Player Grades: Mavericks vs. Jazz (Round 3) Summary

The Dallas Mavericks took on the Utah Jazz after the Thanksgiving break and continued their winning streak with a 106-94 win. In their 20 games so far this season, the Mavs have now seen the Jazz three times, so these teams are no strangers to one another. After winning the first match, the Mavs suffered a two-point loss earlier this month due to Luka Doncic communicating with coaches during live play and a broken defense. With a split so far, the evening was something of a rubber match, with the Mavs certainly desperate to win.

The Mavs got off to a fast start, scoring 40 points in the first quarter, including 27 from three-pointers (9 of 13 in the quarter). The second quarter was a completely different story as the Mavs could only muster a measly 16 points (their lowest scoring quarter of the year) and their lead from 18 points in the first quarter dwindled to 7 at halftime. After ousting the Jazz in the third quarter, the Mavs couldn’t buy a basket in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter until Kyrie checked back in and got things going. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Mavs had made a late push to extend the lead and give the key players some rest on this first night of a back-to-back game. Let’s get to the notes!

Kyrie Irving: A+

30 points / 6 rebounds / 9 assists / 4 steals / 0 blocks

Kyrie returned to the game after a timeout midway through the fourth quarter. He immediately took a three-pointer and missed it, but after an offensive rebound from PJ Washington, he hit a three-pointer to break a six-minute stretch at the basket. Seconds later, he got a steal, was knocked down on a drive to the basket, tied up the ball and got an assist off his back for Quentin Grime. He shot 44% overall, but 46.2% (6-for-13) from three. He also had a team-leading plus/minus of +17 on the night. Ultimately, he emerged as the team’s superstar and ensured the Mavs secured victory.

Quentin Grimes: A-

24 points / 4 rebounds / 0 assists / 0 steals / 1 block

Grimes posted a career-best first-half points total (17), largely through some blistering three-pointers (5 of 9 from long range), and was basically the only reason the Mavs took a massive lead in the first quarter. The rest of the game was almost the exact opposite, at least from three, and he somehow shot an inexplicable 1-for-6 from the free throw line (including an 0-for-3 foul after being fouled on the three-pointer). Game where without his first quarter, who knows what the outcome would have been, but the rest of the game wasn’t particularly noteworthy.

Naji Marshall: N/A

3 points / 1 rebound / 1 assist / 0 steals / 0 blocks

Naji didn’t get off to a good start in this game, but that was probably due to an illness that kept him out of the second half. That ended his 20-point streak, but in this sickness game there isn’t really enough to give him a grade.

PJ Washington: A+

16 points / 10 rebounds / 1 assist / 1 steal / 1 block

I’ve thought about this note longer than any other note tonight. The box score does not reflect the top score, but watching the game does. Washington looked unfazed and locked in every minute he played tonight. In the part of the third quarter where the game became uncomfortably close, Washington played hero without playing hero ball. He patiently did everything right to methodically score on high-percentage shots and extend the lead in that phase, and although this few-minute sequence gets lost in the shuffle, I knew that things could have gotten really ugly if he did You couldn’t have kept us going single-handedly. Later in the game, he appeared to be a heat seeker for rebounds that once again kept the Jazz at bay.

Dereck Lively II: B-

6 points / 7 rebounds / 4 assists / 0 steals / 2 blocks

Lively had a solid statistical performance in this game, but his grade suffered due to the intangibles. While there were a few emphatic blocks and a nice put-back dunk or two, there were a few too many occasions where he slept on the job. He watched a Jazz player go for easy rebounds on at least two different plays, and the end result hurt the Mavs both times. That may be a byproduct of a recent illness, but whatever the case, there was a reason he wasn’t on the floor in the crucial moments of the fourth round.

Daniel Gafford: A+

14 points / 12 rebounds / 3 assists / 1 steal / 0 blocks

When evaluating Gafford (and Lively), I often look at blocks, but despite the goose egg in this category, Gafford gets top marks in this category. A resounding double-double that was underlined by the numbers. His rebounding was strong, his rim running was strong, his post moves were strong. It was an entertaining game, with Gafford going 6-for-6 to secure his 12th straight game with a double-digit score.

Maxi Kleber: D

0 points / 4 rebounds / 0 assists / 1 steal / 1 block

Maxi missed a wide-open three-pointer in the second quarter to instead make a pass directly to Lauri Markkanen, which ultimately led to free throws on the other side. This note is not intended to be a small attack on a single play, but rather this play embodied the note for the evening. There was a passing exchange in the third quarter where he immediately passed the ball (twice) after receiving it even though it was open. In this case, he just seemed reluctant, and that hesitation is dangerously close to becoming a habit he can’t afford.

Jaden Hardy: C-

4 points / 2 rebounds / 2 assists / 2 steals / 0 blocks

Hardy scoring off the bench is a big part of his value proposition, especially with so many players out. He has shown that he is capable of scoring in groups, but tonight was an exception. Like Maxi, he just didn’t seem to be involved. His shots were short almost every time (1 of 7 from the floor) and his overall game just wasn’t clean.

Spencer Dinwiddie: A-

7 points / 2 rebounds / 10 assists / 3 steals / 0 blocks

To say Dinwiddie shot poorly in this game would be an understatement. So I expect some will find this review exaggerated, but once you’ve watched this for 48 minutes, I’d challenge you to question the overall impact he had on the outcome. Not only did he have 10 assists and 3 steals, but he also consistently provided stability and played the floor general effectively, giving Kyrie valuable backup time. His dime for Kyrie in the fourth quarter was nothing short of spectacular.

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