Game 82: Dallas Mavericks (50-31) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (56-25)

[SleepingHero]

I must be a masochist watching this because I had this DVR'd and coming home after work I was excited to watch. Pretty quickly I realized this would be a blowout and I still sat there and watched the whole thing. Was I expecting anything else...? No not really. This game didn't matter whatsoever and nothing should be taken from it aside from individual performances at a game sample. With that in mind, lets go on to some things I was thinking throughout the game.

OMAX: OMax started so strong. You can see the time in the G-League really helped him. He looks so confident in his shot and the building blocks are there for him to slot in perfectly in the starting line up next year. Will he actually make that leap? I don't think so. BUT I do think he can be a rotation player next year if he has a great summer. And he fills a lot of what the Mavs want currently. He had some defensive lapses, especially off ball cuts wise, but on ball defense he was suffocating. Offensively he missed some easy ones. He had some drives that should've been called fouls. Overall great game from him and I'm excited for his future.

Alex Fudge: What a surprise game from him. He's as raw as can be, but his athleticism pops off the page. He played some great defense throughout the night. He also flashed the ability to hit some shots off the dribble. His highlight dunk made me get out of my seat and say "What the Fudge!" I hope the Mavs keep him on as a 2-way and see what he can do in the summer league this summer. There is something there with him for sure.

Brandon Williams: Really the only guy who could score at all today. He definitely can get a bucket. But as a PG he really lacks the ability to make the wide open pass. I can't count how many times he missed a guy in the corner when he decided to go 1 on 3 for a contested layup. Defensively the dude is too small. I see why the Mavs have kept him on, but other than a summer league try out I don't see a place even as a 2-way on this team for Williams next year.

Jaden Hardy: Sheesh man. What a horrific performance. These last 2 games honestly have been bad for him. He can't dribble. He can't get anyone involved. His shot selection was piss poor. He had some easy ones not fall down. He really wasted this opportunity to show he's grown game wise with almost fouling out. The frustrating thing is that the talent is so apparent with Hardy. He's one of the smoothest scorers the Mavs have seen in a long time. But he's 1 dimensional and if he's off scoring wise then he's horrific on the court. Hopefully Hardy uses this summer properly and shows out in the playoffs and Summer league.

AJ Lawson: Probably was the 4th best guy out there today which isn't a compliment. Still can't really shoot at all. He drives to the rim with reckless abandon. He's athletic as hell though. Curious to see what his summer league will be because there is zero chance he's getting minutes in the playoffs.

Josh Green: I don't want to dog on him since he's coming back from injury. He still looks rusty. He had a really really bad game all things considered though. I don't understand for the life of me why Green decided to defer to Brandon Williams/Hardy/OMax/Morris the entire night instead of just shooting 20 shots. It's in his DNA to be a role player and defer I suppose. Oh well. I hope he rests up and gets ready for the playoffs.

THJ: SHEEEEEEEEEESH. Has there been a greater fall off within a single season offensively from a guy? The only other one that stands out was OJ Mayo. Basically as soon as the Mavs made the trades and started their torrid winning streak Timmy fell off the earth. Before the trades: 18.3ppg/3.7rpg/1.7apg 42/37/87. After the trades: 9.0ppg/2.5rpg/1.8apg 36/32/77. My goodness. Can Timmy even play basketball anymore?

Powell: Always solid. Never great. Glad he was able to play a bit.

Morris: See above.

Whatever. These are single game thoughts. Overall the Mavs punted this game and for very very good reason. If everything goes well they won't see Denver till the WCF. Good strategy by the Mavs. Glad everyone got some extra rest heading into the playoffs. Time to lock in and be ALL in! Lets go Mavs!