player-grades-recap-mavericks-vs-pelicans-nba-cup-matchup-luka-doncic – Mavs Moneyball

The Dallas Mavericks beat a depleted New Orleans Pelicans squad 132-91 on Tuesday night. The matchup was the second NBA Cup game for both teams, with the Mavs currently 0-1 in Cup qualifying while the Pelicans sit at 1-0. With both teams in West Group C, to say nothing of being in the same division, there was a little extra motivation for both teams in this one. While the Mavericks moved toward a healthier roster with the recent return of PJ Washington, Dereck Lively and Luka Doncic, the Pelicans unfortunately couldn’t say the same, playing without Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, Jose Alvarado and others. Under the collective circumstances, this was basically a must-win for the Mavericks, and they came out swinging. Hard. Yes, the Pelicans were depleted, and yes, they made a little push into halftime, but the Mavs took care of business in a big way, and that’s exactly what they need to do with these types of opportunities. Let’s get to the characters!

Luka Doncic: B+

26 points / 5 rebounds / 5 assists / 3 steals / 1 block

Doncic started the festivities with back-to-back steals that he took the other way for layups to give the Mavs an early 4-0 lead to set the tone. He had active hands all night, forcing turnovers that weren’t necessarily credited to him, and shot a blistering 10-for-16 from the floor. His three-point shooting demonstrated some cold-blooded recklessness, but also some questionable pulls that didn’t quite fit the flow of the offense. His three turnovers left a little to be desired on that front, especially when one led to complaints, which led to another technical foul.

Kyrie Irving: A-

18 points / 1 rebound / 7 assists / 0 steals / 0 blocks

Let’s get this out of the way right away. The grade is probably a bit high for Irving’s performance in a somewhat shortened 27 minutes. That said, he gets a bump (again) for his shooting percentages (54.5% from the floor; 4-for-5 on threes) along with how and when he does what he does. He’s been playing his game day in and day out, and when this game got a little close, he hit back-to-back devastating threes that turned things back in the Mavs’ favor.

Klay Thompson: A-

19 points / 4 rebounds / 1 assist / 2 steals / 0 blocks

Thompson did what he was brought here, plus a little extra. 5-for-9 from three with a nice little rebound haul and two nice steals was a well-rounded game in 24 minutes of play. Although they weren’t actual assists, Thompson had great passes to a wide open PJ Washington on two occasions in the first quarter, but neither three-point attempt would fall. Either way, this is the type of heady play that won’t show up in the stats, but will pay massive dividends over a larger sample size.

Naji Marshall: A-

15 points / 0 rebounds / 3 assists / 3 steals / 0 blocks

I’m very high on Naji Marshall and what he brings to the team right now. He simply adds a dimension the Mavs didn’t have last year with his ball handling and his finishing with little flip and push shots around the rim. I rechecked the box score several times to make sure he didn’t actually count any rebounds in this one, but maybe this game is the intended lesson of how what you see and what logs in the box score can look very different sometimes – it certainly felt like Marshall went all out tonight, even if he left the rebound column empty.

Quentin Grimes: A

12 points / 8 rebounds / 3 assists / 0 steals / 1 block

Grimes looks to get into the groove and do all the things he was brought here to do. In the first quarter alone, he had a great streak under the basket, drilled a three in the natural flow of the offense and hit a buzzer beater to bring the Mavs’ first quarter scoring total to 44 points. For a guy who averages 2.5 rebounds per game. game, he’s had a few good games on the boards lately, with tonight being a season high (8). 5-for-9 shooting (2-for-3 on threes) is exactly what the Mavs expected and need from a 3-and-D player like Grimes.

Daniel Gafford: B

11 points / 6 rebounds / 0 assists / 0 steals / 0 blocks

Gafford’s stat line doesn’t jump off the page in this one, but he was an efficient 5-for-7 and had a strong game. His rebound numbers weren’t monumental, but he was clearly on the hunt and did a better job of securing the ball than he has in some of the recent games. Overall, he had a good game with a bit more impact than his stats show.

Derek Lively II: B

9 points / 7 rebounds / 3 assists / 1 steal / 0 blocks

Like Gafford, Lively put in a solid body of work that wasn’t particularly notable statistically, but likely impacted the game more positively than it would first appear. The center tandem somehow logged zero blocks combined, but certainly changed more shots and held the back line defense down in a blowout victory.

PJ Washington: C+

4 points / 6 rebounds / 1 assist / 1 steal / 2 blocks

Washington had a nice defensive game, highlighted by a beautiful streak under the hoop that he then saved from going out of bounds, but his 2-for-9 shooting and four fouls left room for improvement. Even on a sub-par night, his presence makes a positive impact when you think back to how the team looked in the games he sat out due to injury.

Maxi Glue: A-

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

Kleber had one of those games where the intangibles contributed massively to his character. His stat line wasn’t anything to write home about, but if you watched the game, you saw that he had nothing but positive impact. He emphatically grabbed rebounds, played exceptional defense in all the ways that don’t show up in the box, and had two really nice blocks. His team-leading plus-30 matches his performance.

Jaden Hardy: B+

11 points / 2 rebounds / 3 assists / 0 steals / 0 blocks

Hardy hasn’t always been the best finisher, but lately has taken to driving harder and pounding a bit more. He had a nice play to break down the defense for a drive and dunk, which opened him up for a nice turn-around jumper a few possessions later. He lets the game come to him a little more while making the most of his opportunities. His shooting percentage wasn’t impressive tonight, but it felt like he had at least three blatant no-calls going against him on drives to the hoop. There was no one else to blame for his missed alley-oop in the fourth quarter, but he had a nice jam a few minutes later.