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[Dallas Mavericks]

Player Grades: Recapping Mavericks vs. Jazz

Coming off a tight win Tuesday night, the Dallas Mavericks took on the Utah Jazz looking for continued success, but lost a 116-114 contest in Salt Lake City similar to their last matchup with the Jazz when they allowed a big run to let one get away.

Let’s get to the grades!

Cooper Flagg: A​

26 PTS / 10 REB / 8 AST / 3 STL / 1 BLK – 38 MIN​

Flagg was excellent all night and arguably should have gotten more looks given how well he was playing. Regardless, his 10-for-18 shooting, including 3-for-6 from downtown made him the Mavs’ leading scorer. His near triple-double keeps his grade high despite the turnover total and four fouls.

Max Christie: B+​

16 PTS / 4 REB / 4 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 32 MIN​

Coming off a rough shooting night in Tuesday’s game, Christie put that behind him and got right back to doing what he had been doing in recent weeks. He hit a huge three just as the game officially became “clutch” which put the Mavs up by seven at the time. Although Dallas didn’t close it out, Christie shot well (5-for-9; 3-for-6 from deep) and had a solid all-around game.

Naji Marshall: B​

17 PTS / 2 REB / 4 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 37 MIN​

There are not enough reverse-superlatives to articulate how bad a turnover Marshall committed on an inbounds pass with under a minute remaining. It had no chance in any plane of reality whatsoever, and served as the cherry on top of Dallas blowing a winnable game as Utah went on a run to close it. To his credit, he otherwise had a solid game on 7-for-11 shooting and only one turnover, but it just felt a bit empty overall.

Anthony Davis: B​

21 PTS / 11 REB / 4 AST / 1 STL / 1 BLK – 35 MIN​

This is the second game in a row that Davis’ grade does not appear commensurate with his box score, but watching the game told a different story than the number from my perspective. He hit 50% of his 20 shot attempts, but Davis got roasted on multiple occasions on the defensive end and too often clogged up the paint offensively, preventing his teammates from executing and getting to their spots. I’d respectfully comment he should not have been the leading shot taker on the team either. Davis left after a somewhat bizarre hand injury late in the fourth quarter, that as of this writing, has not been diagnosed and disclosed publicly other than coach Jason Kidd acknowledging Davis suffered a hand injury during his postgame media availability.

Daniel Gafford: D​

0 PTS / 7 REB / 0 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 25 MIN​

Gafford grabbed a handful of boards, but otherwise this was a no-show.

Ryan Nembhard: C+​

7 PTS / 2 REB / 4 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 22 MIN​

There wasn’t much doing in this one. Nembhard couldn’t find his stroke, especially from downtown (1-for-4) and turned it over three times. It won’t show in the box score, but Nembhard gets bonus points for his relentless hassling of Jazz inbounders and full court pressure which helped the Mavs close the half on a nice run. That effort helped him to the best plus/minus on the team (by far) of plus-13.

Brandon Williams: N/A​

2 PTS / 3 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 9 MIN​

Williams unfortunately exited the game due to sickness and did not return, so we’ll refrain from grading his partial performance.

Klay Thompson: A​

23 PTS / 3 REB / 5 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 29 MIN​

Thompson found his shot since last time out, and aside from two bizarre turnovers in the early going, he scored nearly a point per minute played early on to keep Dallas close while Utah put on a dunk contest in the first quarter. From there, it only continued. He finished shooting 7-for-13, with six of those makes coming from downtown. His assist total was also his season high. It’s a shame one of his better performances of the season ended in a loss.

Final thoughts​

Dallas looked like the Washington General in the first quarter. The nature of their turnovers was almost comical and would make Benny Hill proud. They were literally falling down, double-dribbling and making horrific passes. Amazingly and despite the start, they had the game won but allowed Utah to make a big run to close things out. This was a bad loss exacerbated by the injury to Anthony Davis. Whether you want him here or want him traded, a long-term hand injury could spoil your day either way.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/dalla...kkanen-mavs-lose-116-114-anthony-davis-injury

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Stats rundown: 3 Stats from The Mavs’ clutch loss to the Jazz, 116-114

The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Utah Jazz, 116-114, but boy does Cooper Flagg love playing in Utah. He lead Dallas with 26 points, and was the only Maverick in the starting five to finish the game with a positive +/-, at +3.

Lauri Markkanen led all scorers with 33 and was supported with 19 from Keyonte George, who continues to play great in his breakout season.

68: points scored by Cooper Flagg in two games against Utah​

In his first game against the Jazz, Cooper set the high-scoring mark for his young career, putting up 42 points in what became his “I’ve arrived” game. In that first matchup, though, Flagg required 15 free throws to get to 42. Tonight, he earned just four, and made three of them.

It was his shooting from the floor — 10-of-18 from the floor and 3-of-6 from three — that powered the majority of his 26-point night. He also finished with eight assists and 10 rebounds, just two assists shy of his first triple-double, and what would be the youngest player to do so in league history. The watch continues. It’s just a shame both of those impressive nights from Flagg have ended with a loss (well, depending on what you want from this season)

-3: Pivotal shot taken off the board​

With Dallas holding a 107-103 lead with under four minutes to go in the fourth quarter (a clutch game, obviously), Cooper Flagg hit what looked like an astounding circus shot. He caught an inbounds pass, spun, and fired up a three from the corner with under a second to go on the shot clock. Nailed it.

Initially, the bucket was counted, but upon review, the shot was just late and resulted in a shot clock violation. So, instead of pushing the lead to seven, Utah got the ball, and Lauri Markkannen promptly went and laid in a hook shot, the start of an 11-1 Jazz run that vaulted them ahead of Dallas with a lead they never surrendered. The 3-pointer that got removed from the board was more than just a loss of points; it shifted the momentum in a game that had been back and forth all night.

1: season-altering finger injury​

Anthony Davis left the game in the fourth quarter with a finger injury. He went to the lockerroom and didn’t return. In a post-game press conference, all Coach Kidd could say about it was that Davis had injured his left hand.

With Atlanta moving Trae Young to the Wizards, it really felt like progress was being made to get AD sent to the team that has been most closely linked with Dallas in trade discussions. How much value AD possessed on the market has been hotly debated, but AD, with an injury to his hand that’s going to keep him out multiple weeks, is certainly going to be much less than it was before.

Dallas is attempting to tread an impossibly narrow path in retooling around Flagg with the few remaining assets they have to rebuild the team on the fly. Getting even less for AD means there’s going to be an even smaller room for error in this rebuild.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/dalla...from-the-mavs-clutch-loss-to-the-jazz-116-114

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

On the eve of a possible trade, Anthony Davis predictably injures himself, yet again

Anthony Davis went to the locker room late in the fourth quarter of the Dallas Mavericks’ 116-114 loss at the Utah Jazz on Thursday, after brushing his hand against Lauri Markkanen’s jersey as Markkanen drove past Davis along the baseline on his way to two of his game-high 33 points.

Davis doubled over in pain immediately and walked out of bounds, clearing the lane for Markkanen to hit a little reverse layup as part of a 9-1 run that killed the Mavericks’ late comeback attempt at the Delta Center.

He seemed to know immediately. He was obviously in pain on the bench, a team trainer came over and the two headed straight for the locker room after a few seconds of back-and-forth. That sequence would seem to portend that the injury was more than just a jammed finger.

There were no updates on the nature or severity of the injury immediately after the game, but if Davis’ latest injury is anything more serious than a sprain, it could cloud the team’s outlook as the NBA’s Feb. 5 Trade Deadline approaches.

“He hurt his left hand,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said in his postgame comments. “That’s all we have.”

It’s not subterfuge; the injury had just occurred about 20 minutes before Kidd gave that answer. But on the other hand, this is not an encouraging quote at all. Any kind of prolonged hesitation on the team’s part to offer an update on his status could derail the team’s ability to get off Davis’ salary as soon as possible and switch gears to focus on building around rookie superstar Cooper Flagg, who scored 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished eight assists in the loss on Thursday.

Davis was expected to be traded before the deadline, likely for a combination of expiring contracts, spare parts and/or draft compensation. The Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors were two of the latest teams rumored to have interest in acquiring Davis.

watch AD's hand pic.twitter.com/29Dc364ld2

— MavsHighlights (@MavsHighlights) January 9, 2026

This hand injury could end up setting the Mavericks back in a big way. It came at the worst possible moment. His stat-padded good nights have buoyed his trade value to this point. If he’s on the shelf for anything longer than a week, you’d have to think Atlanta, Toronto, Golden State, Chicago and any other potential suitors would immediately vanish into the mist. And if the Mavericks are unable to move Davis before the trade deadline, they may be stuck with him until 2028.

That would put Dallas to a decision as soon as this offseason on whether to extend him when he becomes eligible for his next deal in August. The correct decision there, given Davis’ staggering injury history and franchise-crushing $120-million combined salary cap hit over the next two years, is not only no, but hell no. The list of potential teams interested in Davis’ services after this season will no doubt shrink, since his agent, Rich Paul, has made it known that Davis wants to play for a team that will extend him. If there is no interest in Davis outside the Mavericks, he would, at that point, almost certainly opt in to his player option for 2027-28, leaving Dallas even more hamstrung under the salary cap than they already are.

The Mavs are positioned well with Flagg as a tentpole to come out the other side of the worst trade in modern sports history with a chance to be relevant again in a couple of years. But that’s only if they’re able to offload Davis before the trade deadline or after this season. A 35-year-old Davis still eating up 35% of the salary cap in 2027 would be catastrophic.

That’s why moving him for spare parts and draft picks is such a valuable option for this team — anything that helps them avoid that fate is the best outcome for Dallas. This hand injury is the perfect microcosm for the Anthony Davis Experience in Dallas. This flukey hand injury is exactly why the best reason for trading Davis is simply to be rid of Davis. Yea, he looks good on some nights and still has the ability to influence actual wins against actual good teams in his best moments, but those moments come too few and too far between. They will come even fewer and even farther between over the next two years, if only because he continues to prove his inability to stay healthy.

There’s nothing sustainable about Davis’ good moments, because who knows when his hand is going to brush against someone’s jersey, sending him straight to the locker room the next time? The prognosis on this hand injury will have a ripple effect on the Mavs’ future for years to come.

UPDATE: NBA insider Marc Stein reported late Friday morning that imaging was scheduled on Friday to assess the severity of Davis’ injury.

Imaging is scheduled for today to determined the severity of Anthony Davis’ hand injury sustained Thursday night in Utah, league sources say.

The Mavericks are traveling to Chicago and Davis’ status for his annual homecoming game Saturday is not yet known. https://t.co/mwL3YF4LQh

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 9, 2026

The fact that imaging is even necessary suggests that there is at least some possibility that the injury is more severe than a simple jammed finger or hand. Davis’ status for Saturday’s game at the Chicago Bulls remains in question as of Friday afternoon.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/maver...y-davis-predictably-injures-himself-yet-again

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

NBA Power Rankings Watch: the Mavericks are at a crossroads

There is a frenetic anxiety mounting in the atmosphere around the Dallas Mavericks. As the league inches closer to the NBA trade deadline the unknown possibilities for the Mavericks has left fans feeling they’ve entered the final episodes in a season of Breaking Bad. It ramped up more when now-former Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young was traded to the Washington Wizards — in what seemed a first domino to the Mavericks trading Anthony Davis to the Hawks. Only for Davis to exit Thursday’s game in the final minutes and head straight to the locker room with a new injury. An injury that could keep him out longterm and remove immediate chances at a deal.

That’s all separate from the X’s and O’s and game results, which have dipped back down save for a few wins against quality opponents. The organization is at a crossroads. Any thoughts of “waiting to see” what develops with the current roster need to be squashed. Action to build anew must happen now. That’s the truth lying just below the surface of this week’s Power Rankings Watch.

ESPN​

Rank: 23​

Last week: 24​

Anthony Davis watch will dominate discussions about the Mavericks until the trade deadline. He’d be happy to stay in Dallas if he gets a contract extension this summer, but it’s a stretch to say that would be a logical decision for the Mavs as they built around teenage prodigy Cooper Flagg. Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, who represents Davis, will play a significant role in the search for a trade partner willing to make that kind of commitment to the 10-time All-Star this offseason. — MacMahon

The Athletic​

Rank: 23 (Tier 4: Not the Tier to Fear)​

Last week: 26​

2026 resolution: Maximize Cooper Flagg

Head coach Jason Kidd said that Cooper Flagg has to touch, rub and hold the rookie wall. I’m surprised Kidd didn’t say that Flagg will need to ride the snake to get through the rookie wall as well. Certainly, he’ll be headed for that method with Flagg starting at point guard once again, though Dallas was able to survive a rough Flagg scoring game against the Rockets and get its first win in five games.

NBA​

Rank: 25​

Last week: 26​

Anthony Davis missed only two games with his latest injury, played 76 total minutes over his first two games back, and led the Mavs (with 26 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks) to a win over the Rockets on Saturday.

Three takeaways

• The win on Saturday ended a four-game losing streak and was the Rockets’ worst offensive game of the season (104 points on 101 possessions). The five games prior were the Mavs’ worst stretch of defense (120.3 points allowed per 100), but they still rank in the top 10 on that end of the floor, having seen the league’s sixth biggest improvement from last season. Of course, a lot of that improvement is from the league’s second-biggest drop in opponent 3-point percentage, and time will tell if it sustains.
• The Mavs beat the Rockets despite shooting just 3-for-10 from mid-range and making only eight 3-pointers themselves. They have the league’s second-biggest differential between their field goal percentage in the paint (57.5%, 16th) and their effective field goal percentage on shots from outside the paint (48.2%, 29th). Naji Marshall, Brandon Williams, Davis and Cooper Flagg have the fifth, sixth, 10th and 12th biggest differentials, respectively, among 175 players with at least 75 shots in the paint and at least 75 shots outside.
• The Mavs erased a 17-point deficit in Portland last Monday and had a wide-open 3-pointer for the lead with seven seconds left, but Marshall missed that shot and they lost what could have been a huge game regarding the Western Conference Play-In picture. They’ve now lost their last seven road games, with four of those seven losses having come to other teams in the bottom seven in the West.

Coming up: Overall, the Mavs are just 3-8 (only the Kings have been worse) in games played between the seven West teams with losing records. The three-game trip that begins Tuesday includes games in Sacramento and Utah.

Bleacher Report​

Rank: 25​

Last week: 22​

It’s time for the Dallas Mavericks to surrender their pursuit of a play-in spot (assuming they haven’t done it already).

Trade Anthony Davis, enjoy the big Cooper Flagg nights (like Thursday, when he had 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in a loss to the Utah Jazz) and chase better lottery odds.

There’s some value in playing high-leverage games early in your career, but the play-in would likely give Dallas just one or two of those. And that doesn’t come close to measuring up to the potential of a Flagg pairing with one of the top prospects in this upcoming draft.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/maver...ny-davis-injury-espn-athletic-bleacher-report

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Stats Rundown: 3 numbers to know from the Mavericks blowout loss to the Bulls

The Dallas Mavericks got ran off the floor, literally, against the Chicago Bulls 125-107 Saturday night in Chicago. Dallas drops their second straight game against a losing team, their first game since Anthony Davis injured his hand in the loss against the Jazz on Thursday night.

This was a no-good, very-bad game for the Mavericks, who trailed for the entire game. It was a rare blowout loss for the Mavericks, losing by as much as 27 points in the fourth quarter. Rookie point guard Ryan Nembhard led Dallas with 16 points, while Bulls guard Coby White led all scorers with a game-high 22 points.

This game wasn’t very fun to watch, and was potentially a bad foreshadowing of things to come as the Mavericks attempt to push the season forward with Davis expected to miss at least the next month, maybe even more. Let’s just get to the numbers.

38-8: Bulls advantage in fastbreak points​

Chicago rammed the ball down Dallas’ throat the entire night. In a battle between two fast-based teams, it was the Bulls that looked like a blur in the open court, while the Mavericks were a step-slow and sluggish from opening tip. That 38-8 fastbreak point edge is the worst the Mavericks have lost the transition battle all season.

The Mavericks only had 14 turnovers, which isn’t bad, but nearly all of them were catastrophic, live-ball turnovers. The Bulls scored 17 points off those 14 turnovers, which was honestly a let off considering how many opportunities the Mavericks handed them. Even without the turnovers, the Bulls raced past the Mavericks at every opportunity. Dallas was very jumper heavy tonight, attempting 35 three pointers and 12 midrange jumpers. That left only 44 of the Mavericks 91 shots in the paint, and all those long misses fueled the Bulls’ transition attack.

5: Cooper Flag’s combined rebounds, assists, blocks, steals​

The Maverick star rookie was coming off big-time performances against the Kings and the Jazz, and this felt like maybe Flagg’s worst game of his young career. He’s scored fewer than the 11 points he posted against the Bulls, but it was everything else and his disposition that felt off.

Flagg had 1 rebound, two assists, one block, and one steal. He had just as many turnovers (five) as he did all those categories combined, which shows how invisible Flagg was in this game. He looked a bit shell-shocked, and maybe hit just a piece of that rookie wall that was talked about prior to the last two games. There was never a point in the game where Flagg looked locked in or engaged, and that trickled down to the rest of the team.

Of course, Flagg is a 19-year-old rookie. He’s allowed to have bad games, especially with how hard he normally plays. This was just an off night, but hopefully it’s nothing more than that.

0: Sh*t’s given​

I’m being a bit glib with that headline, but the Mavericks all season have prided themselves on if nothing else, playing extremely hard. It hasn’t translated to wins, as Dallas entered the night still outside of the West’s play-in picture, but it’s at least made all these losses watchable and competitive — Dallas overwhelmingly leads the league in clutch games played, and despite all the adversity this group has faced this season, it never felt like the team was on the verge of giving up, even when they had plenty of reasons to do so.

For the first time in a long time, it felt like the Mavericks gave up. They were due for an effort like this, as I can’t imagine it’s easy to continually bring A-level effort after every disappointing loss. It’s commendable that we’ve gotten to Jan. 10 and this is the first time it’s felt like the Mavericks let go of the rope in a game they should have been in against a sub-par opponent.

But I can’t help but wonder. The loss to the Jazz on Thursday was as deflating as they come, with the Mavericks fighting like hell to claw their way back, only to fumble the game away at the end with Anthony Davis suffering another weeks, if not months, long injury. To add insult to that injury, Davis’ injury caused the Mavericks to punt on two crucial possessions in the final minutes of the game, with Davis playing one-armed and out of the play in pain while the Mavericks offense broke down, and then the Jazz scoring easily while Davis couldn’t do anything other than hold his hand in pain.

It’s only human nature to feel an immense let down after that. My main thought watching this game was “was that injury the last straw?” Dallas has been holding their season together as well as possible considering everything that’s happened, but maybe the Davis injury is the start of a real slide. Every Maverick looked dejected toward the end of that Jazz game, and the Davis injury and news that he’ll be out for a while might have hit the team especially hard. It reminded me of the first game the Mavericks played last season after the Luka Doncic trade, getting ran down by the Cavaliers while every player looked like they were at a funeral. To the Mavericks credit, they regained their competitive edge after that and fought to make the play-in — this Mavericks team has a similar opportunity, but it must be hard to have to continuously muster that energy again and again. Dallas’ margin for error is basically non-existent without Davis. Tonight looked like a team that knew their season was over. For the rest of us sickos still tuning in, we can only hope that’s not the case.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/dalla...-from-the-mavericks-blowout-loss-to-the-bulls

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Player Grades: Recapping the Mavericks’ 127-107 loss at the Chicago Bulls

The Dallas Mavericks (14-25) began a new era of sorts on Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls (18-20) — one where Anthony Davis is out for the foreseeable future. The Mavs came in with a 4-14 record in games Davis sits, and ended up with another loss after a 125-107 beat down.

Let’s get to the grades!

Ryan Nembhard: B​

16 PTS / 3 REB / 6 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 29 MIN​

Aside from stealing the ball from Cooper Flagg and essentially passing it to Bulls’ Matas Buzelis for a layup, Nembhard was good in his return to the starting lineup. He led all Mavs in scoring, though that may be more of an indictment of the Mavs than merit for Nembhard. He shot well overall (5-for-11; 3-for-6 from deep) in the loss.

Max Christie: B-​

10 PTS / 3 REB / 2 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 27 MIN​

Christie wasn’t bad, but wasn’t especially good — a theme for the Mavs on Saturday. He shot a solid 4-for-9 and 2-for-5 from downtown, but didn’t log particularly high minutes in a blowout.

Cooper Flagg: D​

11 PTS / 1 REB / 2 AST / 1 STL / 1 BLK – 28 MIN​

Simply put, this was Flagg’s worst NBA game since his bumpy start to his rookie season, so hopefully it’s now behind him and he can get back to the supernova status he achieved in December. His turnover total (five) exceeded almost every other primary statistic, which tells you all you need to know.

Naji Marshall: C​

14 PTS / 4 REB / 3 AST / 3 STL / 0 BLK – 24 MIN​

A pregame stat graphic on the game broadcast showed Marshall holds the fourth-highest field goal percentage of all NBA players under 6’7”. Then the game happened, and he decided to disprove the graphic. The otherwise highly efficient Marshall struggled with his shot (4-for-11). Aside from a nice steals total, he just couldn’t get much going throughout the night.

Daniel Gafford: D​

6 PTS / 7 REB / 0 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 25 MIN​

Gafford is in position to capitalize on newfound opportunity, but it didn’t quite materialize on Saturday. He missed a disproportionate number of shots, saw passes go through his hands, and should have had more rebounds as the primary big in the Mavs’ lineup.

Klay Thompson: C-​

10 PTS / 2 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 20 MIN​

Thompson shot 4-for-10 from the floor but had the worst plus/minus on the team with -19. Thompson provided little boost to a team in desperate need of anything. Like so many of his teammates, this one was forgettable.

Moussa Cisse: A-​

5 PTS / 10 REB / 0 AST / 2 STL / 3 BLK – 19 MIN​

In a game like this, one could argue no one deserves a grade in the A range, but individual performance is key. Cisse got the call from the big club and made the most of his opportunity as the only player who actually cared to rebound (the only Mav in double-figure boards) and actually played defense while the Bulls were getting anything and everything they wanted. Five stocks to go along with 10 boards in under 20 minutes made him the unlikely star of the night for Dallas. He hurt his shoulder in the fourth quarter, but managed to stay in the game.

Jaden Hardy: B​

14 PTS / 1 REB / 0 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 19 MIN​

His game mainly took place in garbage time, so that factors into the equation here, but scoring more points than minutes played on shooting the likes of which virtually no one else could achieve (5-for-8 overall; 4-for-7 from deep). Two turnovers and a foul in limited minutes is a bit much.

Final Thoughts​

Without Anthony Davis (and Dereck Lively and P.J. Washington), the Mavs lost the rebounding battle against the Bulls, and it might be something we all want to get used to for a while. Dallas was outrebounded 52-42 and the Bulls had nearly as many defensive rebounds (41) as the Mavs had total rebounds. They will be rolling out relatively fewer big men and a variety of players who don’t normally get much floor time for the foreseeable future, so this may be a trend.

The Bulls had the largest lead they’ve had in any game all season long, a dubious distinction to hang on the Mavs. This is not a particularly daunting opponent, and yet they made the Mavs look like G-League team. Let’s hope this was a one-off and Dallas can get back to their endless run of clutch games quickly.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/dalla...lls-125-107-cooper-flagg-anthony-davis-injury