The Dallas Mavericks concluded their preseason on October 16th against the Los Angeles Lakers, and there are a lot of interesting takeaways and notes I had after watching all four games. Overall, I was pleased with the product I saw put out on the floor, but some things need to be addressed. Not all of these things are bad, but they are all things that’ll matter this upcoming season.
#1 Cooper Flagg is as advertised
This won’t come as much of a surprise, being that he was the first pick of the NBA draft; however, any doubters of his game have been silenced. The big question still continues to be his 3-point shooting since he shot only 30 percent from behind the arc, but I’m not worried about that because, although his shooting wasn’t great, I liked the looks he got and thought that he’d shoot a better percentage with a longer sample size. Cooper’s defense is AMAZING! He is constantly causing chaos on that end of the floor, and even during the stint where Gabe Vincent looked like a top-five player in the world, Cooper played great defense. I am so excited to see the heights this young man reaches in his career, and hopefully, whatever those are, it’ll be with the Mavericks.
#2 Perimeter shooting is needed
Aside from Klay Thompson and the currently injured Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks lack threats from behind the arc. Miles Kelly is an exceptional three-point shooter, but I don’t know what his role will be since he’s on a two-way contract on an already stacked team. Against the Lakers, Dallas only shot an abysmal 29 percent from three. If they want to win, they need to get that number up. They currently remind me of the Orlando Magic last season, since they’re a great defensive team with a lack of shooting. The OKC Thunder won the championship last year as a defensive-heavy team that had a lack of shot creation outside of their stars. If the Mavericks want to have a chance to compete, they’ll need to vastly improve their shooting while staying elite defensively.
#3 The starting lineup is still an uncertainty
With Kidd experimenting with starting lineups with both Flagg and Dlo getting chances to start at point guard, it is apparent that Kidd is testing his options for the starting group. There are some players that will start no matter what, like Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg, and Kyrie when he’s back; however, the starting point guard spot until then is still a question. Ryan Nembhard has gotten a lot of practice reps with the starting group, but he’s on a two-way and a rookie, so I doubt he’d start. Brandon Williams is a fun player, but I doubt he’d start either. It’s going to either come down to D’Angelo Russell or Cooper Flagg. I think I’d prefer Dlo starting at point guard and then Flagg playing the three. My ideal starting group would consist of Dlo at the one, Klay at the two, Coop at the three, AD at the four, and Lively at the five. I’m a huge Daniel Gafford fan because he plays extremely hard, yet I believe Lively provides too much on the defensive end to not give him the starting spot. Jason Kidd also talked about giving Cooper some minutes at the two, which would probably move Klay to the bench and bring PJ Washington to the starters. I don’t see this happening because our shooting woes are too strong for us to put out a lineup without our best shooter. I am excited to see the Mavericks experiment with many different lineups on the floor because I believe that if we can make open threes at a respectable clip, the defensive talent will make us a great team.
#4 Ryan Nembhard is going to get minutes
In the preseason, Ryan Nembhard had 20 assists and only two turnovers. That is an insane stat! That is a 10:1 turnover ratio, which is an insane feat to achieve. It was only over three games, so we shouldn’t go crazy just yet, but he was the best playmaker in all of college basketball last year, and the Mavericks didn’t have to give up any assets to get him. The benchmark for an elite point guard is a 3:1 turnover ratio. I don’t love the assist-to-turnover ratio stat because oftentimes, low turnover numbers may just mean you don’t do any risky passes; however, we’ve seen enough from Ryan Nembhard to know he’s an elite playmaker. Last year at Gonzaga, Ryan averaged 9.8 assists and 1.7 steals a game. Outside of his small size, Ryan Nembhard has the makings of an elite pass-first guard, and he will earn minutes this year.
#5 We likely won’t see DSJ in a Mavs jersey again
Dennis Smith Jr. is a fan favorite Dallas Maverick who was brought back to the team on a non-guaranteed contract before the start of training camp. Since his last stint with the Mavericks, Smith has significantly improved his defense. So much so that it is now what his game is known for. His defensive skills would help this Mavericks team’s already smothering defense get even better. However, his perimeter shooting is poor, and that is a big need on this Dallas team that already has a lot of hypothetical shooters. The Mavericks already have a full roster, so if he were to stay around, Dallas would have to free up a spot. I doubt they’d cut Dante Exum because they already cut Omax to bring him in. I also don’t foresee them getting rid of Jaden Hardy for Dennis because, despite all of his struggles, Jaden Hardy isn’t a bad shooter. With the current roster size and the hurdles they’d have to go through to bring in somebody who doesn’t solve their biggest issue and barely got any preseason run, I don’t see a world where he sticks around. I’ve wanted Dallas to bring back DSJ for a while now. I just think they’re two years too late.
Other things I found interesting:
-Even not at full effort, AD looks great!
-Caleb Martin and Danté Exum are still missing games…
-Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is too good not to be on an NBA roster somewhere.
-Miles Kelly can shoot the ball!
-Moussa Cissé should absolutely get the final two-way spot.
-Naji Marshall is still great offensively, and although not at a great percentage, his three-point shot looks better.
The Mavericks’ preseason showed plenty to be optimistic about, with some things that still need to be worked out. We have more than enough defensive talent to stay competitive while Kyrie is out; we just need to find a rhythm offensively and stay out of injury trouble. No matter how the season may go, I’m extremely excited to watch this team again, because outside of my family, the Dallas Mavericks are the thing I love most in life.
