Assigning Grades for the Mavericks in their 119 – 104 loss to the Grizzlies
The Dallas Mavericks took the floor Monday night looking for a second consecutive victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies had other ideas and instead extended the Mavs losing streak to five straight with a 119-104 win. These teams are currently banged up with key players on both sides nursing ailments or sitting out. The Mavs fortunately welcomed back Naji Marshall after a four-game suspension, but unfortunately Kyrie Irving’s absence is now expected to extend at least one to two more weeks. The Mavs will also have to get used to a very thin center rotation, as Daniel Gafford sprained his ankle after only 8 minutes of play.
The absurdity of injuries and illnesses this team has faced so far really can’t be overstated. Each new injury throws the team for another unique loop. It puts new and sometimes odd lineups on the floor, often spontaneously, where chemistry simply hasn’t had a chance to grow. Additionally, the Mavs can’t seem to string together a scoring run, in a league almost defined by such runs. During this losing streak, including tonight, the Mavs seem to slowly build a 10 or 12-point lead, only to watch it dwindle and ultimately turn into a slowly built 10 or 12-point (or more) deficit before the final buzzer sounds.
Brighter days are on the way, because they have to be. Right? Let’s get to the grades!
Klay Thompson: C
15 Points / 4 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 0 Steals / 1 Block / 1 Turnover (27 Minutes)
Thompson, perhaps starting his first ever game as point guard (technically), could not find the range tonight. The team really needs his scoring punch over this recent stretch with so many injuries, but he’s just not able to put it together lately. Oddly, his three-point percentage has been solid, but his shooting inside the arc is a mess. They don’t look bad for the most part, but they just aren’t falling.
Naji Marshall: B-
16 Points / 6 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 2 Steals / 0 Blocks / 2 Turnovers (33 Minutes)
Naji didn’t shoot at a high clip after a suspension-caused layoff, but looked pretty good for the most part. Losing Gafford hurt Naji and P.J. Washington when they had to match up with Jaren Jackson Jr.’s posting up, but it’s a little hard to fault a guy who played hard in a obvious mismatch.
P.J. Washington: B+
17 Points / 10 Rebounds / 5 Assists / 3 Steals / 0 Blocks / 2 Turnovers (32 Minutes)
P.J. took a lot of shots (six more than his next closest teammate), but (and stop me if you’ve heard this one after reading about Klay and Naji) could not connect at any reasonable clip. He generally stuffed the box score and positively impacted the game, but the shooting can’t be ignored. I’m almost certainly a touch high with the “plus” on this grade, but the double-double with 3 steals was a heck of an effort, as was five assists on a night it seemed no one could shoot.
Maxi Kleber: C
4 Points / 2 Rebounds / 1 Assist / 0 Steals / 1 Block / 1 Turnover (23 Minutes)
Who was the only Mavericks starter with a positive plus/minus? Maxi was! But that’s about all the positive you can say (though the shooting was nice in an all-too-small sample size). He didn’t play particularly bad, but he didn’t have much positive impact.
Dereck Lively II: A+
14 Points / 12 Rebounds / 1 Assist / 0 Steals / 4 Blocks / 0 Turnovers (33 Minutes)
You can never predict how the game would have looked without Lively, but I imagine it would have been a lot uglier than it was. The “plus” here may be a touch of a stretch like it was for P.J., but five of his rebounds were offensive, four blocks is amazing, he had a very solid double-double and perhaps best of all, he didn’t commit a single turnover and kept his fouls under control (3). All this in a high-minute game largely due to the absence of Daniel Gafford.
Quentin Grimes: C+
9 Points / 6 Rebounds / 6 Assists / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks / 1 Turnover (25 Minutes)
Grimes had a pretty rough shooting night to put it plainly. Despite the shooting woes, he has a knack for doing smart things and contributing in other ways. His rebounding prowess from the guard spot never ceases to please and he also dished a nice handful of dimes. Unfortunately, he largely mirrored Thompson on a night where even one of them going off could have changed the game.
Spencer Dinwiddie: D
6 Points / 1 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks / 2 Turnovers (30 Minutes)
Dinwiddie’s grade took a major hit within the first 1:09 of the fourth quarter. He opened the frame with a turnover that led to a three, then missed a shot (though it looked as though he was fouled), then fouled on the other end for an and-one. A seven point deficit was instantly a 13-point deficit. Despite this, he shot well, but only made three attempts. The four fouls was dreadful as well. This is one to toss in the trash, forget about and move on.
Daniel Gafford: N/A
5 Points / 1 Rebound / 0 Assists / 0 Steals / 1 Block / 0 Turnovers (8 Minutes)
Gafford looked to be on his way to a pretty nice game before the relentless injury bug bit him. A sprained ankle resulted in a very early end to Gafford’s night, and whether it was directly correlated to his absence or not, Memphis went on a run as soon as he went out.
Jaden Hardy: C+
15 Points / 3 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 1 Steal / 1 Block / 4 Turnovers (20 Minutes)
Hardy went on a one-man scoring spree to keep the Mavs in it at one point, but his inability to protect the ball needs massive improvement. Not only did he have a high turnover total, but most were disastrously inopportune, often coming at the top of the arc where the Grizzlies could easy coast to a fast-break bucket. In something you haven’t heard so far, he shot very well at all levels, but the negatives were apparent. The silver lining to the endless injuries are that Hardy is going to get better. He’s going to get minutes and going to play through, and hopefully learn from, these mistakes.