The Dallas Mavericks are in the midst of a season-long road trip, looking to get a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. The Hawks had other ideas, handing the Mavs a 124-112 loss.
Let’s get to the grades!
Max Christie: C
6 PTS / 3 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 25 MIN
Christie’s shooting woes continued (2-for-6), but the bigger knock on his grade is that he camps out (almost) exclusively at the three-point line when he doesn’t need to. His best stretch of the season came when he was driving and scoring at three levels. Maybe he’s trying to shoot his way
out of a slump or maybe he’s quietly improving the Mavs’ draft odds, but it hasn’t been good of late.
Naji Marshall: B
14 PTS / 2 REB / 4 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 30 MIN
While not his best game, his overall numbers were probably somewhat impacted by Jason Kidd’s distribution of minutes. Regardless, Marshall scored efficiently in all aspects of the game, but he turned it over (3) and fouled (3) too frequently.
Cooper Flagg: B+
14 PTS / 12 REB / 5 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 32 MIN
Flagg is surely still recovering from his foot sprain. His shot isn’t quite right and his production overall is way down. Credit to Atlanta’s defense against him as well, as they often sent double-teams his way. He never quit, finding other ways to contribute, but it was a largely forgettable game for Flagg. The silver lining to a game like this is how a 19-year old rookie persists in doing little things such as driving and collecting fouls when his shot isn’t falling.
P.J. Washington: C
7 PTS / 5 REB / 0 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 29 MIN
Washington is a bit of a conundrum lately. He certainly hasn’t forgotten how to play, yet looks to not yet be himself. Tonight his shot wasn’t falling and he wasn’t able to do a whole lot else. Worse still, he held the worst plus/minus for the bulk of the game, demonstrating that his personal struggles indeed hurt the team overall.
Daniel Gafford: A-
14 PTS / 10 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 25 MIN
Gafford continues to give credence to the thought his long stretch of mediocre games was perhaps in part due to recovering from injury. Whatever the case, Gafford got back to some high-flying and dunking for the second game in a row, shooting well and even rebounding better than he has recently. Simply put – he looks better than he has in a while. His foul total was high, but over-aggression after being forced into passivity for so long is a fine exchange under the circumstances.
Marvin Bagley: B+
7 PTS / 6 REB / 6 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 21 MIN
Bagley continues to do a variety of things, with the highlight of Tuesday night being his assist total. The Mavs’ backup forward/center led the team in that category. His shot was suspect (3-for-7) but he chipped in everywhere, including a bit from beyond the arc. Solid outing for Bagley as an overall positive force for Dallas.
Klay Thompson: A-
21 PTS / 1 REB / 1 AST / 2 STL / 0 BLK – 28 MIN
Thompson was having a somewhat quiet night before a 10-point third quarter burst. He didn’t contribute much in other facets of the game, but as a primary shooter, he did his job just fine (8-for-16 including 5-for-11 from deep). He and Middleton were the cogs of a huge comeback that ultimately fell short.
Khris Middleton: A-
16 PTS / 1 REB / 2 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 24 MIN
Middleton often looks like he’s playing a slightly different game than his teammates. That is to say, you can see his brand of “veteran” in the little things – the way he works a possession, willingness to take a shot when the team is starved for a bucket and an overall calm that often steadies the team when they’re trying to make a run. Middleton shot well (5-for-8) and did a lot of little things
Final Thoughts
Dallas has been consistent for the last 20 games or so. They give up huge first quarter point totals regardless of the opponent, then spend the rest of the game putting on an entertaining show as they draw closer and closer. Jason Kidd’s spread of minutes is impressive – he’s not burning anyone out while doing just enough to collect losses. Whether it’s his intention or not, anyone supportive of tanking is probably enjoying this as much as anyone can enjoy a string of losses.
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