Grading the Mavericks: A strong start hidden under mixed results

The Dallas Mavericks finished their first week of the 2026-27 season with a 1-2 record. They got blown off the floor in game one by Houston (128-110), bounced back with a win in Indiana (121-105), and then fell to San Antonio in their home opener (122-106). Cooper Flagg led the way with 23 points per game. Flagg also injured his shoulder against Indiana and missed their last game.

Grade: B+

If you take out the second quarter against the Rockets and the fourth quarter against the Spurs, the Mavericks played three excellent games of basketball. They beat Houston by 14 in the second half, had a 30-point lead in the first half of their win against the Pacers, and played the defending Western Conference champions tough without Kyrie Irving or Cooper Flagg. Marcus Sasser and Sergio de Larrea shined off the bench in the sought-after guard minutes, and Zaccharie Risacher showed intrigue as a connecting piece on defense. P.J. Washington and Naji Marshall have looked like themselves, and Kyrie Irving seems to be on track to be the guy he was 19 months ago.

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They are in the top half of the league for offensive rating (112.0) and near the bottom of the league in pace (100.33), meaning they have been very deliberate and effective in what they want to do. The defensive flashes have been there, but, as is the case for all young teams, they are not consistent yet. They’re going to have quarters like the second in Houston, where they got boatraced 38-12. But they will also click as they did in the same period against Indiana, where they held them scoreless for nearly half the quarter and outscored them 33-16.

Despite the 1-2 start, there is reason to have hope for a good season. Dusty May will continue to figure out the lineups as the season goes on, the rookies and fresh faces will find more confidence as they play more, and Cooper Flagg alongside Kyrie Irving is awesome to watch. This next week (at Miami, at home against Oklahoma City and Houston) will be a great test for this group if they want playoff dreams.

Straight A’s: Cooper Flagg

Cooper Flagg made the jump we expected him to make. He came out of the gates…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/grading-mavericks-strong-start-hidden-120400323.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-26 12:04:00

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