The Dallas Mavericks returned to action Tuesday night after two days off to get prepared for their Emirates NBA Cup Quarterfinal matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder. P.J. Washington had to sit this one out due to illness and that (and an inordinate amount of turnovers) made this one more difficult than it needed to be. The Thunder uncharacteristically hoisting and draining threes like it was practice was another major contributing factor in what ultimately led to the Mavs getting knocked out of Cup contention.
Overall, this one was pretty ugly, even though it didn’t necessarily reach blow-out status per se. The Mavs were just outplayed in nearly every aspect of the game. Are they weary from an illness that has touched multiple players? Yes. Are they weary from a ton of travel? Yes. Are players out due to injury? Yes. Regardless, they just didn’t show up the way they needed to for a nationally televised game with Cup ramifications.
Although the excitement of the NBA Cup is over for the Mavs, the silver lining here may be that the Mavs can get a little bit of a break after bouncing around the country for weeks and logging a lot of games. Let’s get to the grades!
Luka Doncic: C
16 Points / 11 Rebounds / 5 Assists / 4 Steals / 0 Blocks / 6 Turnovers (40 Minutes)
Luka got locked up a good bit in the first half and his shooting showed it as he opened 1-for-7 while also committing four turnovers. His six boards and five assists stopped him short of being a complete non-factor in the half. It didn’t get a whole lot better after that. If you didn’t see the game, know simply that the Thunder’s entire defensive game plan was to send anyone and everyone at Luka (and Kyrie), often at the same time. As super-human as Luka is, it can be jarring to see him have such an off night, but it’s going to happen from time to time. What drove his grade into the ground here was how lackadaisical he looked (his first free throw came with 3:31 left in the third), as well as the number of ridiculously lazy passes he made to the wrong team. He just didn’t adjust his game. Stranger still, he wasn’t barking at the refs or showing much emotion at all. I am not here to make excuses and want to be clear that is not my intention here, but I will not be surprised if news breaks that Luka also has whatever sickness seems to be going around the team.
Kyrie Irving: B
17 Points / 2 Rebounds / 5 Assists / 1 Steal / 1 Block / 2 Turnovers (40 Minutes)
Kyrie started red-hot with a number of crafty finishes, but similar to Luka, he was targeted every time he touched the ball and it kept both his shot total and conversions down for stretches of the game. Then in the fourth quarter, he scored six points in a crucial Mavericks 10-0 run. He was quietly Kyrie in this game and while it was difficult to find beauty in an ugly game, Kyrie did fine work in this one. Perhaps his biggest criticism is that he wasn’t aggressive enough and maybe could have taken over and shot more.
Quentin Grimes: C
4 Points / 3 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks / 3 Turnovers (18 Minutes)
Grimes played under 20 minutes in this one, and didn’t appear much in the second half, but while he was out there he contributed very little. To his credit, he was tenacious on defense, but couldn’t bring nearly enough offense in this one to stay on the floor.
Klay Thompson: A-
19 Points / 4 Rebounds / 0 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks / 0 Turnovers (28 Minutes)
Thompson was smoking and it was great to see him looking like himself, especially after coming off a nice game in Toronto. He hit 3 threes (50% shooting) in the first half and just looked good. Maybe the few games he missed with injury allowed him to get right, or maybe he’s just gelling a bit as time goes on, but he was a solid offensive contributor in this one. He shot 50% for the game (14 shots) and 50% on threes (10 shots) and if he can do this while the rest of the team is locked in, its going to be scary. His plus/minus was the ugliest on a list of ugly ones for the night, however.
Dereck Lively: B+
5 Points / 13 Rebounds / 5 Assists / 0 Steals / 1 Block / 2 Turnovers (31 Minutes)
Watching the game, it felt like Lively was barely there. In reality, he was generally ineffective offensively (2-for-4 from the floor), but was a beast on the boards and was tied (with Luka and Kyrie) for most assists, while generally taking care of the ball. It was a weird game for him. Great rebounding and assist totals, but low scoring and a generally quiet performance to the naked eye left a bit to be desired.
Daniel Gafford: B-
9 Points / 2 Rebounds / 1 Assist / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks / 0 Turnovers (16 Minutes)
Gafford played limited minutes and it makes his game difficult to grade. It is made more difficult by the fact he accumulated his minutes in little bursts. Still, in a game where the Mavs were out rebounded slightly, him tearing down a few more boards would have been helpful. He was a perfect 4-for-4, but two missed free throws cost him his streak of double-figure scoring. He generally made the most of his limited time, but didn’t leave much of a mark on this one.
Naji Marshall: B+
19 Points / 4 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks / 2 Turnovers (29 Minutes)
What this travesty would have looked like without Marshall, I don’t want to know. He didn’t miss a beat despite missing the last few games. His somewhat herky-jerky movements never get old and they were a welcome sight for Mavs fans in this one. To start the game, he had 14 points in just under 15 minutes of play. He slowed down quite a bit in the second half, dinging what was on track to be a high-marks type of night.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper: A-
6 Points / 2 Rebounds / 1 Assist / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks / 0 Turnovers (12 Minutes)
O-Max was 2-for-4 from the floor, both makes being threes. A 12 minute night is usually on the cusp of qualifying for grading, but I do want to give him one tonight, as he played with a ton of energy in a game that lacked the intensity it should have had. He had a really nice night in difficult circumstances and limited time. He was the only Mav with a positive plus/minus (+4).
Spencer Dinwiddie: C+
9 Points / 3 Rebounds / 4 Assists / 3 Steals / 0 Blocks / 3 Turnovers (22 Minutes)
Dinwiddie has bumped expectations with his play recently, so his grade suffers a bit on a 3-for-9 shooting night with 1-for-4 from three. Unfortunately, he shooting got worse as the game went on. To his credit, he was engaged and giving good effort on a lethargic night for the team at large. His grade would have been higher had his turnovers not offset his three steals.
P.J. Washington: A+
0 Points / 0 Rebounds / 0 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks / 0 Turnovers (0 Minutes)
Yes, this grade is purely for a bit of levity and will not count toward actual grading, but P.J.’s absence tonight was a big reminder of what he brings to the team. This is not just due to past success against the Thunder, but in games he has sat out this year, the results are glaring. He brings defensive intensity, rebounding, a new-found post-up game and threes - all of which were sorely missing tonight.