The Dallas Mavericksdropped an ugly, grueling game to the Sacramento Kings by a score of 115-110. It was the kind of performance that makes you wonder why any of us spend any time watching sports at all. Dallas, fresh off their most emotional win of the season, laid a massive egg on their home floor and made the winless Kings look like the Harlem Globetrotters.
When such a horrific display of hoops takes place, everyone who steps on the floor is culpable. No one gets out unscathed. But Cooper Flagg,
the Mavericks’ second-year wunderkind, had the worst game of his career, setting the tone for his supporting cast to follow. Flagg shot just 3-19 from the field and turned the ball over six times. It was an awful showing, the likes of which we won’t often see this season.
Unfortunately, the Mavericks compiled a lot of numbers throughout the box score tonight. None of them were good. Nevertheless, it is the duty of the courageous Mavs Moneyball staff and this beleaguered writer to let you know about some of those numbers and why they matter. Without further ado, here are the stats that tell this story of this Kafkaesque nightmare.
+12: Kings’ advantage in 3-pointers made
Dallas shot 7-of-33 from behind the line while Sacramento went 19—of-43. In the modern NBA, you’re not going to win any games when the other team outscores you by 36 from three. With Kyrie Irving resting, the Mavericks were without their best 3-point shooter and ball handler. As a result, space to operate and good looks from three were hard to come by.
As the game went on, the Mavericks got lazier and lazier on defense, too, letting the Kings swing the ball around and get up great looks from distance. The Dallas roster is already short on good shooting, and tonight was a sum-of-all-fears performance.
7: Mavericks’ fast-break points
The Mavericks came into tonight’s game fifth in the NBA in fast-break points per game at 18.7. Dusty May is known for pushing the pace in transition as often as possible, but that didn’t happen tonight.
Dallas was stuck in halfcourt hell, and things were a slog all night. This team is going to struggle when they can’t generate easy baskets.
33: Combined points for Maverick centers
Let’s end the stats rundown on a positive note. There were strong showings from both Daniel Gafford (20 points) and Morez Johnson Jr. (13) tonight, providing unlikely offense for a floundering squad. Gafford kept the Mavericks afloat in the first half and scored 11 points in the second quarter when nothing else was working.
Johnson had a really nice game on both ends of the floor; the Mavericks rookie posted a career-high in scoring while lifting the team defensively. It was a much-needed performance from the rookie big, who has struggled with playing through shin splints. Both Gafford and Johnson have done an admirable job holding down the center spot while Dereck Lively II and Santi Aldama work their way back from surgeries.
