The Dallas Mavericks returned home from Mexico to play their first true road game of the season (where the opponent was actually in their arena), looking to improve upon their 2-4 record. Unfortunately, the Rockets had other ideas, pushing the Mavs further away from .500, as Dallas fell 110-102.
Let’s get to the grades!
Max Christie: A
17 PTS / 4 REB / 6 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 32MIN
Christie technically started at point guard in this one, which means nothing on the surface – the Mavs don’t start an actual point guard however you cut it – however, it is worth mentioning
when the opposing point guard eviscerates your team like Amen Thompson did in the early going. Those defensive lapses were certainly not all on Christie, in fairness, and he otherwise had a terrific game other than a couple of clanged free throws. If he can give this stat line every night, there would be very little to complain about. This is Christie at his best, even pulling down a handful of rebounds and finding his teammates. 6-for-10 from the floor with 3-for-6 from three with only a single turnover made for his best game of the season.
Cooper Flagg: B-
12 PTS / 5 REB / 2 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 34 MIN
Flagg played impressive defense against Kevin Durant in spots, especially noteworthy when you consider he’s a rookie and Durant is a hall-of-famer. He also had a terrific first half, but then completely disappeared in the third quarter. Some of this was circumstantial, but for a guy who was as red hot as he was, it was strange that he was not more assertive until the fourth quarter when he was much less effective. This one proved to be a tale of two halves for Flagg.
Klay Thompson: D
5 PTS / 3 REB / 3 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 18 MIN
Thompson quickly got off to a hot start, hitting two of his first four shots, but then missed every shot he took for the rest of the game and suddenly the hopes of a slump-breaking game were dashed. Thompson just doesn’t look “right,” despite getting some better looks in this one than he was in the first few games of the season. An excellent block and a bit of staunch defensive against Alperen Sengun of all people were nice, but not enough to help the grade.
P.J. Washington: A+
29 PTS / 12 REB / 3 AST / 2 STL / 1 BLK – 36 MIN
Washington has basically been the best player for Dallas over seven games. While some of that is due to Anthony Davis missing time, Washington nonetheless looks like the most locked-in player night after night, making an impact even when he’s not necessarily his best. Tonight he was very much at his best. He matched his season high in scoring with more than eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, and continually kept the Mavs connected when the Rockets pushed the lead. The main blemish on his game tonight was poor free throw shooting, which has been the case for him this season, but that’s not going to pull his grade down tonight. His left-handed dunk in the first half, and two-handed rim-rocker in the fourth for a successful and-one to tie the game added a little bit of “pretty” to what he brought to the floor.
Daniel Gafford: A
14 PTS / 4 REB / 1 AST / 2 STL / 3 BLK – 25 MIN
Gafford had one of those games where his absence contributed to his grade as much as his presence. The entire game felt different when he was on the court versus when he was off the court. He didn’t have a monster game on the boards, but just being on the court helped at least keep Houston off the glass a bit. He shot well, blocked some shots and really made the most of limited minutes. This game could have been very ugly without him anchoring the middle on both ends. Playing with this much effort coming off injury and getting banged up some more admittedly inflated his grade – effort like that counts and shooting 7-for-9 from the floor gave Dallas a rim presence they have basically not had all season to this point.
D’Angelo Russell: C+
10 PTS / 4 REB / 12 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 29 MIN
Russell has yet to find his shot, but continues to make the case that having a point guard on the floor is, you know, a typically good thing. He has to figure out his shooting, as this team needs all they can get in that department, but even when he’s missing shots, he’s doing things to get people involved and helping make good plays. He had the moxie to take big shots at the end, but missing them basically allowed the Rockets to put this one out of reach. While 2-for-10 from the floor should bury your grade, an insane 12-to-2 assist to turnover ratio boosts it. Similar to Flagg, this was a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde game for Russell.
Once again, Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively sat this one out due to injury. Davis has missed the last two straight games, with Lively now having missed more games than he has played this season, a concerning state of affairs indeed. Daniel Gafford on the other hand, returned from an offseason injury to meet the Pistons in Mexico City and was playing in his second game, giving the Mavs a bit of their depth back. He was a on a minutes restriction and this left the Mavs exposed down low when he sat. Case in point, Dallas closed the first half getting outrebounded 16-5 after leading the rebounding battle by one up until that point.
Final Thoughts
The second half saw multiple adjustments. The Mavs did a much better job against Amen Thompson, Klay Thompson barely saw the floor, and Dallas had the game in its grasp. Unfortunately, not having a true go-to in the clutch did Dallas in. They were outscored nine to one to close the game out, making the final score somewhat less indicative of how close the game was at key moments. Worse still, the Mavs are somehow still playing preseason when the rest of the league knows what time it is. I am utterly perplexed that a team that was generally healthy through training camp and preseason could look like they are feeling each other out still.
The Mavs look to be making significant strides from the debacle of opening night, but the results are still not there and the fact they have to make such strides on things like rhythm, passing, shooting and chemistry is problematic in and of itself. Dallas is wasting games figuring out now what they should have figured out in the preseason.
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