The building of an NBA team is never done.
The Mavericks are in a good place this season with their depth, their chemistry and, of course, their two superstars.
But the future can be a tricky thing to predict.
Having players in the pipeline is critical to sustain long-term success.
That’s why games like Friday’s 107-89 loss to the Detroit Pistons was useful for the organization, even if they weren’t playing with a full deck of players.
O-Max Prosper, a rookie who had moments in the summer league but has been a contributor in the regular season only on the G League level with the Texas Legends, got a chance against the Pistons to show how much he’s learned in six months of on-the-job training.
The transformation was clear. He looked like a more comfortable player on the court and he played with more confidence and less choppiness in his game.
“O-Max did a great job, played with energy,” said one of the Mavericks’ other players who is a little further along in the developmental process, Jaden Hardy. “Once he stepped on the floor, you saw the impact he had. I’m super-excited to see his growth. It’s obvious. He’s so much more comfortable out there, not really nervous out there.”
Prosper said after his 16-point, six-rebound, two-steal showing in 29 minutes against the Pistons that he’s seeing the difference.
“You guys know my story this year,” he told media members postgame. “Playing up and down in the G – I see the improvement in my game. I see how much more comfortable I feel out there and more poised. And you guys could see that today.”
It’s the kernel of good news that the team can take out of a game that was not necessarily one that they would like to save in the archives.
Here’s a few other takeaways from the loss to Detroit:
Give the Mavericks credit: They sat their superstars, Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić, and likely will do so again on Sunday in the regular-season finale against Oklahoma City. With their playoff fate set – they will open next weekend at the Los Angeles Clippers for Game 1 of the Nos 4 and 5 seeds in the West – they made the decision to rest the guys who have been as good as any twosome in the NBA for the past two months. This is the fruits of a whole lot of labor that pushed them into a good spot in the playoff pecking order.
Pistons won’t be down for long: The Pistons own the worst record in the NBA and it’s been a tough season with injuries and trying to restock talent. But with Monty Williams, they have the right man to reconstruct a competitive roster. He’s had success at Phoenix and New Orleans and he’ll have success at Detroit, too. Remember, they didn’t have arguably their two best players, Arlington product Cade Cunningham and big man Jalen Duren.
Strong numbers: The Mavericks gang-rebounded very well against the Pistons, pulling down 49 misses to only 40 for the visitors.
Wrong numbers: The Mavericks also had 20 turnovers and only forced seven, which was a big part of them not being able to get closer than six points in the fourth quarter when they had chances to pull out a win. They also shot just 8-of-29 from three-point land, which isn’t good (27.6 percent), but still better than Detroit’s 8-of-31 (25.8 percent).
X: @ESefko
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