Dallas is winless through two preseason games, but Klay Thompson looked solid
The Dallas Mavericks lost at home to the Utah Jazz 107-102 in the team’s second preseason game, and while dropping to 0-2 in the preseason isn’t fun (nor is it a big deal), it was fun to watch new Maverick Klay Thompson make his debut in a Dallas jersey.
Thompson moved fluidly, defended well, and had some nice passes. He finished with a modest stat line — 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting — but all three of his makes were from three and he had three assists in his 18 minutes, including a nice dish to Dereck Lively for a dunk after Thompson curled around a pindown screen.
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After that, there wasn’t anything too notable from this game. Kyrie Irving played his first preseason game, so it was good to see him looking healthy after he suffered a broken left hand in the offseason. Daniel Gafford dunked the ball a bunch, especially in the third quarter, and led all Mavericks scorers with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
The training camp invites aren’t causing too much drama for final roster spots, as Dallas’ main roster is set and AJ Lawson signed to the third and final two-way spot before the game tipped off. When you’re a Finals contender, two-way slots and training camp invites just don’t matter all too much, and that’s a good thing. Boring is good for a championship contender in the preseason.
Kirk Henderson was out of commission for this one due to technical issues, so I flew solo to recap the evening. It’s a quick listen this time, but tune in to hear thoughts on Thompson’s debut and how frustrating it is that a preseason NBA game in the year 2024 isn’t locally broadcasted. What the hell!
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