The injury-plagued Dallas Mavericks have gone small over the last two games, and P.J. Washington has gotten out of his recent funk as a result.
DALLAS - P.J. Washington has had his fair share of rough patches throughout this 2025-26 season on the Dallas Mavericks, but with the team near the bottom of the league rankings, who hasn't?
As Dallas remains close to a postseason elimination and a high lottery pick, head coach Jason Kidd made a notable change to the starting lineup this week. With an injury-plagued roster often leaving the Mavs slim on the inside, Kidd elected to roll with a small ball lineup, putting Washington at the center spot.
The result? The Frisco native has turned in two of his more impressive games of the season in back-to-back starts at the five.
Washington, standing at 6-7, turned in 20 points, 11 rebounds, a block and five steals in a shocking win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are led on the inside by 7-foot two-way threat Evan Mobley.
It was a historic stat line for Washington at his new position. He became only the second Maverick ever to record those numbers in a single game, joining Mark Aguirre and Ron Tarpley.
"I think I’m a mismatch," Washington said to the media afterwards. "I can create for others, I can pass, I can set screens and pop. It’s not really what happens every day in the NBA — it’s a lot of rolling centers...
"Me at the five popping opened up a lot of space on the floor for us to get some closeouts and ball reversals to get some good shots. I think it was good for us."
He followed up that performance with another solid night of scoring, this time with 18 points with four made 3-pointers in a loss at the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday. That ability to space the floor was crucial, and Washington found his stroke early, knocking down three of his four shots from deep in the first quarter as the defense struggled adjusting.
With the new-look lineup now making an impression with others on the team, Dallas finally returns home from a season-long road stretch to play the red-hot Atlanta Hawks, who have won 10 straight entering Wednesday night.
Naji Marshall and Cooper Flagg spoke volumes of Washington and what he presents to the team as a small-ball center.
"The smaller and quicker lineup,” Marshall said. "Play faster. That’s really about it.
"Switch one through five. More physical, a little bit bigger when far. Rebounding and just getting out, playing fast."
"P.J. is such a versatile guy," Flagg said. He’s willing to do whatever it takes out there and he’s so strong. It helped us with our coverages and just flying around the court and speeding up on both sides of the ball. I thought that was huge...”
Kidd made the switch after Cleveland had blown out Dallas the game prior to the Mavs' revenge. There's now an opportunity to see how well the lineup continues to play throughout the rest of the season as Dereck Lively II rehabs his foot injury into the offseason.
"Playing P.J. at the small five and being able to stretch — having him in the corner or above the break — trying to get Mobley away from the basket, because he’s a great defender," Kidd said. "Understanding that small-ball lineup was really good, and hopefully we can build on this."
