Mavs Game Observations: Preseason vs Jazz

A look into Klay's debut and interesting lineup combinations

Photo by Tim Heitman / Getty Images

Throughout the season, I’ll be doing game previews and game observations—similar to what I did for all games last season on Twitter. I’ll aim to keep the same note-taking format (especially for preseason games, where the goal is to focus on storylines that matter once real games begin, rather than detailed breakdowns). My aim is to get these observations from the previous night’s game delivered to your inbox first thing in the morning.

You can find all game previews and observations in the dedicated 2024-25 Game Coverage section of the digginbasketball website.

Here are my observations from the second preseason game, a 107-102 loss against the Utah Jazz.

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Today’s notes:

1. A first look at Klay Thompson

2. Interesting lineups and struggles on the defensive glass

3. A backbone of a defense

Bonus short notes on Gafford, O-Max, and more

Let’s dig in!

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1-A first look at Klay Thompson

Thompson’s debut in a Mavericks uniform was, unsurprisingly, the main story of the game. Thompson was visibly nervous—in his words, the most he’s been since Game 1 of the 2015 Finals. He missed his first three shots and struggled to make an open mid-range pull-up throughout the game. With Kyrie Irving easing into his rhythm in his first game since June, the reshuffled Mavericks lineups struggled to find a good offensive flow.

But despite the jitters and the Mavericks still working out the pecking order, there was enough from Thompson to see his role as the third player who can create an advantage—and, more importantly, capitalize on the opportunities created by others.

Here's a look at four plays from the first half that show exactly why:

• Play 1: Klay creates chaos as the screener in a guard-to-guard pick-and-roll, popping out and punishing the closeout with a fake, followed by a quick feed to Lively.

• Play 2: Klay receives a handoff, drives past an overzealous contest, and slips another pocket pass to Lively.

• Play 3: He takes advantage of gap help and a late rotation, hitting a quick three off a Naji Marshall handoff after the defender goes under the screen.

• Play 4: Klay nails a quick three off an away action, exploiting a missed switch and chasing defender.

I was even more curious to see how Thompson would look on the defensive end. The effort was there—surprisingly high for a preseason game—especially when defending on-ball and navigating screens. Post-game, Thompson mentioned wanting to prove he’s still an impactful defender, and maintaining this level of effort and focus will be the first step toward achieving that.

2-Interesting lineups and struggles on the defensive glass

With Dončić, Washington, and Kleber out, Jason Kidd started Dinwiddie and Prosper alongside Irving, Thompson, and Lively. The logic seems to be keeping Hardy and Marshall with the second unit—a role they’re expected to have once Dončić and Washington return. The Mavericks defended fairly well early on (see next point), but the lack of size forced them to play a lot of three-guard units, which is a significant size downgrade when the 6-foot-7 Dončić isn’t one of the guards.

Additionally, playing the smaller Prosper and Marshall at the four instead of Washington and Kleber hurt the Mavericks against a big Jazz lineup in the first half. Utah grabbed 10 offensive rebounds (a 46 percent offensive rebound rate—speaking in Four Factor terms if you remember those) on their way to 21 second-chance points.

3-A backbone of a defense