Game 26: Dallas Mavericks (9-16) vs. Brooklyn Nets (6-17) | 7:30pm CST

[Smitty]

[Smitty]

Dallas Mavericks Injury Report vs. Brooklyn Nets:

Cooper Flagg: Available (Right Thumb Splint)
Daniel Gafford: Doubtful (Right Ankle Injury Management)
Kyrie Irving: Out (Left Knee Surgery)
Dereck Lively II: Out (Right Foot Injury Management)
Danté Exum: Out (Right Knee Injury Management)

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Coop looked great in the first quarter.

AD is no longer mobile enough to play any minutes at the 4. He’s a center.

Another terrible lineup from JKidd with four bigs and no shooters. I thought maybe Klay was out but that wasn’t the case. Really makes zero sense.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Dallas Mavericks Injury Report vs. Brooklyn Nets:

Cooper Flagg: Available (Right Thumb Splint)
Daniel Gafford: Doubtful (Right Ankle Injury Management)
Kyrie Irving: Out (Left Knee Surgery)
Dereck Lively II: Out (Right Foot Injury Management)
Danté Exum: Out (Right Knee Injury Management)

Isn’t Exum out for the year?

[Smitty]

What a sequence. This Mavs team at the very least is entertaining to watch..

[Smitty]

Isn’t Exum out for the year?

Yes. Exum and Lively are OFS.

[RBB]

Need more than 4 pts from Davis.

[Smitty]

If you think Lively is good at Center (he is). It’s just a different world for Davis. Top-2 Center in the league. His defense in the paint is second to none. His scoring at multiple levels is elite.

[RBB]

After some decent games...losing tonight would be a real letdown.

[RBB]

Davis had a good second half.

[Reunion Mav]

Another fun night. Two teams who have been winning lately but our guys made the key plays in the end. Davis is indeed really good. Cooper Flagg is so much better than even two weeks ago. Talk about a quick study.

[Smitty]

Very few comments in the game chats now that the team tank crowd is silent. An unfortunate reality is that this place has more interactions when the Mavs are bad.

[myconsumerclub]

I am happy we beat this team they have a lot of rookie talent as we do also. To me it would have been an insult to lose to them and especially to our rookies. Wolf Traore and Demin are a trio of good rookies and before we snagged the 1st pick in the draft I was wanting us to get a couple of these guys. Funny both our starting PG's struggled somewhat.

[SkenfromLMF]

This team is competitive with all but about 3 teams in the league. OKC and whoever are the best in the East.

Fun games to watch but ultimately you know they are cooked when they hit an elite level team.

My dream scenario at this point is that Klay becomes desirable enough to get to a contender and we can move him with Exum’s contract for a player that is slightly overpaid, and then fill that created roster slot with Nembhard. I feel like many steps are being made in this direction.

In the meantime it is exciting basketball, with all of the clutch games

[Mavs2021]

Very few comments in the game chats now that the team tank crowd is silent. An unfortunate reality.

Should see it as a positive sign that the board is smarter than the average American. Only dumb people want to win now.

[ACMFFL]

It's so great to witness Coop's development, he started his season pretty slow just like he did at Duke, but still astonishing, at least to me, how fast he's improving and learning as the season goes along, I mean just look at the difference between Flagg at the start of the season and now:

(First 10 games in the league)
13.9 PPG
3.0 APG
2.3 TOV
12.9 FGA (40.3%)
2.6 FTA (96.2%)
49.5% TS
-10.2 plus/minus
21.3% USG

(Last 10 games)
20.4 PPG
3.9 APG
1.9 TOV 
15.5 FGA (51.6%)
4.7 FTA (85.1%)
58.1% TS
+0.7 plus/minus
24.8% USG

He's already so damn good to impact the game without being a scoring machine, his passing is definitely legit.
Sky's the limit for Coop.

[Chicagojk]

First poor Nembhard game.   AD got off to a slow start and his first half was uninspiring on both ends.   Really picked it up in the second half.   PJ is a frustrating player for me.   He just leaves me wanting more often.   MPJ hit some really tough shots but I just want to see more from PJ (and Marshall) at times defending.  I also don't know why PJ is throwing the ball in.  He should be on the other end of the court.   If I am a team, I want to make PJ bring the ball up (if he can get a pass in).   It feels like PJ dribbling trying to get to an action is always an adventure and typically doesn't make things runs smoothly.  I was really hoping the two teams last night would not look close to each other.  Only one game but I didn't get the impression Dallas was vastly better.  

I thought it was the best passing Flagg game.  Not really any WOW passes but a lot of really good ones.  This was by far the biggest positive for me.   If he can create looks like that, his upside is even higher.   Williams was by far the best point guard tonight and I liked Max's game too.   I have doubts the new starting lineup is going to work, but so far it has looked pretty good.  

First glance of the Nets 5 rookies, I think Dermin is interesting.   I just think he is a ways off and I am not sure what he really is.    I am not sure playing on a team like the Nets is good or bad for his development.   His size is a big plus, but he is going to need time.   Not sure if he is going to be the best option for where they picked him though.   I really like Wolf.  He is probably my favorite.  He is huge and really skilled.  In college he had awesome plays but a lot of silly turnovers too.   I have no idea who he guards, but I really liked him.   His size with his skill is pretty unique.

[Winter]

Brooklyn has a lot of talent offensively. I'm not sure we could have beaten too many teams shooting 3's like that.

I was just watching highlights, and Flagg is in almost every one of them even if he's not scoring. It's too his credit how totally and completely involved he is in every offensive and defensive possession. He's becoming a kind of glue on both sides of the ball. I think his energy is contagious, and I think this team will begin to rely heavily on his play the second half of the season.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Another fun night. Two teams who have been winning lately but our guys made the key plays in the end. Davis is indeed really good. Cooper Flagg is so much better than even two weeks ago. Talk about a quick study.

Nobody ever questions how good Davis is. But he has to be available to play consistently without nagging injuries.

[david75090]

The sequence where there was a block, a two-man game at the other end with PJ & Klay that ended up with a PJ slam, then PJ stole the in-bound and passed to Klay for a 3, showed a moment of joy. As if the Mavs are transforming from the Dallas Not-Lukas into the Mavs again, was fun to watch. Like the veil is lifting and basketball can be enjoyed again. Could be, it's just me, but could be the team is embracing the love of the game. Also the chemistry between CF & AD is causing the two the have big smiles on occasion. There is joy in Muddville.

At the 05:27 mark on these highlights...

https://youtu.be/hnYTN7FqOs4?si=9yMjBxOAvuoggq0Q