The Dallas Mavericks returned from a long layoff to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on the first night of a back-to-back. Without Cooper Flagg (ankle injury management) and Klay Thompson (left knee soreness),
the Mavs lost 118-105.
Let’s get to the grades!
Max Christie: C-
9 PTS / 4 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 31 MIN
Oof! The layoff was not kind to Christie. He could not find the range and did his offensive damage almost exclusively from the free throw line. Some intangibles kept him out of the basement, but this was definitely one of Christie’s worst games in recent memory.
Caleb Martin: C+
4 PTS / 8 REB / 5 AST / 2 STL / 0 BLK – 32 MIN
Martin struggled with his shot, which was definitely a theme for the Mavericks Wednesday night. He continues to have sticky fingers and chipped in little bits everywhere. He had memorable play in the third quarter when the ball went backcourt. Rather than grab it and take the violation, he let Donte DiVincenzo collect it and opted to play defense, ultimately forcing an air ball and grabbing the miss.
Naji Marshall: B+
18 PTS / 6 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 32 MIN
Marshall was the star for Dallas as the only starter that was hitting shots consistently throughout the game. He rebounded well and knocked down his free throws, though he fouled a bit more than was ideal. This would have been a much uglier game without Marshall’s performance. He was the solitary Maverick with a positive plus/minus (1).
P.J. Washington: B+
21 PTS / 7 REB / 2 AST / 0 STL / 2 BLK – 33 MIN
Washington is clearly still working himself back into the groove, but seemed to improve in real time. He was trending for a much lower grade early on, but came alive to hit 50% of his 20 shot attempts. He may not quite be back to his usual self just yet, but hopefully the latter part of this game propels him there.
Daniel Gafford: B-
14 PTS / 6 REB / 0 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 21 MIN
Gafford had a solid game, but there were a few plays where he got pushed around a bit, or just couldn’t quite find his spot. He got himself to the line and converted his attempts efficiently (4-of-5 from the stripe), but did foul a bit much and had two of turnovers.
Dwight Powell: C+
5 PTS / 9 REB / 4 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 26 MIN
Powell put up a good enough line coming off the bench, but led the team with four fouls and got on the turnover bandwagon with two of his own. His four assists were nice from the backup center position.
Brandon Williams: B-
17 PTS / 5 REB / 3 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 24 MIN
Williams scored, but he wasn’t especially efficient and he had more turnovers than assists until the fourth quarter. Decent game relative to a sub-par outing for the Mavs in general, with credit for getting to the line a bunch, even if the end result was converting 8-of-12.
Final Thoughts
The Mavs were out of sorts, which should come as no surprise given how many key players were sitting. 17 turnovers was a big part of their undoing in a game that generally brought little excitement. While not quite a slog, it was far from memorable either.
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