Grading the Mavericks: Despite the rocky start, Dallas has stayed afloat

There are no pictures on the standings.

The Dallas Mavericks have started the season 3-1. Their lone loss came at the hands of the Phoenix Suns, 114-102. The three wins came at home against San Antonio (120-109) and Utah (110-102) and on the road in Minnesota (120-114). Dante Exum has missed the first four games and will continue to miss time while he recovers from wrist surgery. Maxi Kleber suffered a hamstring injury in Phoenix and has not played the last two games, but it remains to be seen how severe the injury is.

Grade: B+

The Mavericks should be 4-0. Losing to Phoenix with no Bradley Beal when the Suns were on the second night of a back-to-back is not ideal. They let Jusuf Nurkic channel his one Shaq-like game a year against them and could not score when they needed to. 3-1 is not bad at all, however, especially considering Luka Doncic himself has said he has not shot well yet:

“Our team is so deep”, Doncic said after their big win against the Timberwolves, “…it’s an incredible win”. These words will echo throughout the Mavericks world for the next day and a half as they perfectly summate what the Mavericks season has been in a small sample size. They have one incredible win and two where they did just enough to take care of business. Different guys have stepped up, from Dereck Lively dishing six assists against the Spurs to Naji Marshall getting the game-sealing steal against the Timberwolves. And, of course, Luka Doncic doing Luka Doncic things:

Straight A’s: Klay Thompson

Given the pre-season and what we last saw from Thompson in his last game in Golden State, only a crazy person would have said out of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson, Thompson would be the most consistent one through four games. He is averaging 16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals a game on 42.5 percent from three. He has been excellent in his time on the floor, defending well and creating space for others through his inherent gravity. This was on full display against Minnesota, who basically no-catched him, allowing for plenty of one-on-one opportunities for Doncic and Irving, which won them the game in the fourth.

Thompson has been worth every cent so far. His shooting woes were over-ridiculed in the off-season; shooters have dry spells but they always find the watering hole. His fit is undeniable and seems to be a key piece moving forward like Dallas thought he would be.

Currently Failing: First Quarters

Whether it’s the fact that Luka Doncic did not play a professional game of any kind between July 6th and the start of the season or the rust of a Western Conference championship hangover, the Mavericks have not started games well. The only first-quarter lead they retained until the end of the period was against Utah, but they only scored 27 points to keep it. Dallas is shooting under 40 percent from the field and an uncharacteristic 22 percent from deep in opening periods thus far. Their 24.8 points per first quarter is tied for 23rd in the league.

Watching this team during most of their four games has felt like a daze, but the opening frames have been particularly strange. The offense seems out of whack, Doncic and Irving have not been particularly assertive, and the team feels jet-lagged for the first twelve minutes every night. It is early and the team has not really played with each other for months so it’s not overly surprising they’ve had starts like this. Even with the lack of energy we saw last season, they are 3-1 with a big October statement in Minnesota.

Extra Credit: P.J. Washington

For as poor of a start to the year shooting the three as Washington had, he has more than made up for it in effort. Some guys know how to play basketball and impact the game despite their weaker areas, and Washington is that guy on this Dallas team. A day after shooting two-for-ten he made three-of-six threes on his way to 17 points and eight rebounds. He plays a brand of basketball with an energy that any team can use, and the Mavericks are lucky Charlotte allowed them to bring him home.