Dallas plays a fun, frenetic game against Memphis to open preseason
The Dallas Mavericks fell the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, losing 121-116. Brandon Clarke was the high point man for Memphis, scoring 17 in a very balanced effort. Jaden Hardy scored 21 while also dishing out nine assists for the Mavericks in defeat.
With the Dallas Mavericks missing several players from their regular rotation (Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, and PJ Washington to name a few), it would’ve been understandable if Dallas turned in a subpar performance against a Grizzlies team playing everyone healthy. The Mavericks came ready to play in front of an active home crowd and put up a strong performance against Memphis. The two teams stayed within a few baskets of one another for most of the game, though Memphis held an 11-point lead during the first half.
The Mavericks rested the remainder of the top portion of their rotation after strong first-half performances from Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford. That gave Jaden Hardy, Jaz Gortman, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, and Emanuel Miller a chance to shine against a competitive Grizzlies roster. The final quarter was a feisty one, with neither team unable to pull away. But following an O-Max dunk, Memphis went on a 6-0 run that effectively put the game out of reach, despite Dallas making multiple efforts to close out the game. Dallas fell to Memphis, 121-116 in their opening preseason contest.
The Dereck Lively revolution will be televised
We’re witnessing something that’s truly great. Despite being the “other” big man in a class featuring Victor Wembanyama, Lively let the world know in his 2024 playoff run that he is a force to be reckoned with. Despite being very raw at the onset of Las Vegas Summer League in 2023, Lively evolved to his eventual form as a contributor to a NBA Finals team.
Fast forward to tonight, where he played 14 minutes, scored 12 points, grabbed three rebounds, dished two helpers, and had a pair of steals. The defense is something we should be familiar with, but Lively has real touch on the offensive end. He had one finish in the first half, a driving, spinning finish, that I’ll be thinking about for some time.
Dereck Lively II goes coast to coast. Now that’s the stuff. pic.twitter.com/WdVJ3j1poo
— Bobby Karalla (@bobbykaralla) October 8, 2024
The Mavericks are deep, y’all
This is nothing you didn’t know already, but I’m the kind of weirdo who’s spent years lamenting about teams like the Grizzlies who seem to overturn every stone in order to find good players. They’re a deep and talented team with lots of interesting players.
And you know what? So are the Dallas Mavericks. Tonight’s active roster missed so many guys (see above) and played an entertaining game where I started to feel bad for some of the choices Jason Kidd will have to make in the early part of the season in terms of playing time. Getting to see Jaden Hardy and deep training camp guys like Jaz Gortman get to put on shows is a lot of fun. This kind of preseason game makes me long for the regular season, which, I suppose, is the whole point.
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