Player Grades: Mavericks vs. Magic Summary

The Dallas Mavericks had their ups and downs at the start of the season and were looking to get back to their winning ways on Sunday night against the Orlando Magic. After losing the first game of a five-game homestand to the Houston Rockets last Thursday, the Mavs had a few days off to regroup. With young star Paolo Banchero out due to an oblique injury, the Mavs had good prospects for the match against their first Eastern Conference opponent of the season. After a hard-fought first quarter, the Mavs put this game away and are 4-2 on the season.

Let's get to the notes!

Luka Doncic: A

32 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists

If you score more points than you have minutes played, you'll get a good grade straight away. The Mavs rotation looked a little more like last season, at least in the fact that Luka played the entire first quarter, and he made the most of it. He scored 14 points, three of them with half a second left on the clock as he moved to the basket and beat the taller Jonathan Isaac with a shot. As the box score showed, he didn't really slow down from there. His shooting touch was back tonight, shooting 50% from the field on 22 shots, including 5 of 13 from three. He picked up another technical foul, bringing his total to four fouls in six games this season. If this is going to be the season where something like that is curbed, he's not off to a good start in that regard.

Kyrie Irving: B

17 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

Irving had a strong night in a blowout win in which he played less than 30 minutes. While it may not have been his usual performance, he still had a nice, solid game and earned some rest on the first night of back-to-back games.

Klay Thompson: B-

9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks

Thompson was used for his shooting but has struggled a bit in recent games. Tonight he hit just 1 of 5 from three and shot 40% from the floor overall on 10 shots. His 5 boards and 4 assists were great, but his 2 blocks were a pretty sight. He showed quick hands throughout the evening and his ability to make a shot from the slant brings a whole other dimension to the team.

PJ Washington: B

7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Washington just looked right tonight. On his first shot attempt of the game, he allowed a three-pointer, but instead drove into the teeth of the defense and converted a beautiful push shot. At the moment it seemed like a great decision to get started. A few minutes later, he drilled a three-pointer from the top of the arc. He had a pretty nice game with an efficient shooting night going 3 for 4 overall and 1 for 2 in three. Like many other players that night, he did a lot of little things that don't show up in the stats.

Dereck Lively II: A

11 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist

Lively was a beast in this game with his double-double. He was a highly efficient 5-on-7 player from the floor and handled defensive interference as you would expect. He didn't register a block and was a bit poor in assists, but received bonus points for his team-leading plus/minus of plus-25.

Naji Marshall: B

4 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals

In the first quarter alone, Marshall showed us the best he can bring to the team. On the first of two straight possessions, he grabbed a rebound and went coast-to-coast for a reverse layup. He then increased the tempo again and connected with Dereck Lively for an alley-oop that led to a Magic timeout. In the final minutes of the second quarter, he had a steal out of nowhere and converted an alley-oop to Gafford after making a one-step pass across the midfield line. With about a minute left in the third quarter, he forced a turnover on a Magic inbounds pass to set up a score at the other end. His box score may not blow you away and he hasn't shot a three-pointer yet this season, but he had a hugely positive impact in this game.

Quentin Grimes: B+

5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals

Grimes played a good 17 minutes in this game and gave the team a performance that lived up to all of their expectations. He shot 50% overall and grabbed a few rebounds from three balls (1 for 2 on threes) and forced two turnovers with active hands and strong aerial play. A solid game with positive contributions and no slip-ups.

Daniel Gafford: A

18 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal

Gafford came out with six points in the first four minutes of the game, showing he has more than just dunks in his repertoire, with a little catch that looks better with each game. With Paolo Banchero out of the starting lineup and Wendell Carter Jr. injured early in this game, the Magic lacked size, but don't mistake this as a little ball dunk fest. Gafford showed good footwork and sensitivity around the rim, doing a lot of damage in just 20 minutes.

Spencer Dinwiddie: B-

2 assists, 1 block

Dinwiddie's game tonight was the perfect example of getting a solid grade despite an unremarkable stat line. He demonstrated his skill and vision by making a pinpoint pass from halfcourt to Daniel Gafford for an alley-oop. This one won't show up in the penalty area score at all due to a missed shot from Gafford (although he did get his own rebound and putback), but it was still amazing vision and accuracy. He also made the most of trash time, refusing to simply throw away possessions until the buzzer sounded. He broke a Magic fast break with the Mavs up 26 and soon found Naji Marshall with a tricky pass for a layup before checking out for the night.

Dwight Powell: B+

2 rebounds, 2 blocks

Powell is the only player who logged mostly garbage time, which is on the grade sheet for the evening. As I watched the game, I thought about giving him an honorable mention for what he did on the bench, for what he did on the bench, for cheering and greeting his teammates during stoppages in the game. When he experienced a burn, he went beyond just an honorable mention. In less than 8 minutes of play, he didn't have much time to log stats, but his two blocked shots were demonstrative and showed he wasn't just idling.

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