After reaching the NBA Finals last season, the Dallas Mavericks are off to a disappointing start to the 2024-25 season. Dallas sits 10th in the Western Conference at 5-4, including going 4-3 at home. Part of the problem for the Mavericks, who have not won more than two straight, is slow starts to games.
Dallas suffered a heart-breaking 114-113 loss to Phoenix on Friday as Jusuf Nurkic made one of two free throws with 0.8 seconds left. While Nurkic’s free throw sealed the Mavericks’ fate, they lost the game in the first quarter. The Mavs trailed 36-26 after the opening 12 minutes.
Slow starts have been a trend for the Mavericks this season, and that has drawn the ire of coach Jason Kidd. The Mavericks have trailed after the opening frame in all four losses and on six occasions thus far.
“For whatever reason, we get off to a slow start,” Kidd told Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News . “It’s got to be addressed. We’ve talked about it. There’s got to be action. There’s got to be some energy. Somebody’s got to come with some f—ing energy. We’re f—ing flat.”
Jason Kidd Wants Mavericks To Get Off To Quicker Starts and Mavs Without 2 Key Starters Though Kleber Returns After 7 Game Absence
Dallas is 23rd in the league in scoring in the first quarter, at 23.6 points a game, and is shooting 43.6%. The Mavericks allow 28.3 points in the opening frame, the 10th most in the league. Their average -2.0 first-quarter point differential is 23rd in the league.
Dallas has been worse in the opening quarter in its four losses. In the Mavericks’ setbacks, the Mavs have been outscored by 8.0 points a game, as they have permitted their opponents 33.0 points on 55.4% shooting. In these four games, the Mavs are averaging 25 points in the first frame, shooting just 41% from the field.
Comparatively, Dallas is outscoring their opponents by 4.5 points in the second and third quarters through the first nine games. The Mavericks are being outscored in the fourth quarter, though the difference is less than a point.
Dallas’s four starters who have played all nine games—Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, and Daniel Gafford—are on the court for at least six minutes a game and are a combined minus -4.9 in plus/minus first-quarter rating. Doncic averages a team-high 8.0 points in 9.4 minutes in the opening quarter, though he is only shooting 38.2% from the field and 30.4% from deep. He has a -0.6 rating.
Irving plays nearly nine minutes of the first 12 minutes and has a -1.6 plus/minus rating, while Thompson averages 7.3 minutes with a -1.0 rating. PJ Washington, who has missed the last two games, is minus-3.1 in 8.3 minutes.
Four Mavericks Dealing with Injuries
Dallas begins a three-game road trip tonight against Denver at 8 p.m. (ET). Of course, Dante Exum (right wrist) remains out, but the Mavericks have four players with injury designations. Maxi Kleber, Washington, and Dereck Lively are doubtful.
Kleber is expected to remain sidelined for his eighth straight contest due to a strained right hamstring. Lively (shoulder) is slated to miss his fifth consecutive and Washington (knee) his third in a row.
Update: Dallas Morning News’ Mike Curtis tweeted, “The Mavs say Luka Doncic and Maxi Kleber are active for tonight’s game against the Nuggets.” at 7:05 p.m.
If Washington can’t go, Naji Marshall is in line to start at power forward again. Marshall has played well in the last three games, including in both starts. The 26-year-old forward, who has scored at least 18 points in two of the previous three games, averages 13.0 points on 57.9% shooting, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals over 25.4 minutes in his two starts. The Mavericks are outscoring their opponents by 11 points in these last two games when Marshall is on the floor.
Like Marshall, Dwight Powell has also seen an uptick in minutes with the injuries. After receiving one DNP and not seeing more than eight minutes in the first seven games, the 33-year-old has seen nearly 44 and a half minutes in the past two contests. Over the last two games, Powell has totaled nine points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Spencer Dinwiddie, Gafford, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper could also continue to see a slight uptick in minutes due to the three injuries. While Kleber is available, Kidd may still sit him out since he hasn’t played since the season’s first week. However, if Kleber does play, Powell and Prosper’s minutes will likely decline.
Meanwhile, Doncic was placed on the injury report on Saturday with a left groin strain, but it appears he will play through it.
