Mavericks Practice Insights: Dončić and Kleber Return to 'Extremely High' Competition, and Key Development Focuses
Dončić and Kleber’s return boosts Mavericks’ intense practice sessions. Key development areas highlighted as they prepare for season opener against the Spurs.
DALLAS — As the Dallas Mavericks prepare to begin their 2024-25 regular season schedule, the team has ramped up the intensity of practices. They have the luxury of their first game tipping off on Thursday as opposed to being one of the teams that plays as early as Tuesday or Wednesday, and they are taking advantage of it.
With Luka Dončić and Maxi Kleber back to being full participants in practice in recent days, the Mavericks have been able to build necessary on-court chemistry. They are likely to play in the regular season opener against the San Antonio Spurs.
“Our health is trending up,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said. “It’s great to have Maxi back. He looked good (Saturday). You get to see the full scope of the team right now. Exum is the only one that probably will be out come opening night. Kessler is trending up — another two-way. But the 15 guys that will suit up, they all look good. They’re healthy and they’re going in the right direction.”
After Saturday’s practice, Kidd mentioned the level of competition has been “extremely high” in their practice sessions. Dončić being on the floor while they compete in five-on-five has made a significant difference.
“We wanted to make it challenging,” Kidd said. “Today was a hard practice, and the energy and competition over the last two days have been extremely high. We want to foster that competitive spirit, especially with Luka back. It changes the game when he’s on the floor.”
During the viewing window media is allowed to observe practice, here were some observations from the team’s most recent sessions:
Observations from Recent Practices
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While Dereck Lively II continues to put in a lot of work to improve, his free throw shooting very much remains a work-in-progress. Over the weekend, there wasn’t other parts of his workout that we saw, but there continues to be inconsistency in the rate he’s making free throws and how he’s missing them. However, he shot 66.7% on free throws in the preseason on 12 attempts, which would be an improvement from the 50.6% rate he converted at as a rookie in the regular season.
Dončić continued to get extra shots up after the team went through an intense practice. He’s been working a lot on catch-and-shoot jumpers, as most NBA players do. His consistency on these shots when observing his workouts has continued to improve over the past few seasons. He improved his catch-and-shoot accuracy last season, making 37.8% of his 1.9 attempts per game, up from 35.2% on 1.1 attempts per game in the 2022-23 season.
A lot of the attention surrounding Tyson Chandler’s involvement with the Mavericks tends to revolve around his relationship with Lively. Many in the organization compare Lively to Chandler, so it’s understandable. However, it shouldn’t be overlooked just how hands-on he’s been throughout the preseason process—running big man drill groups even while assistant coach Sean Sweeney is working with Lively on their own basket. Chandler even jumped in and helped with pre-game workouts before the preseason finale.
The Mavericks have been emphasizing the proper footwork with their young players when driving the lane to avoid charges while also making the proper read on spray-out passes. Tim Grgurich has spent a lot of time working with Olivier-Maxence Prosper lately, including on this particular focus area. Being able to make weak-hand passes seems to be an emphasis for Prosper with the coaching staff.
In continuation of helping Prosper to continue his development as a driving threat, the Mavericks coaching staff worked on his footwork to avoid charges before getting to a floater. Whether he’s Veer stepping or using a “wrong-foot” approach. Kidd recently described feeling like the game has “slowed down” for Prosper and this is the type of work that helps create that progression.
While there isn’t a video for this part, assistant coach God Shammgod was working closely with Brandon Williams on spray-out reads when attacking off the catch from the weak side of the floor—focusing on countering low-man rotations.
Jaden Hardy, who led the Mavericks in scoring and assists during preseason, averaging 15.0 points and 4.3 assists, was getting shots up with Jazian Gortman. These two made a lot of shots in their shooting group. Hardy has a real chance to earn consistent playing time early this season with Danté out after wrist surgery.
There isn’t a substantial basketball observation for this clip, but Naji Marshall spent time shooting free throws with Kyrie Irving on the chain net. They seem to be enjoying their time together as teammates. Marshall took part in the Mavericks’ Jr. NBA event in West Dallas along with Dončić and Daniel Gafford recently.
Additoinal Insights from Kidd
P.J. Washington dealt with left hip tightness for much of training camp before returning for Monday’s preseason loss against the LA Clippers. Kidd wants him to be aggressive on grab-and-go rebounding situations and feels he’s handling it well. The coaching staff plans to rely on him a lot this season and he’s looked more comfortable.
“He’s more comfortable, especially on defense,” Kidd said of Washington. “We’ve also asked him to rebound and bring the ball up the floor, and he’s adjusted well to that. He’s looked great in the time he’s been out there, and we’re going to rely on him a lot this season.”
Kidd added that Washington getting to go through camp with the team instead of being a midseason acquisition like last season has only helped. “It’s definitely helpful,” Kidd said. “It gives him a better comfort level with the system, and he can help newcomers like Naji Marshall get settled in faster by sharing his experience.”
The impact Grimes provided in preseason earned some praise from Kidd. Grimes led the team in scoring with 20 points against the Clippers, then had a 1-point outing against the Milwaukee Bucks, but added 10 rebounds and was active defensively. The willingness by Grimes to do the dirty work has stood out regardless of his stats.
“His ability to catch and shoot, along with his toughness, stands out,” Kidd said of Grimes. “Even when he didn’t score well the other night, he still grabbed 10 rebounds. He’s all about helping the team and does the little things we need.”
What’s Next?
The Mavericks have an off-day on Sunday but are likely to practice each day until they face the Spurs on Thursday. The team has looked forward to having this stretch to take advantage of after not having any preseason games to see how this team looks against external competition with Dončić in the lineup.
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