John Poulakidas Is Getting 12 More Minutes a Night
The Mavericks guard's playing time has jumped with a teammate out, and his production has jumped with it.
John Poulakidas is playing 12 more minutes a night for the Mavericks. Over his last three games, through April 12, 2026, he averaged 31.6 minutes. For the 2025-26 season he has averaged 19.5 minutes across 13 games. The increase lines up with a teammate being out.
The extra time has come with more scoring. Poulakidas averaged 21 points a game over that three-game stretch. His season average is 8.8 points. The gap between the two numbers is large enough to matter.
Whether this holds depends on the teammate who is out. If that player stays out, Poulakidas keeps the extra minutes and likely keeps scoring closer to 21 points than to 8.8. If that player returns, his minutes should move back toward his season average of 19.5, and his scoring toward 8.8.
Thirteen games and three games are both short stretches. The season totals still describe who Poulakidas has been for most of 2025-26. The last three games describe what he can do with a bigger role. Which one describes him going forward comes down to one teammate's health, not anything Poulakidas has changed.