The Dallas Mavericks battled late, but were unable to slow down Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, who finished Saturday’s game with 21 points and 18 assists, as the Pistons pulled out a double-digit win in the NBA’s
Mexico City Game. Dallas led by six heading into the fourth quarter before Detroit outscored the Mavericks 35-17 in the final frame.
D’Angelo Russell had his best game as a Maverick in the loss with a season-high 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting and 7-of-13 from behind the arc in 30 minutes off the bench. The 13 threes taken by Russell were part of a larger theme for the Mavericks on Saturday night as Dallas shot 45 three-pointers and made 16 of them, a significant increase over their early-season averages of 28.8 attempts and 9.2 makes over their first five contests.
Dallas dropped to 2-4 on the young season with the loss. This was the team’s first road game after playing the first five games at American Airlines Center and the team will continue their road trip on Monday with a 7 p.m. clash against the Houston Rockets.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.
Cooper Flagg proves free throws really are free
Flagg has struggled to find his flow to start his NBA career — the 18-year-old No. 1 pick out of Duke made just three of his 14 shot attempts in Saturday’s contest — but that hasn’t affected his confidence at the charity stripe.
He’s a perfect 21-for-21 from the line to start the season, good for fourth most free throws made without a miss (Ajay Mitchell and Aaron Gordon, 23-23, and Shaed0n Sharp, 22-22) this season.
Flagg’s shot and flow within the offense will come with time. He’s being asked to play a position he’s never played before in his life in the world’s toughest basketball league. This kid has excelled at every level he’s played at and I don’t expect that trend to stop in the NBA, but until he finds his shot during live action, it’s nice to see his mechanics are still solid and the slow start isn’t impacting his mental.
Paint defense continues to be a problem for the Mavericks
Despite repeated promises from the front office and coaching staff during the offseason about this team’s defensive prowess, the results are not showing so far in the season. Dallas surrendered 72 paint points on Saturday while scoring just 26 themselves.
Injuries played a factor as Dallas was without its two starting big men, Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II, but regardless of the excuse, the Mavericks have struggled this season defensively even when Davis and Lively are healthy. Dallas is allowing over 115 points per game while scoring just 107 per contest — the worst in the association.
The team’s offense is going to struggle without Kyrie Irving, but if the defense can’t make up the difference until he gets back, it’s going to be a long season for the Mavericks.
Irving may be back sooner than expected
With the team’s offensive woes on display, the hope is that the offense will get a much needed boost once Irving returns from a torn ACL he suffered in March — and that return may be coming sooner than most expected. Head coach Jason Kidd spoke to reporters before Saturday’s game against Detroit and had this to say about his star point guard.
“We just can’t wait to get [Kyrie] back at some point,” Kidd said. “Hopefully it’s in the year [20]25, not [20]26, but we’ll see what happens.”
It’s far from a guarantee, but Irving has looked good in clips shared by the team and reporters from practice and his return would be a much-needed boost for a team badly needing an offensive kick. If Irving can safely return, Mavericks fans and players alike will have new hope for a season that’s started with a tone of mediocrity.
