Assigning Grades for the Mavericks in their 110 – 99 loss to the Rockets
The Dallas Mavericks were looking to ring in the New Year in style with an intra-state battle against the Houston Rockets. Between injuries, illnesses and suspensions, the Mavs have not been able to field a consistent team for the better part of a week, but were certainly happy to welcome Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson and Dereck Lively II back to the starting lineup, despite suffering a 110-99 loss.
For the second game in a row, the Mavs came out looking all but fantastic. They were finding the open shooter, getting out on the run, and making the right defensive rotations. Unfortunately, they hit a familiar skid to close the first half as Kyrie Irving was frequently double-teamed while the rest of the team stood still and offered him no help. Costly turnovers (many unforced) and (unnecessary) fouls did not help things. The Mavs went from playing up by double-figures to playing down by double-figures. Despite hanging around for a bit, this one was basically over mid-way through the fourth. Let’s get to the grades!
Kyrie Irving: C
16 Points / 7 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 3 Steals / 2 Blocks / 4 Turnovers (37 Minutes)
Kyrie was well below his standards for much of the game, though a fair bit of that was not necessarily his fault. He was fiercely double-teamed often but found little help from his teammates in those situations. When playing his game, he looked unstoppable, however he just didn’t find enough of a groove to play his game for long enough stretches.
Spencer Dinwiddie: C
8 Points / 1 Rebound / 2 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks / 3 Turnovers (24 Minutes)
Spencer continues to be a generally steady hand and an aggressive driver (rather than settle for jumpers) even if he doesn’t get some calls. Coming off a big scoring game, he felt generally unnoticeable in this one. There just isn’t too much to write home about on this one.
Klay Thompson: B+
16 Points / 5 Rebounds / 1 Assist / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks / 5 Turnovers (32 Minutes)
Thompson had some Jekyll-and-Hyde moments throughout the game. He started red-hot but then cooled a bit while making three first half turnovers. He wasn’t particularly noisy in the third quarter, but then got red-hot again in the fourth. Aside from way too many turnovers (a concerning trend, but something that will likely work itself out with time and chemistry) he had a very nice game.
P.J. Washington: N/A
6 Points / 3 Rebounds / 1 Assist / 0 Steals / 1 Block / 0 Turnovers (16 Minutes)
In and of itself, Washington played enough to get a grade, but relative to his usual floor-time, this one goes down as an “N/A” and more of a reader update that he has no joined the absentee list. Washington sprained his knee and did not return to the game. Stay tuned to Mavs Moneyball for injury update and expected time missed.
Dereck Lively II: A-
8 Points / 6 Rebounds / 6 Assists / 1 Steal / 4 Blocks / 0 Turnovers (20 Minutes)
It wasn’t immediately noticeable, but Lively had himself a nice game. Not great on the scoring front, but really good on a lot of other fronts (leading the team in assists by a big margin!?). The reason it seemed so quiet is because he wasn’t on the floor enough. Collecting his third foul in under nine minutes of playing time was ponderous. The fact that third foul directly coincided with a Rockets 23-4 run was disastrous. He’s too important, especially when the team is this thin, to be putting himself out of action with poor fouls.
Daniel Gafford: C-
4 Points / 4 Rebounds / 0 Assists / 1 Steal / 1 Block / 2 Turnovers (12 Minutes)
What can be said for Gafford in this one? He isn’t best suited for a matchup against a player like Sengun, so his defensive struggles were somewhat expected. His being exposed was complicated by Lively foul trouble, but for most of the game, he failed to at least somewhat counter things on the offensive side of the ball. To his credit, he never quits and is more than willing to give his all in situations where he is clearly disadvantaged. Unfortunately that’s just an honorable mention, as it doesn’t help the team win. For the game, he barely played long enough to garner a grade, but that pretty much says it all then, doesn’t it?
Quentin Grimes: A-
17 Points / 5 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 0 Steals / 1 Block / 1 Turnover (30 Minutes)
Quentin Grimes needs to play more, especially in the absence of Luka Doncic. Far too often, he is one of few who looks completely poised at all times. He didn’t shoot particularly great, but continues to rebound well from the guard spot, doesn’t rack up turnovers and has no fear being assertive on offense. I may be subconsciously bumping his grade a touch on that basis, but I’m willing to reward a bit in the overall context of the depleted team.
Maxi Kleber: C+
5 Points / 2 Rebounds / 1 Assist / 1 Steal / 1 Block / 2 Turnovers (29 Minutes)
The primary plus-side to Kleber’s game in this one was his willingness to participate. That unintentionally sounds like a back-handed compliment, but given his near season-long hesitance, I mean this as a true positive sign. A stretch big is just a “big” if he does nothing to “stretch,” and in this one he put up a three with confidence to open his scoring. On the night, he had a decent game but with a few too many fouls and more turnovers than he should have.
Jaden Hardy: B
11 Points / 0 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks / 3 Turnovers (20 Minutes)
I genuinely questioned whether Hardy may have lost some playing time to Brandon Williams after last game, but his spot in the rotation was unaffected in this one and he made good on it aside from horrendous free throw shooting (of which basically the entire team was guilty). He had a highly efficient first half and was a big reason the Rockets didn’t have a bigger halftime lead than they did. Still, he had a couple of pound-the-air-out-of-the-ball-then-turn-it-over moments and those just plainly need to stop.