Recently, ESPN reporter Tim MacMahon talked about the Mavericks' arrangement for Flagg to play point guard.

MacMahon: Flagg tried his hand at point guard for the first time in his career, which may pay off in the long run. But so far, this attempt has not been successful. The Mavericks' offensive efficiency ranks last in the league, scoring only 103.8 points per 100 possessions. In a 1-3 start, they scored less than 95 points twice.

Kidd was wary of Russell, giving undrafted rookie Ryan Nembhard more playing time than the veteran in the first two games before moving Russell to the sixth man role. Russell's shooting percentage is low (29.3%), but Irving is still recovering from knee surgery in March, and Russell's playmaking ability is crucial to the team. Russell's assist-to-turnover ratio was 22:5, and in the 83 minutes he played, the Mavericks had a plus-minus of -31. When Russell was not on the court, the Mavericks lost a net loss of 71 points.