Assigning Grades for the Mavericks in their 132-97 loss to the Grizzlies
In our final grade piece of the 2024-25 Regular Season, we’ll assess the Dallas Mavericks who took on the Memphis Grizzlies, losing badly, 132-97. With the Mavs already guaranteed a spot in the Play-In, and needing a win today coupled with a Sacramento Kings loss to move up to the 9 Seed, Dallas seemed content to avoid further injury in this one. With rest in mind and a view toward getting two Play-In wins for a shot at the Playoffs, the Mavs had a long list of players in street clothes. Kyrie Irving and O-Max were obvious, but joining them on the list of “out” were Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Dereck Lively and P.J. Washington. With the Kings getting a win of their own today, the 9 Seed was out of reach, but getting destroyed in this fashion by a team that was also not full strength puts a sour cap on a sour Regular Season. We’ll see what the Post Season brings. Let’s get to the grades!
Dante Exum: B-
4 Points / 2 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks (14 Minutes)
Despite starting, Exum logged just more than a single quarter of play time. One can only speculate that he was thrilled to do so. He managed a solid stat line for the limited court time and was the only player with a favorable plus minus with plus-6.
Brandon Williams: C+
0 Points / 4 Rebounds / 0 Assists / 0 Steals / 1 Block (7 Minutes)
In a season absolutely marred by injuries, the Mavs couldn’t avoid yet another to end the Regular Season. Williams unfortunately added to the ledger with a left oblique injury in the first quarter. Normally this would qualify as an “N/A” but since this is game 82 we’ll give him something to go into the Play-In with. He missed his two shot attempts and both free throw attempts but rebounded well and even had another block.
Max Christie: C
14 Points / 5 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks (39 Minutes)
Christie had a solid game, but for leading the team in minutes and having taken the second most shot attempts, he surely could have done a good bit more as we’ve seen in the past. Four turnovers lead the team.
Naji Marshall: C
11 Points / 3 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks (28 Minutes)
Marshall shot a solid 5-for-11 (1-for-2 on three point attempts) but didn’t rebound up to par. Three turnovers was only a touch better than Christie, but way too many regardless of what his teammate did.
Daniel Gafford: A
20 Points / 7 Rebounds / 1 Assist / 1 Steal / 2 Blocks (19 Minutes)
Gafford was by far the best Maverick on the court. He had more points than minutes played, hit 8-for-10 from the floor and connected at a 4-for-5 clip on free throws while turning away a couple shot on the defensive end. It’s actually quite difficult how bad this outcome would have been without him.
Spencer Dinwiddie: C-
8 Points / 2 Rebounds / 7 Assists / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks (36 Minutes)
Hopefully Spencer got his final dud out of the way. He turned the ball over 3 times, shot 1-for-10 from the floor and was an astonishing minus-38. The only thing that prevents an outright “D” here was a decent assist total and a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line (and perhaps a dash of irrational generosity).
Dwight Powell: C
6 Points / 0 Rebounds / 0 Assists / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks (16 Minutes)
Powell did Powell things. Nothing great, nothing terrible, but gave a decent few minutes even knocking down a three (1-for-2 from beyond the arc).
Jaden Hardy: C-
17 Points / 4 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks (34 Minutes)
Hardy put up good numbers on the surface, but a deeper look shows inefficiency (6-for-17 from the floor including an awful 2-for-9 from three), three turnovers and three fouls. Had he been at his best with hot shooting, he would have likely sniffed one of his better career nights given the minutes and shot attempts, but that just wasn’t the case. The cherry on top was registering an unfathomable minus-44
Kai Jones: B+
11 Points / 8 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks (26 Minutes)
Sure a block or two would have been nice, but Jones did a nice job in the absence of Dereck Lively, as he flirted with a double-double. He hit over 70% of his 7 shots and really the only negative was two turnovers in a turnover heavy game for Dallas.
Caleb Martin: C-
6 Points / 3 Rebounds / 0 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks (21 Minutes)
There wasn’t much here, and frankly Martin is likely being graded somewhat similarly to Dinwiddie (that is, irrational generosity). Martin missed all three of his three point attempts and shot only 37.5% overall on eight shots. He joined Powell and Exum as the only Mavs to not record a turnover, but that’s hardly something to hang one’s hat on in a 35-point blowout.