The Mavericks were 1-3 this past week and fell to 14th place in the West. They lost a heartbreaker to New York (113-111), won a thriller against New Orleans (118-115), then lost an uninspiring effort against Memphis (102-96) and an ugly contest to Miami (106-102). P.J. Washington led the team in scoring over the last week with 18 points per game. Anthony Davis (calf), Kyrie Irving (knee), and Dante Exum (knee) all remained out, with Dante Exum undergoing season-ending knee surgery. Dereck Lively
only played in two of the team’s four games due to an ongoing battle with his knee and what they’re listing as foot soreness.
Grade: C
It’s hard to figure out what to make of this team. They play hard enough to keep themselves in games but when the game clock is winding down, you do not feel any confidence that they’re going to pull out a win. They have no go-to guy, although Cooper Flagg has been exceptional in crunch time. He is third among all NBA players in total clutch points (40), and 26th in clutch points per game (3.1). That Dallas plays so many clutch games (15 now) certainly helps with the total, but it is still noteworthy for an 18-year-old to be among the league’s best in one of the more indicative statistics.
This is the fifth consecutive week that Dallas has only recorded one win. At 5-14, it is time to adjust expectations and grade differently going forward. If Anthony Davis does not play Friday, it will officially be a full calendar month between appearances for him, and Kyrie Irving has not been given any update to his return timetable either. The Mavericks are bad, and that is okay. The only first-round pick they have of their own until 2031 is the next draft (2026). Cooper Flagg is supposed to be a freshman in college right now. Taking a year to learn and get reps is fine. Nico Harrison’s vision is officially dead, and Dallas should pivot to a more future-centric approach. Things are going to be ugly for a little while, and there is not much Dallas can do about that. Playing hard and providing entertaining basketball while focusing on playing the younger guys should be the goal of the final 63 games.
Straight A’s: Max Christie
Christie is earning straight A’s once again, as he continues to be Mr. Consistency. He’s given Dallas 16 points on 55% shooting during this stretch, and he easily had the best 3-point shooting mark, at 52 percent. The guy plays hard on defense, provides spacing, and makes the shots the team asks him to. There’s not much to say, as there wasn’t the last time he got A’s, other than Christie is just a winning player.
Currently Failing: Dereck Lively’s Body
Lively has now played in just 98 of the potential 193 contests (54 percent) he was eligible for in his young career. I am not going to say his career is in jeopardy because he very well could find the right formula for his body, and things may turn around. However, at this point, his ability to be a serious part of a growing team and, one day, a contender must be questioned. If you look at just this season, Lively played 50 minutes in three games, finished the third game with seemingly no issues, and was placed on the injury report following the win against Toronto. The injury was labeled a knee contusion and caused him to miss the next nine games. He came back, played 55 total minutes over four games (seven days), and has now missed the last two with what’s now called “right foot injury management.”
Lively’s game is not conducive to staying on the floor. He is high-flying, seven feet tall, and gets beaten up in the lane due to his slight frame. Plenty of players can turn their health around with the right staff and the correct game plan. But Lively’s knees and ankles are not getting sturdier. Having these issues at such a young age, and with such a big body, is a tough thing to reconcile. When he is on the floor, he is a fantastic player. But each time he gets hurt, it takes time for him to become that guy again. And until he can stay on the floor for long periods at a time, it’s hard to project him as a winning piece in the long term.
Extra Credit: Teamwork
Dallas had five guys who scored 13 or more points per game in the last four games, and seven guys who scored in double figures. With Dallas being such a top-heavy team in years past, it is an interesting switch-up not to know who the guy will be on any given night. We have had Brandon Williams moments and Klay Thompson moments and everything in between. For a team that needs to know who will be here going forward and who won’t, this play style makes it easy to see what guys have.
