The Dallas Mavericks took on their intrastate rival Houston Rockets Saturday night. Dallas saw their losing streak push to four games after a 111-107 defeat.
Let’s get to the grades!
Max Christie: C+
11 PTS / 2 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK - 32 MIN
His overall shooting was far from lights out (4-for-11), but a few of his misses were nearly all the way down before improbably spilling out. Still, his shots were smart ones that looked good and he stayed the course throughout the game, hitting 3-for-4 from deep. A decent if not mainly ineffectual game.
Naji Marshall: C
8 PTS / 8 REB / 2 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK - 32 MIN
Much like Christie and P.J. Washington, Marshall had a very “mid” game. He converted on only three of his 11 shot attempts and logged the worst plus/minus on the team (-18).
Cooper Flagg: A
34 PTS / 12 REB / 5 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK - 39 MIN
Flagg was the shining star for Dallas by a big margin on Saturday night. While one could argue 1-for-4 from deep and 7-for-10 from the free throw line could have been better, I find it hard to fault him much for those. Flagg shot an effective 52% on 25 shot attempts and was the only reason the Mavs were as close as they were despite otherwise widespread ineptness. Great game following a career game just two nights prior.
P.J. Washington: C+
9 PTS / 4 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK - 25 MIN
Washington is struggling. I find myself affording him some grace in light of recent injuries and personal issues, but his fast break into a turnover that resulted in a Rockets’ three-pointer on the other end was a microcosm of his game. He then took a friendly-fire shot to the head and spent the latter portion of the fourth quarter in the locker room.
Daniel Gafford: B+
16 PTS / 11 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK - 28 MIN
Gafford had a quiet, yet somewhat dominant(!?) game. At the half, he was sitting on 10 points and eight boards as the only starter with a plus/minus in the black (+8), but perhaps more surprisingly, he held opposing center Alperin Sengun to 2-for-12 shooting over the first 24 minutes. The “quiet” aspect of the equation ironically spoke loudly, however, in that he likely could have stuffed the stats more. There were a few too many times he was outworked on the boards or plainly mishandled the ball to botch possessions. He also disappeared for long stretches in the second half.
Brandon Williams: N/A
13 PTS / 0 REB / 0 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK - 9 MIN
Williams doesn’t qualify for a grade due to his early exit following a knee injury, but he deserves a ton of credit for coming out piping hot on 5-for-7 shooting, including 2-for-3 from deep. Had he not been injured, he could have been the difference maker for a win.
Klay Thompson: C
9 PTS / 2 REB / 0 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK - 28 MIN
Thompson struggled to find his shot early. It wasn’t so much that he had a “bad” game or was outplayed, as it was he just couldn’t quite find the range on generally good shots.
Moussa Cisses: N/A
3 PTS / 1 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK - 13 MIN
There isn’t enough for a grade, but we’re going to give Cisse an Honorary A for a late game sequence the likes of which we may never see again in an NBA game. Cisse volleyball spiked a shot attempt for a highlight-reel block and ended up on his back as he came down awkwardly. From there, the 6’11” center kipped-up like a pro wrestler and proceeded back on offense. Spectacle!
Final Thoughts
The Mavs played a special kind of odd on Saturday night. They missed an inordinate amount of free throws (15-for-26), committed bizarre turnovers, didn’t shoot especially well (44.6%) and bobbled rebounds to the Rockets on multiple occasions. Despite it all, they remained connected throughout. I’d like to think this was a secret effort to tank, but can’t honestly suggest that a team could so flawlessly look so strange for a sabotage effort. With the relatively quiet games from Kevin Durant and Alperin Sengun, Dallas easily could have run away with this had they even mildly improved on a few aspects of their game.
I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.