3 Takeaways From Mavericks' Ugly Preseason Finale Loss to Hawks

The Dallas Mavericks had their final preseason game of 2026 on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks, which head coach Dusty May wanted to treat like a dress rehearsal as much as possible. That meant playing Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg most of their real minutes, even if Max Christie and Tarik Biberovic didn't play.

If this is a sign of things to come with the full roster, the Mavericks still need a lot of help.

While the first quarter was competitive, albeit high-scoring, it started to get out of hand in the second.

The Hawks found themselves up by 22 points midway through the second as they were making their shots and the Mavericks simply weren't, and those misses led to easy shots on the other end for Atlanta. Dallas was 8/24 from the floor and 1/10 from three in that frame, while Atlanta was 10/19 from the floor and 4/7 from three.

It never got much better from there as the Hawks ran out to a 135-111 win, leaving the Mavericks with a 1-3 preseason record before the regular season starts next week.

Cooper Flagg was a major bright spot, finishing with 26 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a really nice fadeaway three with time expiring early in the game. There weren't many other positives.

We'll limit our thoughts to just this game, and then we'll do a separate total preseason reaction tomorrow.

Oct 14, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Sergio de Larrea (55) reacts during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Sergio De Larrea Remains Impressive

Sergio De Larrea has had an impressive preseason for a 25th overall pick, showcasing the flashes of brilliance that made him a first-rounder.

He made a couple of three-pointers and had a nice baseline drive with a fancy pass to Zaccharie Risacher for an easy finish. Overall, in the preseason, he has shot 8/12 from deep.

The offense just has a little extra juice when he's in the lineup, and when the offense was as flat as it was in the second quarter, you can feel his impact. That's nice to see for a rookie.

Marcus Sasser's First Impression

Marcus Sasser was on the floor for the first time this preseason after dealing with some adductor tightness in the first three games.

He was... fine, finishing with 5 points. He was often in lineups that had another primary ball-handler like Kyrie Irving or De Larrea, which was probably the most notable thing we were going to learn from this and how the staff views him.

Oct 14, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) reacts during the first quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

You Can See Why the Hawks Gave Up on Zaccharie Risacher

For the record, Zaccharie Risacher had a productive game, finishing with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Still, you can see why the Hawks decided to move on. They were going at him when he was guarding the ball, he struggled to shoot from the perimeter, and he seemed unsure of himself at times.

Risacher found a lot of success in the second half cutting to the basket and on offensive rebound opportunities, which you like seeing the energy, but he was often playing as the shooting guard. Your shooting guard should be able to shoot.

It'll be interesting to see how he develops throughout the rest of the season, but he has to shoot the ball with more confidence. Air-balling his first and only three was a bad look.

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