The Dallas Mavericks continued their season-long road trip, taking on the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night. The Mavericks dropped in the standings (or rose in the “draft standings,” depending on your perspective) by way of a Pelicans win on Wednesday night. With the Grizzlies entering Thursday’s action with two more wins than Dallas and one more win than New Orleans, these games carry importance relative to how things may shake out in respect of draft odds, following Dallas’ 120-112 victory.
Let’s
get to the grades!
Naji Marshall: C-
5 PTS / 6 REB / 3 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 23 MIN
It can be puzzling to see Marshall struggle when he so often hits 50-plus percent from the floor. This was not that game. He was 2-for-7 and had a mind-blowing six turnovers. Maybe his worst game of the season.
Max Christie: C-
13 PTS / 0 REB / 0 AST / 2 STL / 1 BLK – 25 MIN
Christie was 5-for-12 from the floor, including another corner three-pointer that hit the side of the backboard. Overall, there were aspects that were better, but his five turnovers would be utterly shocking had he not been outdone by Marshall.
Cooper Flagg: C+
13 PTS / 5 REB / 7 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 33 MIN
Flagg is either hitting the rookie wall (it doesn’t really seem like it) or still nursing his injured foot. He’s struggling with his shot (6-for-16) and picked up three fouls before you could say his name. Nonetheless, he did what he has done even in his less than ideal games – contributed in almost every aspect of the game.
P.J. Washington: B+
12 PTS / 10 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 28 MIN
A double-double with a sprinkle of defense was nice to see from Washington, who has been struggling recently. It wasn’t his most efficient shooting night (5-for-12; 0-for-3 from downtown) but it was a solid well-rounded game compared to most of his games lately.
Daniel Gafford: A
22 PTS / 14 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 27 MIN
After a long season, it appears Gafford is back to being the player Mavs’ fans enjoyed watching when the team was competing for a championship. He was 9-for-12 and basically went beast-mode all night, doing his double-double damage in less than 30 minutes of action.
Brandon Williams: B+
10 PTS / 8 REB / 6 AST / 2 STL / 2 BLK – 28 MIN
Williams hit 4-for-8 from the floor despite going 0-for-3 from deep. He had three fouls and two turnovers, but played very good defense as shown in his stocks and rebounds. Solid game breaking down the defense and doing some damage.
Khris Middleton: A+
35 PTS / 3 REB / 0 AST / 2 STL / 0 BLK – 25 MIN
Middleton single-handedly took over the game after the Grizzlies rallied back to tie things up. He had the highest-scoring quarter (in the final frame) of any Maverick this season, which was also the highest scoring quarter of his career. This was also his first 30-point game in nearly three years. He was a scorching hot 10-for-17 with an even more impressive 8-for-10 from deep. He had zero turnovers and zero fouls, hit all seven of his free throws and even had two steals. Oh, he did all of that in 25 minutes of play. This was just plain epic.
Final Thoughts
For the first time in a long, long while, the Mavs whooped an opponent for most of the game, ultimately getting the win. Granted that opponent is not especially good and was only able to roll out eight players, but the Mavs were starved for a win and finally got one. Although it hurts them in terms of the tank-a-thon, the road ahead remains rough and breaking the skid has to be good for morale as the season winds down.
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