The Dallas Mavericks were on the first night of a back-to-back, facing the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday. Dallas was unable to stop the streaking Pelicans, losing 119-113.
Let’s get to the grades!
Ryan Nembhard: D
4 PTS / 4 REB / 8 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 25 MIN
Best we forget about this one and move on. Nembhard had a solid assist total, but it was countered by too many turnovers (five) and his shooting was shockingly bad (2-for-13).
Naji Marshall: A-
15 PTS / 5 REB / 6 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 29 MIN
Marshall had a real nice game behind some hot shooting again (7-for-10). His point total wasn’t especially high, but he made the most
of his touches, including a nice three with the shot clock winding down. He took care of the ball in a well-rounded, if not quite stellar game.
Cooper Flagg: B
16 PTS / 6 REB / 6 AST / 1 STL / 1 BLK – 35 MIN
Flagg had a solid night, chipping in just about everywhere, but he didn’t convert at an especially high clip (5-for-11), and there was some reminder he is only a 19-year-old, as some of the bigger, more seasoned NBA bodies got the better of him. By hook or by crook, he should have gotten more touches.
P.J. Washington: C
8 PTS / 8 REB / 0 AST / 1 STL / 2 BLK – 28 MIN
Washington was not his usual self in this one. Outside of the long ball (2-for-3), he shot poorly overall (3-for-7), contributed little and turned it over frequently (three). Some intangibles saved his grade a bit, but this was not his usual type of outing.
Anthony Davis: A
35 PTS / 17 REB / 2 AST / 1 STL / 1 BLK – 35 MIN
Davis clearly enjoys playing against his former team, as he historically performs well against the Pelicans. Tonight was no different. Davis was a monster, putting up gaudy point and rebound totals on hot shooting (16-for-28). His defensive effort was higher than we’ve seen as well, but his turnover total (four) keeps him from top marks.
Klay Thompson: B+
20 PTS / 5 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 31 MIN
I often find Thompson tricky to grade. In the first half, he was a sure-fire A+, but he did come back down to earth in the second half where he contributed virtually nothing. Still, his outpouring of points and his hot three-point shooting (5-for-12) were about as ideal as you could expect from him in a given game, even if they did come early.
Brandon Williams: C
4 PTS / 3 REB / 2 AST / 2 STL / 0 BLK – 15 MIN
Credit to Williams for getting himself back on the court after an odd leg injury. I’ll even go as far as to give the benefit of the doubt that the injury may have affected his shooting (2-for-8). Overall, he had a few nice drives to the hole, but couldn’t quite make the necessary impact while Nembhard struggled.
Final Thoughts
The Mavericks seemingly could not hit a free throw (11-for-21), and their lack of accuracy from the charity stripe kept the game much closer than it needed to be for long stretches. The Pelicans continued to chip away to the point they took a fourth quarter lead, and the poor free throw shooting and a few too many misses at the bucket were a big part of why, as were too many turnovers. These are often the little things that separate winning teams from losing teams.
Too often of late, Dallas has found ways to lose very winnable games. If you’re a fan of entertaining games that still support a potentially higher draft pick this summer, you’re happy. If you’re looking for wins, the Mavs are about as maddening as can be recently.
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