Ryan Nembhard has been a beam of light for this Dallas Mavericks team, as Dallas doesn’t win five out of six games in the last few weeks if it weren’t for Nembhard’s installation in the starting lineup, but Nembhard has struggled a bit over these handful of games.

Dallas’ Monday night loss versus the New Orleans Pelicans was a microcosm of Nembhard’s recent stretch, as he struggled with the Pelicans length. He finished with four points on 2-13 shooting from the field with five turnovers, and his weaknesses were magnified.

Nembhard has dominated in games where his shot has been falling from outside and the mid-range, but he tends to be relegated to a pure floor general when his shot is off, as he’s struggled to get to the rim against lengthier defenders. Nembhard is only 5-foot-11, and most teams aren’t starting anyone under 6-foot-2 or 6-foot-3, so Nembhard is going to be at a size disadvantage against nearly everyone he plays against.

Nembhard must get better against length — despite natural limitations

The Pelicans have one of the best arrays of wing defenders in the league, so while Nembhard may not struggle with entry passes and getting to the rim nearly as much against some other teams, his inability to get two feet in the paint has been evident recently. Nembhard has shown craftiness in terms of hitting wrong-footed layups and floaters over shot blockers, but he must become more efficient at these shots if he wants to become a full-time starter.

Nembhard likely won’t start for the whole season with Kyrie Irving seeming fairly likely to return to Dallas’ lineup at some point this season, so this problem definitely won’t be as much of an issue when he’s facing off against second units more often, as most teams in the league at least employ a few smaller guards off their bench.

Nembhard is already a great passer, but he’s not nearly as effective as a playmaker when he’s struggling to find driving lanes like he was against the Pelicans on Monday. Nembhard had eight assists in the game, but a season-high five turnovers obviously negates that somewhat, as he struggled to get passes over lengthier wings oftentimes.

It’s without a doubt that Nembhard still has immense potential to be a starting point guard in this league, given the flashes fans have seen from him, especially with the way he competes defensively at his size. Despite his obvious talent, getting a little bit more athletic and crafty could go a long way for him in terms of reaching his ceiling.

This isn’t to say Nembhard isn’t crafty or athletic, but players his size have to be absolutely elite in those categories to stick in the league for a long time (i.e., Ty Lawson and J.J. Barea). This isn’t an easy task considering how skilled Nembhard already has to be to be in the league at his size, but the talent and size in the NBA right now are at an all-time high. He still clearly has some work to do before fans and analysts can say he’s on trajectory to be an elite role player or even an All-Star one day.

Nembhard’s great season up to this point shouldn’t be undermined, as he’s destined to be a fixture in Dallas’ rotation for quite some time if all things go according to plan with his development, but whether he can one day take the mantle from Irving as Dallas’ full-time starting point guard is something that isn’t guaranteed quite yet.