mavericks heat recap 123-118 – Mavs Moneyball

The Dallas Mavericks had a Sunday night stop in Florida to meet Miami Heatwhere they endured a 123 – 118 loss in a close game that proved to be a back and forth affair for the full 48 minutes… plus 5 extras. This OT game had weird vibes where the Heat seemed to be able to get corner threes up at will while the Mavs were able to get to the hole when they wanted to. Unfortunately, corner threes from unlikely heroes Bam Adebayo and Alec Burks (combined 7-for-14 on threes), some sloppy play and particularly awful shooting from a few players halted the Mavs’ four-game winning streak. Any close game loss hits a little harder, but this looked like another one the Mavs could have gotten, but instead was eerily similar to the four straight losses (by a combined 8 points) the Mavs suffered earlier this year. Let’s get to the characters!

Kyrie Irving: C+

27 points / 4 rebounds / 6 assists / 0 steals / 0 blocks

Kyrie led all Mavs with 27 points, but didn’t shoot well on the night going 9-for-21 from the floor and a paltry 3-for-12 from three. Those three in particular were harmful. Kyrie took a pair of staring threes in the fourth that could have very well put the game away, but he couldn’t convert. Speaking of putting the game away, Kyrie’s only missed free throw was the difference in going up by 2 instead of 3 in the closing moments of the game. An all-too-easy dunk at the other end forced overtime. Although we will never know what the three-point lead would have resulted in, the miss was disastrous.

Quentin Grimes: B-

4 points / 7 rebounds / 3 assists / 0 steals / 1 block

Grimes’ shooting night drove his grade down, while his rebounding and overall defense did everything they could to pull it up. Ultimately, I landed him at a B- because the team needs something more from their starting SG than what he was able to provide. Admittedly, that role was undercut by Luka Doncic’s absence, but Grimes has proven he can be efficient and effective. His 0-for-3 from three was especially hard to swallow in such a close loss.

Klay Thompson: B+

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

Thompson was nobody tonight, returning from a sub-par shooting night Friday. He shot 5-for-12 from the floor, but 3-for-5 from three. His defense was effective again, both with his 3 defensive boards and his 2 blocks, but he didn’t make much of an impact on this game in any way.

Naji Marshall: A

20 points / 5 rebounds / 1 assist / 0 steals / 0 blocks

This was a tale of two Naji’s type of game. He didn’t start well at all, but his performance in the second half not only saved his night, but made the overall picture look quiet appealing. He ended up shooting 8-for-16 including 3-for-5 from three, and himself had a personal 10-0 run in the third quarter that very likely kept the wheels from coming off for Dallas.

PJ Washington: A

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

Washington got off to a great start again and did almost everything right on the night, shooting 50% on 14 shots and posting a nice double-double. It’s hard to pick a highlight, but his offensive board missed a Kyrie three with under 2:00 left in the fourth quarter, keeping the game alive for Dallas.

Daniel Gafford: B+

10 points / 8 rebounds / 2 assists / 0 steals / 3 blocks

5-for-6 from the floor to go with the stat line above is a good night from Gafford, with the 3 blocks putting him on the fence for an A-. I ended up getting graded a bit lower just for the threes the Heat unleashed at will. Granted, his strength isn’t necessarily defending in space, but it felt like a few too many were too wide open due to poor finishes, and the threes hurt the Mavs time and time again.

Derek Lively II: A-

14 points / 13 rebounds / 4 assists / 0 steals / 2 blocks

This was a very solid outing for Lively, highlighted by his season high rebound total. He did pretty much everything right except for one thing. He completely blew Jimmy Butler away for a game tying dunk that just can’t happen. Of course, the loss does not depend on the one game (it never really does), but it was a glaring stain on an otherwise really enjoyable evening.

Maxi Glue: D

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

Kleber came close to not qualifying for grade consideration, but his 9 minutes offered enough activity to warrant it. He had a board, an assist and a turnover, but somehow he committed 3 fouls and missed all of his shots.

Jaden Hardy: D

0 points / 0 rebounds / 1 assist / 1 steal / 0 blocks

Like Kleber, Hardy barely qualified for a rating, but in his 9 minutes, he also did enough where you’d think there would be something positive. He shot 0-for-3 from the floor and committed 2 fouls. I chose to grade him as Kleber, not to beat anyone or give you extra reading, but because had he and Kleber even hit a shot, made one less mistake, etc., it could reasonably have changed the outcome of the game.

Spencer Dinwiddie: C-

7 points / 5 rebounds / 7 assists / 2 steals / 1 block

Dinwiddie doesn’t join Kleber and Hardy with the most undesirable grade that can be given only because he blocked a shot that basically saved the game in that moment. Otherwise, it’s hard to imagine Dinwiddie could ever shoot this poorly again, so at least we (hopefully) have that out of the way. 1-for-12 overall and 0-for-9 from three is nearly impossible to fathom. The rest of his game was pretty good for him.

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