scoring games of the season. Everyone on the team seemed to get involved. Yeah, yeah, I know what you are thinking –so what? It’s just Sacramento. While I agree the competition really doesn’t tell us much about how these Mavs will be post-Odom, one player stood out to me: Yi Jianlian.

Yi had 8 points in a little over 8 minutes Tuesday night, going 4 of 5 from the field. Yi will most likely be the new backup for Dirk Nowitzki; last night was his tryout. He has the ability to space the floor just like Dirk, which fits well in Coach Carlisle’s system. Don’t forget Yi once averaged 12 points a game and 7.2 rebounds when he was with the New Jersey Nets a couple of years ago. He definitely has the ability; all he needs is the minutes. With his performance against the Kings, he will definitely get another chance to prove himself against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.

While Carlisle prefers a shooting player at the 4 spot, he knows he has a strong true Power Forward in Brandan Wright. His jump shot may be a little suspect, but this guy plays above the rim. At just 210 pounds, Wright is undersized at the 5 where he usually plays. His true position is a Power Forward, and Wright has made a strong enough case this season for Carlisle to change his system while he is on the floor. A lineup with Wright at the 4 and Ian Mahinmi at the 5 would give the Mavericks a very athletic frontcourt at both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. Rebounding is a big issue for this Mavericks team, and a lineup with those two or even Haywood at the 5 would rectify many of those problems.

Carlisle doesn’t necessarily have to go big at the 4. Shawn Marion is more than capable of playing Power Forward, offensively and defensively. A strong candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, Marion has guarded the 1, 2, 3, and 4 position effectively all year. He is one of the most versatile players in the league. When given the opportunity, Marion has also shown some range this season, shooting a little over 30% behind the arc. Obviously any lineup with Marion at the 4 would be undersized, so the Mavs would most likely want Haywood at the 5 if they were to do this. Pushing Carter to the 3 in those situations would create a lot of offense –we’ll just have to see how much they will sacrifice defensively for it.