Mavs' ongoing starting lineup battle has a clear winner, and it's not who you think

On Wednesday night at American Airlines Center, the Dallas Mavericks took a 12-9 lead versus the Chicago Bulls at the 7:45 minute mark in the first quarter and never looked back after that, as Dallas led the rest of the way en route to a decisive 119-99 victory. Perhaps the most intriguing development from this contest was the fluidity with which Dallas' offense operated in the first half, particularly in the first quarter.

Dallas has struggled to get off to solid starts recently, which in part has been due to Klay Thompson's lack of involvement in the offense during the first quarters. Luka Doncic occasionally using the first quarter to try and find his shot when it isn't going in also has contributed to this issue, as it subsequently disrupts Dallas' ball movement to a certain extent.

However, this was not the case tonight, as Doncic deferred to Kyrie Irving in the first quarter since Irving was noticeably hot from the jump, leading to 15 first-quarter points for Irving. Thompson also got going early, and this put the Mavericks in the driver's seat for the rest of the game.

Daniel Gafford has case to be Mavs' starting center for foreseeable future

That wasn't the only factor in Dallas winning this contest though, as Daniel Gafford played excellent in this contest after having a rough go at defending Myles Turner in Dallas' previous contest against the Indiana Pacers. Gafford finished with 17 points on 7-9 shooting from the field, and had seven rebounds and three blocks as well, as Gafford's performance tonight was emblematic of the reason head coach Jason Kidd has elected to start him in all eight games so far this season.

In those eight games so far this season, Gafford has averaged 11 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting a highly efficient 67.9 percent from the field. Gafford has rebounded well while also displaying his elite touch around the rim all season long, and his quickness from a vertical perspective when protecting the rim is unrivaled by most NBA centers.

20-year-old center Dereck Lively II recently missed his second game in a row due to a right shoulder sprain, and while fans predicted and begged for Lively II to start on opening night, the culmination of Gafford's consistency and Lively II's recent injury is further signaling that Lively II's window to start this season could be coming to a close.

It's obviously extremely early in the season and things could change on a dime, but Gafford's physicality and toughness that he brings to Dallas' starting unit can't be denied, which are both areas that Lively II has a little room to grow in.

Gafford has been playing extremely well with Dallas' starting unit, so even when Lively II comes back from this shoulder sprain, it would be surprising to see Kidd tinker with that starting lineup, as there's no reason to disrupt something that is working well based on Dallas' solid 5-3 start to the season.

It must be stressed that Lively II and Gafford are somewhat interchangeable with their skill sets, even if Gafford is slightly more stout as a post defender whereas Lively II can guard better than Gafford on the perimeter with his length.

This isn't to say Lively II isn't physical or isn't a starting-caliber center at all, as even when he's coming off the bench there's a strong chance that he could surpass Gafford in minutes or close the game for Dallas depending on how things are trending.

It's still early as aforementioned, but it would be a bold move by Kidd to throw Lively II in the starting lineup when he's healthy again, even though he's practically matched Gafford's production this season when he's played.

Overall, the dilemma of who should start for Dallas when both of their dynamic bigs are healthy is a dilemma that is exacerbated. The Mavericks have 48 minutes of high-level rim running and rim protection with Gafford and Lively II in the lineup, and Lively II isn't in an intense minutes battle with Gafford, as Lively II is still getting plenty of minutes and is destined to be Dallas' starting center for years to come.