This is my fourth year on staff here at MMB and my first attempt at writing the Player Grades post. You may be wondering why I picked this game – and that would make two of us. What a tough watch. We had
fun basketball around these parts, not all that long ago, right?
One quick thought before we dive in. The Mavericks – now 2-7 on the season – are on their way to Washington (1-8) to play the second night of a back-to-back. If the Wizards win, and they very well might they will be 2-0 against the Mavericks and otherwise winless. All I can say is stay tuned for my betting post in a few hours for more thoughts on that riveting matchup.
Strap in, these grades are not pretty.
Starters
Daniel Gafford | Grade Incomplete
12 min | 0 pts | 1 r
Unless word comes out that Gafford was dealing with an injury (ankle flaring back up?) that caused an early exit, one has to wonder if this was simply a usage management decision ahead of playing again tomorrow night. Not much to report here unless something happened to impact his availability going forward.
PJ Washington Grade C-
25 min | 14 pts | 6 r | 1 a | 1 stl | 1 bl
This was a meh game from Washington. It is clear that he has primary option responsibility, giving the options available as the green light is quite pronounced. The Mavs needed a scorching night from him, and 6-15 is middling. He is having a solid season amid the chaos, but Dallas needed a supernova game and did not get it.
Cooper Flagg | Grade C+
27 min| 12 pts | 6 r | 2 a | 1 stl | 1 blk
Keeping in mind that Flagg is about to play his tenth game tomorrow night, I am inclined to go easier on him than the same effort and production from a veteran would garner. Even still, every starter -including Flagg was at least -20 on/off – tough stuff. What’s worse is that his teammates rarely seem to actively look to get him engaged offensively, and most of his looks are more of the Thanos (fine, I’ll do it myself) variety.
D’Angelo Russell | Grade D
16 min | 9 pts | 3 r | 5 a
Nice efficiency with the shot (4-5 from the field) in limited play is overshadowed by being on the floor for yet another slow start and then again in the second quarter when the game got away from Dallas on the defensive end early on.
Max Christie | Grade A-
28 min | 18 pts | 1 r | 1 a
Christie looked like he cared and played like it. He may be the Mavericks’ best player right now in terms of consistent effort and results relative to role, which itself is an indictment.
Reserves
Naji Marshall | Grade D
28 min | 18 pts | 1 r | 1 a
If you look at this box score, you’ll see the Mavs only got to the line 16 times as a unit, Marshall was 3 of 4 from the stripe. He is one of the few Mavericks that can provoke a defense to foul with some semblance of lane driving. The 1-7 from 3 is brutal and it is pretty clear that – rare nights withstanding – Marshall’s 38.7 percent during his free agency year with the Pelicans was an outlier. Last season’s 27.5 percent and so far this year 2-13 (15.4%) is an analytical war crime. Opposing defenses leave him wide open beyond the arc for a reason.
Brandon Williams | Grade D-
22 min | 11 pts | 1 r | 3 a
Williams has moments of “beeline to the basket” which are fun, but those aside, I am increasingly convinced this is a player who is not a long-term piece once the rebuild begins in earnest.
Klay Thompson | Grade F
17 min | 0 pts | 1 r | 3a
This is not what he signed up for, and it hurts to watch. Love the guy yet it is time to find him – and a few others – a new home. Feels strange to give a Hall of Famer in a terrible situation an F, but knowing Thompson, he would likely nod in agreement.
Others
Moussa Cisse (nice transition dunk off a defensive stop) and Ryan Nembhard come out of this one with some nice box scores, but otherwise this was a case of the end of the bench closing a gap with pure effort once the game was already decided.
Onto tomorrow night. Mavs vs Wizards, folks.
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