Luka Doncic identifies secret to making Quentin Grimes unstoppable for the Mavs
The Dallas Mavericks won one of their more thrilling games of the season on Sunday evening versus the Golden State Warriors in Klay Thompson’s second homecoming game to the Bay Area, as the Mavericks shot an absurd 59.8 percent from the field and 51.2 percent from distance en route to pulling away for 143-133 victory.
This game was one of the most satisfying and complete victories for the Mavericks all season, as the trio of Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, and Thompson scored a combined 95 points on 62.2 percent shooting from the field. This was easily Thompson’s best game as a Maverick, and it was also the biggest masterclass of a performance from Doncic that we’ve seen this season, as Doncic notched his 80th career triple-double and scored a season-high 45 points.
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The Dallas Mavericks won one of their more thrilling games of the season on Sunday evening versus the Golden State Warriors in Klay Thompson’s second homecoming game to the Bay Area, as the Mavericks shot an absurd 59.8 percent from the field and 51.2 percent from distance en route to pulling away for 143-133 victory.
This game was one of the most satisfying and complete victories for the Mavericks all season, as the trio of Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, and Thompson scored a combined 95 points on 62.2 percent shooting from the field. This was easily Thompson’s best game as a Maverick, and it was also the biggest masterclass of a performance from Doncic that we’ve seen this season, as Doncic notched his 80th career triple-double and scored a season-high 45 points.
However, while involving Thompson more in the offense and getting Doncic in MVP form were two of the more pressing concerns Mavericks fans have had recently before this game, another impressive takeaway from this game was the performance of Dallas’ bench. The Mavs’ bench didn’t put up gaudy numbers on the evening, but they contributed at a high level on both ends in a game where it was needed because of how well the Warriors were shooting too.
The most impressive performance off the bench for the Mavericks easily came from Quentin Grimes, as Grimes essentially established his role on the team in Dallas’ NBA Cup game versus the Warriors a little over a month ago, and he continued his stellar play against the Warriors by scoring 14 points on 4-8 shooting from outside.
Doncic thinks Mavs must get Grimes more catch-and-shoot looks
Grimes has posted in double figures in nine of the last 14 contests for the Mavericks, and he’s become a tertiary shot creator and stellar 3-point shooter for the Mavericks while also playing some great point-of-attack defense recently. Grimes is easily in contention with Daniel Gafford for the being the best player off Dallas’ bench recently, and Doncic revealed after the Golden State game how the Mavericks can make Grimes even more unstoppable than he already has been over this past month.
“He was big time today,” Doncic said in the post-game press conference in regards to Grimes. “He’s one of the best catch-and-shoot (players) in this league, so just gotta use him like that more.”
In 24 games played this season, Grimes has only shot five or more 3-pointers in six contests, so Doncic isn’t unfounded with this take. Grimes has been far more involved in multiple facets of Dallas’ offense recently, as he’s been used heavily as an off-ball screener, cutter, and weak-side playmaker. While Grimes has done a great job with all of those tasks, Dallas could amplify his effectiveness by making a concerted effort to get him more 3-point looks, as he’s now shooting an efficient 41.6 percent from downtown on the season.
If Grimes were to shoot more catch-and-shoot 3-points looks on a consistent basis, he may start trending toward being one of the best sixth-men in the NBA, as he’s arguably Dallas’ best catch-and-shoot player on the roster behind Thompson.
Grimes’ overall versatility on offense has been a great surprise this season, and he’s answered Jason Kidd’s call for him to step up on both ends tremendously throughout this past month, so it only makes sense for Kidd to grant him a little more playing time and install some more actions for him to receive open looks from outside on a more consistent basis.
