The Mavericks wrapped up their preseason last week with a 121-94 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas. It concluded a four-game stretch of preseason games before the first regular season game takes
place this coming Wednesday, the 22nd. The preseason gave the Mavericks a lot to look at, between the uncertainty of what the offense will look like without Luka Doncic at the helm, how Anthony Davis plays at the power forward spot, the debut of number one draft pick Cooper Flagg, the guard rotation, and a lot more, the Mavericks had a ton to evaluate after a more or less quiet off season.
The Mavs played four games in the preseason, including two neutral-site exhibitions —one in Fort Worth and one in Las Vegas —in which they won both against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Lakers above. They also played a home game against the Hornets, in which they lost, and took a trip to Salt Lake City and beat the Jazz convincingly, taking the Mavericks to a 3-1 record in their preseason. The Mavericks finished the preseason 15th in offense, 16th in defense, 18th in net rating, 21st in REB% %, and 24th in EFG%. Additionally, the Mavericks did not exactly see equal competition as every team the Mavs played rested multiple key starters, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Luka Doncic (Lakers), Lebron James (Lakers), Lauri Markkanen (Jazz), Lamelo Ball (Hornets), among others. In contrast, the Mavs played their starters every single night. With this, the Mavericks got to test out some different looks and schemes on offense and defense. Let’s get to the grades.
Max Christie: C+
Max Christie played early and often in all four of the Mavericks’ season games, averaging 7.5 points on 35% shooting in 17.5 minutes per contest. He contributed 3.3 rebounds and nearly two assists per game, providing valuable production in limited minutes. Although he shot just 25% from three, Christie gave the Mavericks quality looks off the bench and added much-needed floor spacing that the starting lineup lacked.
His energy and defensive activity stood out as well, giving Dallas a boost on that end of the floor, which seems particularly important for a team still searching for a reliable point-of-attack defender against quicker guards. Christie also displayed strong chemistry with new point guard D’Angelo Russell. To solidify his role and maintain consistent minutes throughout the 82-game season, he’ll have to improve his perimeter shooting and establish himself as a dependable offensive threat.
Jaden Hardy: D
In what should be a make-or-break year for Jaden Hardy in the context of his future on this roster, Hardy had a questionable preseason. is numbers look okay, averaging 9 points on 36% from the field and 40% from three. When you looked at his minutes in a vacuum, they were pretty empty. Not competing on defense, hogging the ball, settling for foul shots, among other bad moments, made Jason Kidd relegate him to playing with the two-way and exhibit-10 guys in the final two games, which Kidd called “full dress rehearsal (s).” I” a season with minimal guard play it should lead to time for Hardy to show how he has improved going into his 4th year in the league, but how he seemingly got passed for guys like Max Christie and Ryan Nembhard, it feels like Hardy and his role on this team are close to none.
D’Angelo Russell: B+
Russell had a good preseason, even with only playing in three of the four games. Russell averaged five assists and only 1.5 turnovers in 18 minutes a game. He was held out of the 3rd game and came off the bench in the finale. Russell looked his best off the bench, providing a stable point guard presence, great spacing, and was not as terrible as expected on the defensive end. Russell did have a very rough shooting preseason, shooting 30.8% from the field and 14.3% (!!) from the three-point line. Russell was very clearly the best and most poised guard and ball handler when he was on the floor, even with the poor shooting numbers.
The Mavericks are going to need a lot of minutes from him and to shoot the ball a lot better with how many wings they have. Russell has been at his best in his career when his usage is limited, and all he has to do is make open shots and pass the ball. Russell seems like a perfect fit for him in that regard, but it remains to be seen through the preseason.
Dwight Powell: C
Dwight Powell may have had the most Dwight Powell preseason of all time. The 11-year veteran averaged 5 points and two rebounds in 10 minutes a game for the Mavericks. is preseason started strangely as he had to play the center next to Anthony Davis in the first game, as the Mavs seemed to insist on Davis playing next to a big man at all times, regardless of whether it was preseason. Powell played fine in those minutes, providing some okay-ish spacing for Anthony Davis. Outside of that, he was thrown in during garbage time, probably taking more hits to the face than contributing on defense. Powell will somehow squeeze his way into playing some meaningful minutes this year from injury, foul trouble, or something. Expect him to be Dwight Powell.
Ryan Nembhard: A
Compared to expectations, no one had a better preseason than Ryan Nembhard. Coming in undrafted on a two/way contract and a shaky summer league, Nembhard was able to make his way into the bulk part of the rotation by the finale in Vegas. The rookie averaged 5 points on 55% shooting, but the most impressive thing was that he averaged five assists with half a turnover per game. He also shot 37% from three, but on a limited volume. The most crucial part of Ryan’s minutes was WHEN he was playing. During the last two dress rehearsals, Nembhard was the 3rd guard in the rotation and played a bulk of minutes with presumably high-minute players. o not be surprised if you see this kid playing early in the season and eventually get his contract converted from a two-way to a standard NBA contract.
Brandon Williams: D-
Williams had a strange preseason compared to the expectations. They came off an awesome end of the year, providing fun Kyrie-Irving-like minutes to end the season and in the Mavs’ two play-in games to conclude their year. e became a fan favorite online for his shiftiness and scoring ability, and, like Jaden Hardy, many expected him to take a more prominent role with the Mavs needing lots of guard help. However, Williams only appeared in one preseason game, the finale against the Lakers, in which he only played the last three minutes of the game and scored 5 points. Williams was apparently dealing with a hamstring injury that had sidelined him throughout training camp and the first three preseason games. While Williams should still be a spark plug for the Mavericks, he seems to have been passed by Christie, Nembhard, and Hardy in the rotation. We will need to prove he belongs for the Mavs to justify him being on the roster.
Miles Kelly: C++
Miles Kelly was another undrafted rookie who stood out in a limited role. While he clearly did not impress as much as Nembhard, Kelly showed what he could do in some end-of-game garbage time minutes, showing off a sweet-looking shooting stroke and fantastic composure for his first NBA action. Kelly averaged 6 points on 33% from the 3-point line, taking almost all of his shots from that range. While he probably will not play immediately, Kelly showed enough flash for fans to have optimism about his future on this team. He also seems very capable of being called upon due to injury or otherwise.
Moussa Cisse: B
Moussa Cisse was a ton of fun to watch, making the garbage time minutes almost more fun than watching Flagg, Davis, and Co. work things out throughout the game. C sse was the most fun on defense, where he averaged 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. His active energy and raw athleticism earned him an upgrade from an Exhibit-10 contract to a two-way, allowing him to be on the roster and open the door for the Mavs staff to develop him.
Injuries/Cut Players: N/A
The Mavericks had to deal with some major injuries that led to a couple of players being left off the grades. Kyrie Irving is still sidelined as he recovers from his ACL injury, and Daniel Gafford was sidelined due to an ankle injury suffered in camp. C leb Martin and Dante Exum were held out due to undisclosed injuries, making both their contract and roster spots more and more questionable. It’s important to note that all four players were present throughout all games of the preseason.
Additionally, Matt Cross, Mathew Cleveland, Jamarion Sharpe, and Zhaire Smith were all waived without playing any time in the preseason. The Mavs also waived Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Dalano Banton, and Dennis Smith Jr, but have made it clear all are expected to be playing for the G-League affiliate Texas Legends this season. The Mavs own the G-League rights to Robinson-Earl and Banton, and are looking to trade for the rights to Smith Jr. Banton did not play, Smith Jr. saw the floor once, and Robinson-Earl played 49 total minutes, all leading them to not receive grades.
All players in this section are eligible to sign with other NBA teams.
We’ll continue tomorrow morning with more grades from the rest of the roster.
