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Rodrigue Beaubois is one of those players who has yet to reach his full potential, and he may never get there. He has all the skill in the world, but has yet to put it all together and gain condfidence and playing time from head coach Rick Carlisle. It’s not all his fault though. With guys like Vince Carter, Jason Terry, Jason Kidd and Delonte West in front of you on the depth chart, it’s kind of hard to find any playing time. Last year he did play just over 20 minutes a game, but in my opinion he needs to be given more. You can’t find out what this kid can do until you give him top minutes and play him against the best players in the world in the most crucial of moments.
With the Dallas Mavericks bringing in newcomers O.J Mayo and Darren Collison it may be even harder to find him playing time. I have a solution for all of this. Vince Carter is far from the player he used to be. And like most shooting guards before him, maybe it’s that time in his career to move to the small forward position and back up Shawn Marion. If the Mavericks did this, they could use Rodrigue as a combo guard, similar to what they did with Jason Terry. Bring him in off the bench when Mayo or Collison need a breather.
Don’t forget about Dahntay Jones. The Mavericks also brought him in this offseason. Rick Carlisle and the Mavericks love to play top notch defenders at the shooting guard spot. Don’t be surprised if he takes some of Rodrigue’s playing time away from him as well.
Beaubois is a great athlete with great skills. He’s a high flyer, solid passer, above average defender and is a decent shooter. Rodrigue should be a lot better than he is. He’s put up decent numbers and is very skilled, but everyone expects more out of him. I think he feels the same as well. If the Mavericks give this kid a legitimate shot next year to get top notch minutes he better take full advantage of it. If he starts living up to the hype the sky is the limit for him. If he continues to be average and lose more playing time he will be out the door and heading to a new city.
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