Stats Rundown: 3 stats to know after the Mavericks escaped San Antonio with a win

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 109-108 in perhaps the ugliest victory in Mavericks history. There isn’t a ton for me to say outside of the stats themselves as this was not exactly a game you would want to use as a teaching tool on how to play basketball.

Here are the stats to know.

31: Number of points for Jalen Brunson

Brunson led the team in scoring as he continued to make an excellent case for why he should remain in the starting lineup. He did miss two free throws(one intentionally) with 2.7 seconds left which left the game very much in doubt. The Spurs were unable to capitalize, leaving the game as an overall positive for Brunson.

0: Number of threes Dorian Finney-Smith made in 4 attempts

Dorian has made enough shots over the past two years to deserve the benefit of the doubt. But he is not an NBA rotation player, let alone a starter on a team with playoff aspirations if he cannot hit threes at at least a league average rate. He is 20 percent(8/40) for the season now. His spot in the starting lineup has to be in jeopardy.

5: Number of points scored by bench players not named Boban Marjanović

The primary argument against starting Brunson right now is that the Mavericks bench does not produce enough to take him away. Boban is a fun piece, and useful in certain matchups but the team cannot rely on him for consistent bench production. He was great in this game, and one of the primary reasons the Mavericks won. But to put it simply the Mavericks just have too many players playing poorly right now.

As ugly as this game was, it does go into the win column and that will always remain the most important stat.

Here’s our lastest episode of Mavs Moneyball After Dark. If you’re unable to see the embed below, click here to be taken to the podcast directly. Or go to your favorite podcast app and search Mavs Moneyball Podcast.