Mavs 2013-14 Point Guard Outlook

A big reason the Mavericks missed the postseason in 2012-13 for the first time in 13 years besides the injury of Dirk Nowitzki, was the team's struggle at the point guard position. After failing to re-sign Jason Kidd, the Mavs made a trade with Indiana for Darren Collison, who was in the final year of his contract. Collison, has fallen out of favor in Indiana, and had lost his starting to job to George Hill. The Mavs hoped Collison to return to the promising form he show as a rookie in New Orleans when he filled in for a injured Chris Paul.
Needless to say the experiment did not go as planned as Collison struggled, especially in the half court. He struggled to initiate the offense and get to ball to Dirk in his favorite spots. Rick Carlisle became so frustrated with Collison that he took away his starting spot by giving it away to likes of journeymen like Derek Fisher and Mike James. Collison departed in free agency to the Clippers where he will again backup Paul.

Clearly this off-season Dallas saw that improvement at the point would be necessary. And improve they did. Jose Calderon was signed to a four year deal to be the starter. Calderon, who was traded by Toronto to Detroit at last year's trade deadline is one of the best points guards on the offensive end in the game. His combination of elite-level shooting and a exceptional assist to turnover ratio give the Mavs the play they so lacked at the position last year. Calderon should be a good fit on the team as he will compliment both Dirk and new shooting guard Monta Ellis.
For the backup role Dallas brought back a familiar face as Devin Harris was signed to a one year deal, after initially failing his physical on a more lucrative three year deal because of an injured toe. That injury will keep Harris out of the lineup to start the season, but when he returns he should give the team a spark off the bench at both guard spots with his great quickness and instant offense capabilities.
Two rookie point guards were brought in as well to help with the position hopefully for years to come. Gal Mekel was signed out of Israel to a 3 year deal and the team drafted ACC Player of the Year Shane Larkin with the 18th overall pick. Mekel, who should back up Calderon to start the season has shown flashes of his potential in both summer league action and the preseason. He seems to have a good feel for the game and seems like he can be a good backup in the league, especially if
he can improve his outside shooting. As for Larkin a broken ankle suffered right before summer league has kept him out of action and will put him behind when he does come back. The good news is the injury happened over the summer and he should be healthy hopefully pretty soon. At Miami showed the ability to really play well in the pick and roll, which would seem to be a good fit for the Mavs.
Also we could see Monta Ellis see time at the point early in the season as Harris and Larkin recover from their injuries. Although he is more of a natural scorer, Ellis is an underrated passer as he has shown this preseason.
and should be able to handle the role effectively when needed.
Although none of the Mavs new point guards with the exception of Harris are noted much for their work on the defensive end, the hope is that they will be able to be a good enough defenders team-wise in the Mavs defensive schemes.
All in all the Mavs did would they desperately needed to do this off-season to dramatically improve the play at the point guard position. The offense should run much more smoothly this year, and help not only Dirk but everybody on the roster step up their game.