The Mavericks left Las Vegas with a win Thursday, but the real work is just beginning.
Dallas shook off a slow start and beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-87 in its Summer League finale, closing the trip at 2-2. Oklahoma City, meanwhile, finished 0-4. The score mattered, sure, but the bigger story was the roster squeeze that comes after the final buzzer.
Dallas opened cold, missing its first several shots and falling behind 12-7 midway through the first quarter. Then the lob game took over. Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu finished three straight alley-oops late in the opening period, and that burst flipped the game in Dallas’ favor for good.
The Mavericks threw six alley-oops in all, and Akobundu-Ehiogu converted five of them. Those easy looks gave the offense a jolt and helped Dallas settle into the game.
John Poulakidas was the top scorer with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting. He hit 5 of 12 from beyond the arc and added three rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes. Poulakidas has been one of Dallas’ steadiest performers in Las Vegas, and outings like this only help his push for a standard NBA contract rather than a two-way spot.
That kind of shooting plays in the league. A bench scorer who can space the floor and force defenses to stretch is always going to have a lane, and Poulakidas has looked the part all summer.
Sergio De Larrea didn’t need to pile up points to control the game. He finished with 14 assists and nine rebounds, constantly setting up teammates for clean chances.
Those 14 assists led directly to 34 Dallas points, including four alley-oops to Akobundu-Ehiogu. Over the last two games, that connection has become one of the defining themes for the Mavericks.
Akobundu-Ehiogu ended with 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks, and he kept pressure on the rim all game long. Vsevolod Ishchenko added 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals while knocking down both of his 3-point tries.
Darin Green Jr. gave Dallas a lift off the bench with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, and Jaden Springer chipped in 11 points and three blocks. As a team, the Mavericks shot 46 percent from the field and 35 percent from 3-point range, then tightened up defensively after halftime to create separation.
Still, the most important part of the day had nothing to do with the final margin. Tyler Smith, who is already on a two-way contract, sat out for the second straight game as a DNP-Coach's Decision, while others helped their own causes.
Dallas also has to decide whether to keep Ishchenko in the United States on a two-way deal or let his development continue overseas. Those calls usually come soon after Summer League ends, and this finale gave the front office plenty more to weigh.
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Mavericks May Be Learning Something Important About Sergio De Larrea
Sergio De Larreas Summer League run with the Mavericks has already given the staff a little bit of everything. After a mixed start, the rookie guard turned in his best showing in his third game, finishing with 16 points and 12 assists and giving Dallas a clearer look at what he can do when the pace picks up and the pressure starts to matter.
Joe Boylan has made it clear these games are less about the box score than the process, calling the stretch a fact-finding mission to see how players handle different roles and how the pieces fit together. For De Larrea, that means every possession is part of the evaluation, and the Mavericks are still sorting out just how much responsibility he can handle once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Risk Reopening Their Biggest Weakness With One Looming Decision
The Mavericks spent last season living with one of their clearest flaws, and it showed up everywhere from the standings to the shot profile. Dallas struggled badly from long range, and with so few dependable perimeter threats on the roster, Klay Thompson has remained one of the few players who can bend a defense simply by standing on the floor. Even with the ups and downs that come with a veteran shooter, his rsum still matters in a way few players on this roster can match.
Thompsons value is tied to more than reputation, too. He still had stretches last season when the shot looked like itself again, and that kind of spacing is hard to replace for a team that already has very little margin for error. If Dallas decides to move on, it risks turning a known weakness into something even harder to cover, especially when the alternatives do not offer the same kind of proven range. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Smiths Summer League Slide Raises A Troubling Mavericks Question
Tyler Smith entered Summer League as one of the more intriguing Dallas development pieces, but the early returns have not matched the expectations around him. The two-way forward was supposed to get a real chance to show he belonged in the mix, yet his minutes have been limited throughout the event and his production has been modest, leaving the Mavericks with more questions than answers as they sort through the edges of the roster.
Smiths last outing only added to the uncertainty, since he did not play against Memphis after logging just 28 total minutes across the previous two games. Dallas still has reason to remember the upside he flashed late last season, including a 20-point finish against Chicago, but Summer League is supposed to sharpen a players case, not cloud it, and Smith has left the team with a decision to make. [Read more 🡒]