The Dallas Mavericks are stumbling, particularly on the road where they faced the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. The Mavs could not reverse their fortunes away from home, losing 125-122. We’ll
dive a little deeper than usual for our assessments, for those of you who didn’t get to stay up to the wee hours of the morning to see how it ended.
Let’s get to the grades!
Ryan Nembhard: C-
0 PTS / 2 REB / 6 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 17 MIN
Nembhard struggled shooting and quickly found his minutes going to Brandon Williams. He had a nice assist total in limited court time, but couldn’t quite muster enough to pull his grade up.
Max Christie: A+
25 PTS / 3 REB / 5 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 29 MIN
Christie played a different style of game than we’re accustomed to seeing from him, driving, dishing and getting to the foul line as opposed to primarily taking opportunistic shots from downtown. That’s not to say he neglected the three-point line, as he was prolific from downtown as well (5-for-7), including a huge one with just over a minute remaining. Very nice effort in leading the team in scoring. Terrific all around game.
Cooper Flagg: C+
15 PTS / 6 REB / 8 AST / 3 STL / 1 BLK – 35 MIN
At the end of the first quarter, Flagg had the fewest shot attempts of any Mavs starter. Part of this was due to getting his jammed pinkie finger taped and part was simply the flow of the game, but Flagg needs more shots from the opening tip. He eventually got his attempts, but had difficulty converting (6-for-20 overall), possibly due to that finger injury. He still managed to show that even when his offense isn’t going, he’s going to contribute elsewhere, highlighted by his passing and steals.
P.J. Washington: C-
8 PTS / 5 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 2 BLK – 29 MIN
Washington did not have his usual level of impact. He didn’t play poorly, but the team defense was generally terrible and individually he didn’t quite have the influence, tangibly or intangibly, that he usually does.
Daniel Gafford: A+
17 PTS / 10 REB / 0 AST / 1 STL / 3 BLK – 26 MIN
I am firmly on the side of keeping Gafford in a Mavs uniform, and he vindicated that notion for at least tonight. Great game despite going up against Portland’s size. He was hitting shots (7-for-9), blocking shots and even diving for loose balls. When he subbed out in the second quarter, the defense was instantly non-existent. Aside from five fouls, this was arguably Gafford’s best game of the season and it was nice to see it come against some versatile bigs that Portland had on the floor. I’ll get off the trade talk, as that’s a topic for elsewhere, but not before I pose a question: what does this team look like with Dwight Powell and Mousa Cisse as the remaining centers on the roster if Gafford is moved?
Naji Marshall: B+
17 PTS / 7 REB / 4 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 29 MIN
Marshall was quietly solid. He just does work. Calm, effective shooting (7-for-12), always leaking out, and solid defense in a game where it was at a premium. I love his game and how he quietly goes about making positive contributions in a variety of ways. He missed what would have been two huge threes in the fourth quarter, but they were good shots that just didn’t fall.
Brandon Williams: A+
22 PTS / 3 REB / 4 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 30 MIN
If you’ve been reading our grades pieces, you know taking a charge automatically boosts your grade (kidding, sort of). In a game that featured little defense, Williams letting himself get annihilated on a charge, then bouncing right back up, was an inspiration. Doing it a second time with the game on the line was nothing short of fantastic. He played to his strengths with a few blow-bys that earned him some free throws, had a put-back two-handed dunk, and brought his usual energy and speed. 6-for-6 on free throws, 8-for-12 from the floor and aggressive defensive play added up to one of his best games of the year against his former team.
Klay Thompson: B+
14 PTS / 1 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 19 MIN
It didn’t start well for Thompson. He was fouled on a three-point attempt but missed the first two (despite hitting 86% for his career), missed a three the next time down, then conceded a three on the other end. That horrendous 30-seconds was a microcosm of a tough game that was later mitigated by a couple of made three-pointers in the third quarter (including a bank shot just before the buzzer) and a bit more offense in the fourth to leave him with a positive outing and a team-high plus/minus (+10).
Final Thoughts
This was not a demonstration of good defense, to say the least. The Mavs again got roasted on three-pointers (getting outscored by 15 from downtown) and generally offered little resistance aside from a handful of players late in the game. Case in point, the Blazers (coming off a back-to-back) hung 75 points on Dallas in the first half.
The game ended up being close and even entertaining, but make no mistake this is another very bad loss for Dallas. There is no reason they should have gotten run off the court for the first two-plus quarters of play. Had their been even marginally good defense from the outset, the outcome most likely would have been different.
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