With mounting injuries, contradicting sourced reporting, and a will-they-won\u2019t-they soap opera of trade rumors involving Anthony Davis, very little is going right for the Dallas Mavericks. The league\u2019s trade deadline needs to get here asap so fans can accept whatever reality is next, and the team needs to refocus their vision. Part of that is accepting reality and positioning themselves as best they can for this summer\u2019s NBA Draft.<\/p>\n
All that considered, there are still some bright moments to hold to in these games. Cooper Flagg continues to flash brilliance. He is now nursing an ankle injury, but his composure and ability remains on display most nights. Players like Naji Marshall, mentioned below in this week\u2019s Power Rankings Watch, has stepped up his game \u2014 perhaps just in time for said deadline. And Klay Thompson just moved himself into fourth all time in three-pointers. With so much in limbo it\u2019s important to celebrate those mini victories.<\/p>\n
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Rank: 24Last week: 23<\/p>\n
Forward\u00a0Naji Marshall<\/a>\u00a0has been one of the bright spots of a difficult season in Dallas. He\u2019s averaging career bests of 13.6 points and 54% shooting, and his production has increased to 16.9 points on 58.6% shooting in his 17 starts. He has been especially productive attacking off the dribble, shooting 60.7% off of drives. According to NBA Advanced Stats, only\u00a0Luka Doncic<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Austin Reaves<\/a>\u00a0have a higher field goal percentage among the players who rank in the top 50 in points off of drives.\u00a0\u2014 MacMahon<\/p>\n Rank: 24 (Tier 4: Not the Tier to Fear)Last week: 23<\/p>\n Preseason win total:\u00a041.5 Vegas and the national broadcasters were on NicoVision when it came to projecting this Mavericks team. Some even thought Kyrie Irving would be back by now. Alas, here the Mavericks are, with their injury-prone big men out of commission, top free-agent acquisition D\u2019Angelo Russell playing zero 20-minute games since Thanksgiving and Cooper Flagg splitting awesome games with forgettable outings.<\/p>\n Rank: 25Last week: 25<\/p>\n At this point, Davis has played in just 29 of a possible 74 games since he was acquired (along with Max Christie) for Luka Don\u010di\u0107. This season, the Mavs are 10-10 with Davis in uniform, but they\u2019ve been outscored by\u00a04.6 points per 100 possessions<\/a>\u00a0in his 626 minutes on the floor.<\/p>\n The Mavs were outscored by 28 points (54-26) in the restricted area in Chicago on Saturday, falling to 4-15 without Davis. They\u2019ve scored just 106.7 points per 100 possessions over those 19 games, only slightly better (107.5 scored per 100) in Cooper Flagg\u2019s 844 total minutes on the floor without Davis.<\/p>\n The offense was ugly on both ends of the floor in Sacramento on Tuesday, but the Mavs got the win with two go-ahead buckets in the final minute. Flagg had the first (a tough, lefty finish off the glass<\/a>) and assisted on the other (a Brandon Williams 3<\/a>), and he\u2019s now 4-for-6 on shots to tie or take the lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime. Those four buckets are tied for fourth league-wide.<\/p>\n Coming up:\u00a0With their loss in Utah on Thursday, the Mavs are 0-6 (one of three winless teams) in rest-advantage games. They\u2019ll have two more \u2013 vs. Brooklyn and Denver \u2013 as they play a four-game homestand this week.<\/p>\n Rank: 26Last week: 25<\/p>\n The Dallas Mavericks pummeled the Utah Jazz on Thursday, but it\u2019s tough to find big takeaways from a game without Cooper Flagg and Lauri Markkanen.<\/p>\n
On pace to win:\u00a029<\/p>\n