The Mavericks were 3-1 this past week and moved to 12th place in the West, but are just two games back of 10th. They lost to Denver (118-109) before beating Utah twice (144-122, 138-120) and then traveled to New York, where they dismantled the Knicks (114-97). Max Christie led the team in scoring this with 24 points per game. P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford played in just one of the four games due to ankle injuries and personal reasons. Cooper Flagg missed two games with an ankle sprain as well, while Max Christie missed two with an illness. Kyrie Irving (knee) and Anthony Davis (finger) remain out.
Grade: A-
The Mavericks had a good week! They lost to a Denver team that got its key pieces (other than Nikola Jokic) back recently, but ran the table after that. Both wins against Utah came in bizarre blowouts, where the Jazz looked like they didn’t care about hiding their attempt to tank. Then, with whiffs of January 25th, 2010, Dallas blew the Knicks out of the water in one of the most shocking wins in recent memory. It was a double-digit spread in the Knicks’ favor, but the game was over by halftime. Max Christie hit six threes in the first half, leading the Mavericks to 75 points and a 28-point halftime lead. It was never close, and the Knicks looked helpless against a Dallas team that had Dwight Powell and Moussa Cisse as its only two available centers.
Naji Marshall continues to be incredible. He averaged 20.3 points and 4.3 assists this week and did not cool off, shooting 54.2 percent from the field. Brandon Williams played marvelously, scoring 16.5 points a night in electrifying fashion. A lot of guys, including Dwight Powell, stepped up with regular starters out of the lineup. With games against the Warriors, Lakers, and Bucks this upcoming week, it was good to gain momentum before the schedule toughens up.
Straight A’s: Jason Kidd
As much as Jason Kidd frustrates fans to no end with his experimental style, the one thing you cannot take away from him is his ability to get guys to play hard. The Mavericks started four different starting lineups in as many games and won their last three by an average of 19 points. Caleb Martin, who averaged less than three points in 47 games for Dallas before this week, looked serviceable in a starting role and even scored 14 points against Utah. The 144 points last Thursday against the Jazz were the 10th most points in franchise history, and they did it with no Cooper Flagg and 10 different guys playing 20-plus minutes. Hell, they signed Jeremiah Robinson-Earl the day of that game, and got 55 solid minutes from him in three subsequent appearances. Dallas’ goal of pairing Flagg with a top-five pick in this upcoming draft is in jeopardy, simply because this team will not lie down while Kidd is at the helm.
Currently Failing: Jaden Hardy
Unfortunately, it is so over for Jaden Hardy. In three blowout wins this week against Utah and New York, games in which the Mavericks won by 22, 18, and 17 points, Hardy was a team-worst minus-13 and shot 37.9 percent from the floor. He has not played much this season, but with opportunity presenting itself via the injury bug, he completely dropped the ball. Hardy was given the starting nod in chapter one of the series against Utah, and the fact that he did not start the second installment while playing just 17 minutes total in that game should tell you everything you need to know. The following two-minute appearance against the Knicks seems to signal that Kidd is done with the fourth-year guard. I don’t blame him; I have had enough of watching him.
Extra Credit: Klay Thompson
Klay Thompson shooting the ball is a beautiful thing. The beauty increases tenfold when the shots go in, and did they ever this week. Thompson hit 18 of his 38 threes (47.4 percent) and 25 of his 50 shots (50 percent). He went nuclear in the first half of the Saturday matinee against the Jazz, scoring all 23 of his points in just 14 minutes. At times, Thompson plays like he is on his way out of the league. But he still has stretches of greatness in him, and it is a magical thing to witness when it happens.
