Assigning grades for each of the Mavericks’ players in their 110-93 win over the Spurs
The Dallas Mavericks entered Saturday night’s game in a bit of a freefall. Having lost four straight games by a combined 8 points, the Mavs were in desperate need of a win. After notching a 120-109 win over the San Antonio Spurs to open the season, the Mavs had a great chance at a repeat performance against their in-state opponent who would be without Victor Wembanyama and Jeremy Sochan. The Spurs had an early 9-0 run followed almost immediately by a 7-0 run later in the first quarter and it appeared this one was going to be a lot more competitive than it needed to be. Coming out of the half, the Mavs kicked it in however, ultimately blowing the doors open and getting a desperately needed win. Let’s get to the grades!
Luka Doncic: C+
16 Points / 6 Rebounds / 6 Assists / 2 Steals / 0 Blocks
Luka and most of the other starters were more difficult than usual to grade tonight, due to limited minutes in what became a blowout. Despite only playing 28 minutes, you would expect Luka’s numbers to be better. He just didn’t look impressive tonight. His shooting percentage were poor (37.5% overall; 33.3% from three), he bricked two-of-three free throws, and was blown by on at least three Spurs’ drives that were glaring to me in real time.
Kyrie Irving: A-
22 Points / 8 Rebounds / 6 Assists / 2 Steals / 0 Blocks
Kyrie was on the cusp between B+ and A-, but I decided to err higher given his eight rebounds and ridiculous 60% from the field. His three turnovers are a touch too high, but his team-leading +22 plus/minus didn’t happen by accident. He has been the steady, calm leader since the season began and those intangibles factored into his grade tonight as well.
Klay Thompson: B-
9 Points / 0 Rebounds / 0 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks
Thompson is probably the most difficult Mav to grade on the night. His box score is largely unimpressive, but he’s a shooter who shot very well overall (57.1%), yet contributed little else. The fact he played only 18 minutes was certainly the primary contributing factor to the odd stat line, however you’d expect he would even accidentally register another stat in any of the five major categories. He had a nice game and earned himself a lot of rest, but it’s difficult to say much more than that.
Naji Marshall: C+
6 Points / 3 Rebounds / 4 Assists / 1 Steals / 0 Blocks
Marshall probably could have gotten a B-, but shooting 2-for-9 was very un-pretty and knocked him into the C range. What kept him on the higher end was the fact he contributed a little bit of everything against the Spurs, and did some nice little things that will never show in a box score. Like Thompson, he only played 18 minutes.
Quentin Grimes: B+
5 Points / 4 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks
Grimes had a solid night in 22 minutes, scoring a few, passing well and grabbing as many rebounds as the starting center Dereck Lively. That’s probably more of an indictment on Lively than anything, but snatching four boards from the guard spot came by way of Grimes’ high energy. His defensive activity on the perimeter was nice to see as it seems he is finding a groove over the last few games.
Daniel Gafford: A
22 Points / 7 Rebounds / 1 Assists / 1 Steals / 3 Blocks
Gafford basically had his best game of the season with his highest point total to go with a solid rebounding night and a mini block party. I ended up not adding a “+” after his grade, reserving that for a night he goes above his usual stats in multiple categories, but it should be noted that Gafford is not a one-trick dunk pony (although he had a massive jam over Zach Collins). His touch and overall moves around the rim have improved greatly from last season. He was engaged all night and put himself in the right position for success throughout the game.
Dereck Lively II: B
7 Points / 4 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 0 Steals / 4 Blocks
Lively benefits from a generous touch on this grade. He was 3-for-6 from the floor and should have pulled down more rebounds than he did, but his defensive presence that doesn’t show in the stats was noticeable. He altered shots and generally deterred drives before they started on a few occasions. His block total (and his ability to avoid fouling) got him a little bump tonight.
P.J. Washington: B
0 Points / 4 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 2 Steals / 0 Blocks
Washington lands toward the middle on his grade. He’s way off expectation, but also coming off a multi-game injury absence and only logged 19 minutes in a blow-out. He only attempted two shots, so against that backdrop, his rebounds, assists and steals are actually impressive. He also made his minutes feel different in that you could appreciate his length and attention to defense which has been lacking in the games he sat out.
Jaden Hardy: A-
12 Points / 3 Rebounds / 1 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks
Hardy basically gave everything we could ask for in his 18 minutes. 4-for-9 from the floor, 2-for-5 from three, 2-for-2 on free throws is the type of microwave efficiency scoring that he needs to bring to this team. He had a nice dunk and no turnovers, but fouled a touch too much (3). In general, however, he did what the Mavs need him to do.