The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Utah Jazz by a score of 114-101 on Monday night in Salt Lake City. Anthony Davis led the way for Dallas with 25 points, while Brice Sensabaugh paced Utah with 16 of his own in a balanced attack. Dallas is now 2-1 in the preseason heading into a neutral-site showdown with the Lakers in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
With D’Angelo Russell out tonight, Dallas decided to start rookie phenom Cooper Flagg at point guard. After all, it’s the preseason — why not try things out? Alas, things looked predictably sloppy without any true ball handler to start the game, as both teams struggled to find their footing early. Eventually, Anthony Davis got going, helping Dallas build a small lead. But the Mavericks couldn’t stop fouling Utah, allowing them to hang around as the quarter drew to a close. Despite heavily outshooting the Jazz, Dallas took a modest 30-27 lead into the second period.
Dallas ran things through Flagg early in the second quarter, as the 18-year-old hit an early three and looked comfortable pushing the ball up the floor. Unfortunately, the Mavericks went cold as the quarter progressed, missing open three-pointers and struggling to establish an offensive flow. This allowed Utah to inch in front and build a small advantage. Naji Marshall responded by asserting himself in the game and scoring nine of the next 11 Maverick points to reclaim the lead. Dallas was able to steady itself after that barrage, closing the half well and leading 61-53 at the break.
Dallas opened the third quarter with a different lineup, starting Davis at the five with Ryan Nembhard, Max Christie, Flagg, and PJ Washington. This group looked decent, but missed a lot of opportunities to stretch the lead with cold three-point shooting. Flagg, especially, couldn’t buy a bucket despite a bevy of good looks. Utah hung around for a bit, but the Mavericks closed the quarter well, fueled by a mini-surge from Jaden Hardy. By then, all the rotation players were mostly out of the game. The fourth quarter came and went, with a few interesting things happening, and Dallas walked away with a comfortable victory.
Anthony Davis bounced back
There’s no way around it; Anthony Davis was bad on both ends of the floor against the Hornets on Saturday night. Though the star big man put up a decent scoring line, he looked sluggish, disinterested, and out of sorts. His performance prompted all kinds of discourse throughout the fanbase about his current shape, his position, and his status as the Mavericks’ best player. And though the preseason is largely meaningless, it was good to see Davis respond with a productive effort tonight. His 25 points came in just 25 minutes, and the former All-NBA big had it working from every area on the court. Davis looked especially great during the couple of stretches he played at the five, where he abused Jusuf Nurkic with superior skill and athleticism. Getting the best out of Davis is crucial to this Maverick team reaching its full potential — tonight, we got glimpses of how things can look when that is actualized.
This Maverick team can’t shoot the rock
Though Dallas easily handled a bad Jazz squad, their lack of shooting sticks out like a sore thumb. The Mavericks shot 15-53 from three, and it would have been worse if not for a small heater from the garbage time squad late in the fourth quarter. The starting lineup went 3-for-18, and two of those hits came from a notoriously poor three-point shooter in Anthony Davis. With the way this roster is constructed, most teams will outshoot Dallas from three. Tonight, it didn’t matter because the Jazz are terrible. But against more high-powered, dynamic offenses (and defenses, for that matter), Dallas is going to be hurt by this math disadvantage. It would really help if Klay Thompson, who is in the starting lineup solely because the Mavericks desperately need his shooting and spacing, could somewhat resemble the game-breaking shooter he’s been throughout his career. If he’s merely “good” instead of “elite” from three, Dallas will have some issues. No one else on this roster is striking fear into the hearts of opposing defenses.
Naji Marshall is extremely important
Marshall was sensational tonight, chipping in 17 points off the bench. He got to the free-throw line 10 times, hitting eight, and generally made great decisions with the ball in his hands. For a team that lacks ball handling and offensive creation, Marshall is such a crucial connective piece. His ability to attack the gaps, get downhill, score at the rim, and create for others is unique among most players on the Dallas roster. Marshall can succeed in any lineup, and I believe he’ll establish himself as a skeleton key for success. His defensive prowess and positional size fit with the organizational vision, but his ancillary creation skills set him apart as one of the most important Mavericks this season.