Jaden Hardy, Josh Green Shine in Loss: 3 Big Takeaways as Mavs Fall to Grizzlies
The Dallas Mavericks (34-34) were undermanned in Saturday night's 112-108 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in the team's first of their double-header.
Dallas was without both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, as Doncic stayed in Dallas to nurse his left thigh injury, and Irving was ruled out right before the game with right foot soreness.
The Mavericks took an 83-77 lead into the fourth quarter after building an 11-point advantage in the third, but the Grizzlies rallied in final 12 minutes, led by David Roddy's 17-point fourth quarter to outlast Dallas.
Dallas heads home to play host to Memphis on Monday before hitting the road for a three-game trip.
Here are the 3 biggest takeaways from Dallas' crunch-time loss on Saturday.
Hardy Party First Time Starting
With both Doncic and Irving out, rookie Jaden Hardy got his first career start and looked rather comfortable doing so. Hardy finished with 22 points, two rebounds, three assists, and one steal on 9-21 shooting from the floor and 3-9 from downtown.
Whether it's playing a game-high 37 minutes, as he did on Saturday, or getting five minutes of run at the end of a blowout, Hardy attacks each and every opportunity with the same sky-high confidence and intensity.
Though he may have taken some ill-advised shots, Hardy held his own against the likes of Dillon Brooks in the second-half. What Hardy brings to the team off the bench as a shot creator is something no other Maverick reserve possesses.
Maybe, just maybe, this will help give Hardy more consistent minutes within coach Jason Kidd's rotation, specifically ahead of Frank Ntilikina, who has continuously seen the floor before Hardy throughout the season. Ntilikina caught a DNP-CD on Saturday.
Consistent Green Minutes
Josh Green hit the ground running to start the season, showcasing the growth within his game on the offensive side of the floor.
But, there seems to be a disconnect with the coaching staff at times when it comes to where Green's role fits within the team. This is a where the media and fans alike plead for him to play more minutes.
On Saturday, Green finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists on 9-16 shooting from the field and 3-6 from downtown in 34 minutes of action.
Sure, Doncic and Irving were both out, so that opened up minutes to spread to players like Green and Hardy, but this should be close to the norm for Green, especially with Dorian Finney-Smith no longer around.
During a four-game stretch from Feb. 2 to Feb. 11, right in the middle of acquiring Irving and the end of Doncic's four-game absence due to injury, Green averaged 21 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 62.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep in 39 minutes per game.
With this current roster makeup and the the versatility that Green offers on both ends of the floor, he should be starting every game and playing 30 minutes every night.
Kidd-Wood Discourse Continues
The awkwardness between Kidd and Christian Wood continues.
In Saturday's loss, you'd think without Doncic and Irving, that'd make way for a big opportunity for Wood on the offensive end.
Wrong.
Wood played just 15 minutes off the bench in what drags on the never ending question of what's Kidd's issue with Wood?
"You look at just the depth that we have with all the bigs, we're trying to get them in the game and see who has the hot hand, and right now, with Maxi [Kleber] back, that's going to cut some of his minutes down, especially when we're healthy. That's just the way it is right now, and it can change as we go forward," Kidd said postgame.
That just doesn't seem honest.
Because it's not.
Of course, Kleber's defensive versatility is vital to what Dallas does, but there's not a Maverick big that has a 'hot hand' right now.
The situation has hit a fork in the road, as it seems like we're never going to get a real answer out of Kidd regarding the lack of minutes for Wood.
But, for the Mavs to do anything in the playoffs — or perhaps even make the playoffs based on how things are currently going — having Wood play a consistent role off the bench will be even more important.
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