Player Ratings: Summary of Mavericks vs. Jazz (Round 3)

The Dallas Mavericks faced Utah Jazz coming off the Thanksgiving layoff and keeping their winning ways going with a 106-94 victory. In their 20 games so far this season, the Mavs have now seen the Jazz three times, so these teams are no strangers to each other. After winning the first matchup, the Mavs suffered a two-point loss earlier this month on a blown defensive assignment when Luka Doncic communicated with trainers during live play. With a split so far, the night was set up as something of a rubber match in which the Mavs were certainly eager to claim victory.

The Mavs got off to a blazing hot start, scoring 40 points in the first quarter, 27 of which came on threes (9-for-13 in the quarter). The second quarter was a completely different story as the Mavs could only muster a paltry 16 points (their lowest scoring quarter of the year) and saw their 18-point first quarter lead shrink to 7 at the half. After catching the Jazz in the third, the Mavs couldn’t buy a bucket in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter before 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 allow the primary players to get some rest on this first night of back-to-backs. Let’s get to the characters!

Kyrie Irving: A+

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

Kyrie checked back into the game midway through the fourth quarter after a timeout. He immediately took and missed a three, but after an offensive rebound from PJ Washington, he hit a three to break through a six-minute cap on the hoop. Seconds later, he got a steal, was knocked down on a drive to the hoop, got the ball in and got an assist to Quentin Grime from the back. He shot 44% overall, but 46.2% (6-for-13) from three. He also had a team-leading +17 plus/minus on the night. When all was said and done, he emerged as the team’s superstar and made sure the Mavs secured the victory.

Quentin Grimes: A-

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

Grimes had the best scoring first half of his career (17) led by some red-hot shooting from three (5-for-9 from beyond the arc and was basically the only reason the Mavs took a massive lead in the first quarter. The rest of the game was almost the opposite, at least from three, and he somehow shot an inexplicable 1-for-6 from the free throw line (including an 0-for-3 trip after being fouled on the three-pointer). This was a strange game, where without his first quarter, who knows what the outcome would have been, but the rest of the game not particularly remarkable.

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 one, but that was probably due to an illness that kept him out of the second half. His 20 point scoring streak ended as a result, but there isn’t really enough in this bout of illness to grade him on.

PJ Washington: A+

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

I pondered this character longer than anyone else’s tonight. The box score doesn’t reflect top marks, but watching the match did. Washington looked out of touch and locked in every minute he played tonight. In the part of the third quarter where the game got uncomfortably close, Washington played the hero without playing hero ball. He patiently did all the right things to methodically score at high shooting percentages to extend the lead during that stretch, and even if that few minute sequence gets lost in the shuffle, it was clear to me that this thing could have gotten really ugly if he did it. ‘t single-handedly keep us going. Later in the game, he seemed like a heat seeker for rebounds that again kept the Jazz in check.

Derek Lively II: B-

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

Lively had a solid statistical game in this one, but his character suffers for 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 saw easy-to-grab rebounds fall to a Jazz player on at least two different plays, and the end result hurt the Mavs both times. This may be a byproduct of recent illness, but regardless, there was a reason he wasn’t on the floor in the crucial moments of the fourth.

Daniel Gafford: A+

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

I often look at blocks when grading Gafford (and Lively), but despite a goose egg in that category, Gafford gets top marks in this one. A resounding double-double that was highlighted by what went into the numbers. His rebounds were strong, his rim runs were strong, his post moves were strong. This was an enjoyable game to watch as Gafford went 6-for-6 and secured his twelfth straight game in double-figure scoring.

Maxi Kleber: D

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

Maxi passed up a wide open three in the second quarter, only to make a pass directly to Lauri Markkanen, which ultimately resulted in free throws at the other end. This character is not meant to be a slight attack over a single game, but rather, that game embodied the character for the night. In the third quarter, there was a pass exchange where he handed the ball off immediately (twice) after receiving it despite being open. He just looked reluctant in this one, and this hesitation is dangerously close to becoming a habit he can’t afford to get.

Jaden Hardy: C-

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

Hardy scoring off the bench, especially with so many players out, is a big part of his value proposition. He has shown the ability to score in bunches, but tonight was an exception. Like Maxi, he just seemed out of sorts. His shots were short almost every time (1-for-7 from the floor) and his play was generally not clean.

Spencer Dinwiddie: A-

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

To say Dinwiddie shot poorly in this one would be an understatement. As a result, I expect some will find this character bloated, but if you 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 consistently steadied the ship and played effective floor general, buying Kyrie some valuable bench time. His fourth quarter to Kyrie was nothing short of spectacular.

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