Rookie sensation Coward continues to shine, indifferent Morant returns, and other Grizzlies-Mavericks takeaways

Let's take a quick dive into how the Memphis Grizzlies snapped their four-game losing streak against the floundering Dallas Mavericks.

Nov 7, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) drives to the basket against Dallas Mavericks guard Max Christie (00) and forward Cooper Flagg (32) during the second quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The struggling Memphis Grizzlies took on the struggling Dallas Mavericks to open their 2025 NBA Cup Group Play on November 7 and managed to hold on to an early lead to put an end to a miserable four-game losing streak.

That's the good news, but the win may have not have brought upon too much confidence to Memphis aside from one shining bright spot. Here are a few takeaways from the 118-104 victory.

1. Rising rookie Coward could be the real deal

Nov 7, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward (23) shoots the ball against Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) during the second quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Cedric Coward has been stacking together some impressive nights to begin his rookie year, but Friday's game against Dallas marked an impactful, early benchmark. HIs 21-point, 9-rebound performance was not only his most efficient game yet, he's already looking like the fully realized version of the versatile wing Memphis must have envisioned on draft night.

First off, he was masterful from the field with a 7-10 shooting mark and three made threes, which was a huge improvement over his struggles earlier this week against the Houston Rockets when he put up 2-10 from the field. For a first-year player calibrating to the rhythm of NBA games, this is one of those games he's going to watch on repeat in the film room because this is where he put it all together in terms of shot quality and decisiveness to prove the Rockets game was just an aberration.

Defensively, Coward continues to play solidly as well. It was his third game of the young season in which he pulled down at least nine rebounds, but Friday was different. His nine boards included multiple contested rebounds that stalled Dallas’ momentum and triggered transition opportunities. It was the type of physical imprint he hadn’t consistently shown against stronger frontcourts like Detroit or Toronto.

All this without a single turnover in 21 minutes off the bench. Not bad, Coward.

2. Ja Morant didn't look like he found his joy just yet.

A gloomy Morant in the locker room earlier this week sighed that he hadn't found his joy, echoing Jimmy Butler's morose behavior to open his final season in Miami last year. Even still, he put together a solid game against the Mavs, or at least one that didn't make you scratch your head too much.

The numbers weren't spectacular, definitely not "usual-Ja" spectacular, with 21 points on 7-20 shooting with another 0-4 night from deep. His scoring efficiency this season has cratered to 37.9 percent from the field and 12.8 percent from three across nine games and it remains a glaring issue.

But hey, his 13 assists were a season-high, and the Grizz certainly looked sharper offensively than they have shown so far this season, at least in the first half, where you could see Dallas repeatedly scrambling when Morant got into the paint, even when his finishing touch wasn’t fully there. He also went 7-7 from the line, continuing his impressive 96.4 percent showing from the charity stripe this season.

Still, the seven turnovers hurt. and it's still emblematic of his recent struggles, where he's forcing the action instead of letting it flow organically or when his jumper isn't there.

Bottom line, the +28 in 32 minutes tells the actual story: this was the first time in a while where Morant’s presence clearly lifted Memphis through the game, not just in spurts.

3. Second half struggles could have turned into another ugly loss.

It may have looked like smooth sailing against a team with even more struggles than Memphis, but after building a double-digit lead six minutes into the game and leading by 23 at the half, the Grizz still allowed the Mavs to get back in the game late.

Memphis had 74 points by the half, but could only muster 16 points for the entirety of the fourth quarter as Dallas closed to within 13 points with minutes to play after falling behind by as much as 35. Thankfully, it wasn't nearly enough to make much of a dent by the end of the game, and the Grizzlies lost some precious extra point differential in the win.

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