A change in the starting lineup made all the difference in the world Wednesday night when the Dallas Mavericks hammered the New Orleans Pelicans, 139-107.
During Monday’s embarrassing 114-96 loss at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Mavs started Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis, Dorian Finney-Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Moses Brown.
On Wednesday, the starting five included Reggie Bullock, Dwight Powell, Doncic, Porzingis and Finney-Smith. The key is that Hardaway had been struggling mightily, and so has Bullock, so something had to give.
Thus, coach Jason Kidd decided to shake things up and roll the dice with a move that he believed would help both Hardaway and Bullock.