The Dallas Mavericks were sporting their beautiful Hardwood Classic green jerseys when they welcomed the Milwaukee Bucks to the American Airlines Center Monday night. Languishing as the 14 Seed in the West, Dallas was looking to improve on their 3-7 record but could not get the job done as they fell 116-114.
Let’s get to the grades!
Brandon Williams: B+
19 PTS / 6 REB / 3 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK — 33 MIN
Despite struggling with his shot, Williams got the ball going north and south and was aggressive driving to the hole, opening up shots for his teammates in a step in the right
direction for a team that had virtually zero shot creation and offensive creativity to this point in the season. The bulk of his scoring damage came from excellent free throw shooting on a high volume. His stat line warrants a lower grade, but his intangibles give him a lift (leaping out of bounds to save a possession, skying for a rebound over a taller defender, pump-faking a three to instead drive for a layup to stop an 8-0 run).
Max Christie: B+
13 PTS / 5 REB / 3 AST / 0 STL / 3 BLK – 30 MIN
Christie’s stats may not blow you away, but he had some close to awesome moments. He stroked a huge three late in the fourth quarter, then came down and blocked a shot on the other end en route to three blocks on the night. Overall, he looked confident making sound plays and hitting important shots. It’s going to be hard to keep him out of the starting lineup if he can bring a balanced effort like this in solid 3 and D performance.
Cooper Flagg: A+
26 PTS / 9 REB / 4 AST / 2 STL / 1 BLK – 35 MIN
Flagg looked very comfortable despite matching up against big veteran opponents. He was the best shooter for Dallas and did a little bit of everything. Best of all, he was intelligent in his reads and played with great control. As should be the case, he found his number called in crunch time and calmly nailed a couple of free throws that he earned on a savvy drive. He then gave Dallas the lead by fearlessly driving into the teeth of the defense with under 30 seconds remaining in the game. The career high in scoring will get him the benefit of the doubt for top marks as a bit of a “feel good” after a disappointing loss.
P.J. Washington: C+
16 PTS / 7 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 1 BLK – 22 MIN
Washington looked awesome at moments, but was limited due to foul trouble which gave his overall game something of a lopsided look. Holding steady at four fouls in the fourth quarter, he was able to get a little more burn and made most of it with some sharp fast break drives, one of which gave the Mavs their largest lead to that point. He had a great block off a bone-headed turnover committed by D’Angelo Russell and did a good amount in limited minutes, but his shooting was an unimpressive 4-for-11 with only 1-for-7 from three, and he couldn’t hit a trifecta of free throws that would have tied the game with 1.2 seconds remaining.
Daniel Gafford: C-
7 PTS / 8 REB / 3 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 23 MIN
Gafford had decent point and rebound totals as the primary center going up against big opponents, but better we forget about most of this game. He was largely bulled by Giannis Antetokounmpo, which isn’t all that surprising when the league leading scorer comes to town. That said, having zero blocks and getting pushed around a bit too much for a guy of his size and athleticism, while looking hesitant to go up for shots and missing way more than he reasonably should, drove his grade toward the basement.
D’Angelo Russell: B-
7 PTS / 3 REB / 3 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 16 MIN
Russell is difficult to grade in this game, as his poor shooting continued (2-for-6) but he actually contributed decent numbers in very limited time. Overall, his contributions felt somewhat empty, but credit to him for being ready despite coming off the bench and receiving spotty minutes.
Klay Thompson: C-
6 PTS / 2 REB / 3 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 17 MIN
Thompson looked for a moment as though he was going to break out, but it was not to be. He took seven shots, all from beyond the arc, and only hit two of them. Aside from a couple of nice passes, his game was largely forgettable.
Moussa Cisse: B+
7 PTS / 4 REB / 0 AST / 0 STL / 2 BLK – 20 MIN
Cisse brought energy and athleticism and kept Dwight Powell of the floor. That’s not meant as a slap to Powell, but against a team rolling out Bobby Portis and Antetokounmpo, having some athletic size was the call to order and Cisse made the most of his time. He put up a solid performance, hitting 2-for-3 from the floor while turning back two shots and having zero turnovers in his own right.
Final Thoughts
Dallas actually looked like they came to play instead of sleeping through the first half as they had far too often in prior games. Their shots were not falling during the first 24 minutes, as they converted only 42% (on 45 shots) and an abysmal 4-for-19 from three, but they managed to take a lead into half time. It has been a somewhat rare occurrence for the Mavs to give up less than 60 points in the first half, but they managed to do exactly that, holding the Bucks to 53. The relatively low points allowed was due in no small part to holding the league-leader in scoring, Giannis Antetokounmpo, to only nine first half points. The Mavs were moving the ball better, driving to the hole (thanks in large part to Brandon Williams) and appeared much more alert on defense.
Dallas had a great third quarter, extending their lead to as many as 13 and looked poised to bring it home, but a 29-10 Milwaukee run through early in the fourth quarter put the Mavs behind. Dallas once again neglected three-point defense, but at least had a rationale behind it, as they instead double-teamed Antetokounmpo. Still, it bit them in the fourth quarter as Milwaukee hit 5-for-6 from beyond the arc at one point. This also stymied Dallas’ fast-break attack. Down the stretch, Dallas looked like they actually had a chance in a close game, but came up short as P.J. Washington wasn’t able to convert on three free throws that would have tied it up with a second remaining.
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