The middle game of the preseason is over which means only three more stand between us and the start of the regular season and basketball that counts for real. Nothing earth-shattering came out of tonight’s game but let’s not have that keep us from learning.
In the first half we saw Dirk in his first preseason action and a decent number of minutes for all the starters sans Wesley Matthews who sat out tonight’s game.
Dallas pulled ahead with a solid half time lead but let it get close towards the end. However it was the deeper end of the bench that pulled out a victory down the stretch.
1. Andrew Bogut affects the game in many ways
This was something Warriors teammates and coaches said about Bogut when he came here but tonight was a prime example of what they alluded to. In 18 minutes Bogut grabbed 11 boards (3 offensive), dished 3 assists, and blocked 3 shots. One of his assists went between his own legs.
Andrew Bogut between his legs assist https://t.co/WAintjv1Xu
— Brice Paterik (@80GradeWhitt) October 12, 2016
Bogut’s presence in the paint altered several shots that won’t show up in a box score and his intelligent passing was undersold.
2. Nick Brussino caught fire in the third quarter
The 23-year-old Argentinian didn’t see the court until the second half and when he did the kid caught fire! In 12 minutes Brussino went 4/5 from the field (3/4 from deep) for 11 points and a pair of rebounds just for good measure.
Outside shooting is a valuable skill in this league. If you can only do one thing really well and that one thing is shoot threes, it helps your chances to make an NBA roster. Tonight’s performance definitely helped his chances to make the final roster.
3. Dwight Powell looked confident shooting a jumper again
I could tell you about Powell’s energy and how important his rebounding and effort was to give this team a little more life, but I won’t. We’ve seen that out of Powell the last couple of years so it’s not entirely unexpected.
In the D-League Powell’s long range shooting was a huge part of his game. However in NBA games even mid range jumpers didn’t fall causing him to look a little hesitant when taking it.
Tonight Powell looked like he regained confidence in that shot and if he can make that stand up during the season it adds value to his game, maybe allowing for a bigger role on the team.
Overall a solid night from the Mavs. Rust got shaken off and a few young guns made good impressions. The team is now one game closer to regular season basketball.