The Dallas Mavericks kicked off the month of December on the road against the Denver Nuggets. Coming off a great win in which Cooper Flagg became the youngest player ever to score 35 points in an NBA game, Dallas kept the train rolling with a 131-121 win.
Let’s get to the grades!
Ryan Nembhard: A+
28 PTS / 3 REB / 10 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK
Fair to say at this point that Nembhard can play? I think so. The sample size is small, but these past few games are making a case. Also, if you weren’t aware, taking a charge inflates your grade to an unreasonable degree. Half-jokes aside, with or without the charge, Nembhard lit it up in nearly every way imaginable. Aside from a few too many fouls (four), there is quite literally nothing negative to say. His point total matches the season high for a two-way player, he had zero turnovers against 10 assists, he ran the offense like a seasoned pro and he shot lights out (12-for-14). Fantastic game.
Max Christie: B
9 PTS / 2 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK
Christie was relatively quiet most of the night before hitting a huge three-pointer with about two minutes remaining in the game. He also had a terrific play where he came out of nowhere to stymie Tim Hardaway Jr. on what could have been a wide open three coming off a busted play. It won’t show up in the box score, but his performance tonight was an object lesson of his professionalism and preparedness. He waited for his number to get called and then delivered.
Cooper Flagg: A
24 PTS / 8 REB / 2 AST / 2 STL / 1 BLK
Flagg is growing before our eyes and it’s an absolute delight. Over the past few weeks, he’s been given the opportunity to be a go-to guy down the stretch and has taken full advantage. Tonight was no different, as he was poised, made the right play and consistently put pressure on the defense with aggressive drives and calculated back-downs. He was 10-for-19 from the floor and had the highest plus/minus on the team (13).
Naji Marshall: B
9 PTS / 7 REB / 6 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK
Marshall had himself an efficient but quiet game, doing a bit of everything without anything really blowing your mind. Too many turnovers (three) and fouls (three) hurt him a bit, but he was 4-for-7 from the floor and distributed the ball nicely overall.
Anthony Davis: A
32 PTS / 13 REB / 4 AST / 1 STL / 2 BLK
Davis was nearly unstoppable on the offensive end, going 13-for-23 from the floor, including 2-for-4 from downtown, the second of which was a huge difference maker in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. Both Nikola Jokic and even Jonas Valanciunas had it a bit too easy, but given the former has multiple MVPs and Davis wasn’t matched up with him the entire night, it’s fair to credit Davis for an offensive outpouring to match the MVP candidate, rather than to punish him for allowing Jokic to do what he does every night.
Klay Thompson: A
15 PTS / 5 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK
Thompson didn’t log many minutes, but made the most of what he did get, doing a fair portion of his damage at key moments of the game. He’s been graded low when he doesn’t hit his shots and will be graded high when he does. Going 5-for-10, including 3-for-5 from deep, is excellent. Add in a disproportionate number of boards and having 0 turnovers, and you have yourself a nice grade.
D’Angelo Russell: B-
8 PTS / 0 REB / 2 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK
Russell got out of the doghouse, and appeared to let the game come to him a bit more than he had earlier in the season. Playing him next to a point guard instead of as the point guard was interesting, and it may just be something that works going forward, especially if Nembhard can keep up his strong play. Speaking of Nembhard, Russell made sure to stay on the court to greet Nembhard after the postgame interview. A move like that really shouldn’t impact the grade, but it does just a bit here tonight, as it was a leader-like move that I’m not sure many would have expected. His 3-for-8 from the floor looks worse than it really was, as he missed a buzzer-beating heave and seemingly got a no-call on a drive, both of which missed.
Final thoughts
The Mavs fell down big early on, but what looked to be a blowout ended up being a tied game on the heels of insanely hot shooting in the second quarter. Denver’s undrafted two-way player, Spencer Jones, was 6-for-6 (including two from downtown) in the first quarter. No disrespect to Jones, but giving up 14 in a quarter to a player averaging 2.9 points per game is a bad thing. Then again, Nembhard gave it right back. Dallas quickly righted the ship and made this an entertaining game the rest of the way, before pulling away for an improbable win. Flagg looked like a star in the making, Davis had a terrific game, and everybody played their role efficiently. Say what you will, but these Mavs have fight in them.
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