The Mavericks went 3-1 over the last week and sit at 7-5 overall. They won three in a row at home against Utah (112-100), Brooklyn (130-93), and Indiana (125-122). Minnesota pummeled them to start off their road trip, 133-94. Cooper Flagg led the team in scoring with 25.3 points per game.
Grade: A-
The Mavericks, once again, had a three-game win streak spoiled by an embarrassing loss. The Timberwolves are much better than the Kings, but the effort from Dallas was similar. Minnesota got any shot they wanted, exposed the Mavericks’ size and lack of point-of-attack defenders, and effectively ended the game in the second quarter.
The three games prior, however, were great. The Mavericks took care of business against two bad teams and beat an Indiana team that always gives them problems. Morez Johnson Jr. has been awesome in his minutes; his early-season coup de grace was a 13-point, 17-rebound (10 offensive) performance against Utah, where he truly looked like the ninth pick for the first time. He said after the game that he was “back”, implying that the injury that hindered him to start the year had dissipated.
Caleb Martin has been good in his role as defensive connector. P.J. Washington’s jump shot looks so much better this season, likely because he is using his legs more. Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving’s chemistry continues to develop as Irving gets healthier. Speaking of which, Irving played his first back-to-back of the season against Brooklyn and Indiana. Zaccharie Risacher has had his minutes go up and down, mostly correlated to how he is playing game to game. Naji Marshall is one piece that still has not felt right on this team, and his trade status will need to be monitored going forward.
The Mavericks have to wash the stink of the Timberwolves loss as they head to Cleveland and Boston on a Saturday/Sunday back-to-back, and then back home for Golden State on Wednesday.
Straight A’s: Cooper Flagg
Let’s ignore Flagg’s stinker against Minnesota for a second. In the three-game win streak prior, he averaged 29.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, shot seven-of-15 from three, and had nine stocks (steals plus blocks). This included a 43-point, 10-rebound game, which brings his 40-point game total as a teenager to five, the most all-time. He also sits only behind LeBron James in 25-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist games as a teenager (Flagg 17, James 22), with 13 games scheduled plus the NBA Cup before his 20th birthday,
He is awesome. He is a joy to watch, a fierce competitor, and improves (almost) every game. When his three-point shot is on, as it was over the last four games, he is truly unguardable at age 19. Of course, the preface to this section was ignoring his poor performance in Minnesota. He still has weird off-nights. But he is not even 20 years old, and those should phase out as he grows. One thing has been clear in 12 games so far: a team Cooper Flagg will not be able to lose very often.
Failed the assignment: Daniel Gafford
Gafford has largely been good this year. He has been healthy, which is key, and he certainly is a lob threat on offense. But his weaknesses, particularly on defense, have been exposed recently. He cannot move in space effectively, which forces him to play drop coverage on pick-and-rolls. This means he drops back in the paint to guard the screener, which inherently leaves space for the ball handler to shoot or pass. Teams have been exploiting this, and it even got him benched against the Jazz.
His shot-blocking and big dunks are cool to watch, don’t get me wrong. But Gafford has a bit of the “Boban Syndrome”, where he is really good in short spurts and really bad when he plays extended periods. His minutes in the last four games are already down to just 18.3 a game, eclipsed by Morez Johnson Jr.’s 18.8. With Gafford, less is more. Unfortunately, this means they need their rookie undersized center, who is fresh off shin splints, will need to play more. Dallas may survive, but against bigger teams like the Timberwolves, they’re going to struggle mightily.
Extra Credit: Walter Clayton Jr.
Clayton Jr. has been one of the more underrated signings in the entirety of the NBA this season. His stats do not jump off the page (7.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists per game), but when you watch him play, he looks like he belongs. This Dallas roster was in dire need of guard play, and Clayton Jr., last year’s 18th overall pick, has given them great minutes at the one.
His assists come with just 1.6 turnovers per game, and he is shooting 37.1 percent from three. His hands on defense are active, which really stands out because he gets a lot of deflections. He is under control handling the ball, and already has the trust of the coaching staff to finish games. Normally, individual plus/minus is a flawed stat because there are four other guys on the court. However, Clayton Jr.’s +43 when he is on the floor this season backs up the eye test. He looks like an NBA point guard, and if he can keep this up, this would be Masai Ujiri’s crown jewel early in his tenure.
Eric Samulski
