The Dallas Mavericks tipped off a four-game preseason slate on Friday against the Houston Rockets, losing 135-117 at the Venetian Arena in Macao, China.
Dallas’ goal in the preseason opener was clearly to get a good look at all the new players on the roster, to see how the rookies mix in and to see what pieces fit where. Both Morez Johnson Jr. and, inexplicably, Daniel Gafford hit 3-pointers in the first quarter for the Mavericks, but the Rockets led 27-19 after one as Yao Ming looked on from his
courtside seats.
Cooper Flagg stood alone in the second for the Mavs, as the rest of the team looked stuck in the mud on the offensive end. The Rockets built a lead as large as 23 before taking a 65-45 lead into the halftime break. The Mavs pulled to within on 27-23 on an alley-oop dunk by Flagg early in the second before the Rockets outscored Dallas 38-22 for the rest of the half. Tari Eason hit a 3-pointer from the right wing as time expired to end a Mavs mini-run late in the quarter and give the Rockets 20-point edge at the break.
The Mavs cut into the lead early in the third before the Rockets built it back to 20-plus late in the third and early in the fourth, behind a game-high 20 points from Tari Eason and 17 more from Fed VanVleet. Flagg led Dallas with 19 points in the loss, and Naji Marshall added 16.
Flagg pours it on
From tipoff, Cooper Flagg was getting after it on the defensive end. Though he was credited with just one steal in the first quarter, he forced the Rockets into three of their first five turnovers. He scored just one bucket in the first quarter, an uncontested drive and dunk as both teams were dipping their feet into the preseason water.
Flagg made a couple of highlight plays early in the second, blocking Amen Thompson’s driving layup attempt on one end before receiving an alley-oop to finish off the break on the other as he scored Dallas’ first four points of the frame. He picked up his third foul of the game with 9:22 left in the second quarter, but head coach Dusty May left him in for a few minutes because, hey, it’s the first preseason game of the year. Flagg rewarded May by hitting his first 3-ball of the game the next time down, drawing Dallas to within 34-26 with 8:45 left in the half.
All signs to Flagg easing his way into a transcendent second year. He looked free to roam a little and disrupt things on the defensive end, which was good to see. That’s how he can be an elite defensive disruptor.
Flagg scored 17 easy points in the second. He got exactly where he wanted, mainly the nail, but he also excelled on the fast break. This kid is already, say nothing of what he’s going to be, amazing to watch. His comparative readiness to go and the ease with which he adapted to in-game circumstances in the first preseason game stood in stark contrast to the rest of this roster.
If this game is indicative of what kind of leap Flagg could take in his second NBA season, we could already be looking at a top-15 NBA player. His strength and confidence with the ball was the most obvious point of growth on Friday. The scoring and defense were always going to be there.
Flagg sat out the second half after scoring 19 points and grabbing six boards on 7-of-14 shooting in 19 first-half minutes.
Get a look at Risacher
Zaccharie Risacher started the first preseason game for the Mavericks, and take a mental snapshot of that. If his effort was indicative of what he’ll bring to Dallas this season, Risacher won’t sniff the starting lineup in any meaningful games any time soon.
He was timid — soft at times. His first 3-pointer barely grazed the rim, and he missed all three of his shot attempts in the first quarter, when he and Flagg got a little more run than the rest of the starting five. It seemed like first-year head coach Dusty May really wanted to get a look at the player Dallas traded Ryan Nembhard for this offseason — only to find out that there’s a reason that all it took to acquire Risacher was an end-of-the-bench undrafted rookie like Nembhard.
Much has been made of how much good a change of scenery could do the former No. 1 overall draft pick and how he’s apparently now 6’10”, but until he starts doing anything at all on a real live basketball court, expectations should be tempered. He scored his first bucket of the game on a broken play inside late in the second quarter and finished the game with nine points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes.
Risacher looked a little more comfortable in the second half. He curled around a screen and pulled up for his first 3-pointer of the preseason with 7:50 left in the third as the Mavs worked their way out of the 20-point first-half hole. Then, he started a fast break the next time down that ended in Max Christie’s driving jam, which made it a 72-61 game.
Risacher finished a tough baseline drive through Eason’s defense with 5:08 left in the third before bricking an awkward-looking 3-point attempt from the top of the key two possessions later. Then, he put his head down and got to the basket again for a finger roll to give him seven points in the quarter.
Irving held out Friday, will play Sunday
May announced before the game that Kyrie Irving would rest for the first game of preseason play on Friday, likely to make his debut on Sunday, when Dallas plays even earlier in the morning than Friday’s 7 a.m. tip.
“The leverage he provides the other guys, I think that’s one area we can make a big improvement offensively,” May said in his pregame comments. “Simply having a floor general like him on the court with the young group I think will open up a number of things.”
At times, it felt like that center of gravity was exactly what was missing for the Mavericks in Friday’s preseason opener against the Rockets. It felt like if you added Irving to the mix in a lot of scenarios that went wrong for Dallas on Friday, things could have gone the other way on those possessions.
It was a good early reminder. Patience is going to be key this season — in so many ways. This team has a couple of things going for it, but there are is a ton more that needs to be worked out and will take time to get worked out.
Preseason Larrywatch
Sergio de Larrea is going to be one of the most intriguing pieces of this Mavericks’ roster all season long. He quietly knocked down his first two 3-point attempts before using some of his extended run in the fourth quarter to drop a nice assist nearly the length of the court to a sprinting Tobi Lawal for his fourth assist of the game.
Then, for good measure, he knocked down a third straight 3-pointer in the game’s final minutes to give fans something extra to ruminate on.
This kid can play. He showed his special passing and playmaking abilities in Summer League play, and he flashed them again in smaller doses in the team’s first preseason game. He seems one step ahead of Tarik Biberovic in terms of development at this early juncture.
De Larrea finished with 11 points, six assists and four turnovers in 23 minutes against the Rockets on Friday. Two-way rookie Tobi Lawal led the Mavs’ bench unit with 13 points in 15 minutes.
