Mavericks Practice Notebook: Injury Updates, Chandler Works with Bigs, Thompson's Shooting, Prosper's Development

The Dallas Mavericks returned to practice on Tuesday following a day off after their thrilling 143-133 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. The team is gearing up for Thursday’s matchup against the LA Clippers, and while some players are on the mend, there were positive developments on the injury front.

Dallas Mavericks Injury Updates

Luka Dončić (left heel contusion) and Kyrie Irving (right shoulder soreness) were absent from practice, and their statuses remain uncertain for Thursday’s game. While Irving has been sidelined previously with shoulder soreness, it’s the first time Dončić has dealt with a heel injury this season.

In more positive news, Naji Marshall (illness) and Maxi Kleber (illness, rib contusion) returned to practice after being sidelined earlier in the week. Marshall, who’s been battling illness for weeks, missed the Warriors game, while Kleber has been out the last three games.

The Mavericks have already ruled out Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain), Danté Exum (right wrist surgery), and Brandon Williams (right thumb sprain) for Thursday’s game. Hardy is progressing and participated in a pre-game workout before the team’s San Francisco trip.

Key Practice Themes

As the Mavericks prepare for their matchup against the Clippers, head coach Jason Kidd spoke about the team’s resilience despite injuries and a hectic travel schedule. The team is riding a strong 12-2 run in their last 14 games despite playing most of it on the road.

“I think, you look at the roster, the depth, and I tell the group to be prepared, to understand what their goals are, and to have fun while playing,” Kidd said. “We didn’t complain about the road trips or the injuries. That’s just the character of the group overall.”

Dereck Lively II pointed to heart, effort, and limiting mistakes as the primary factors in their success during this hectic stretch.

“It’s heart and effort,” Lively said. “There have been times when we’ve left effort plays on the floor, but we’re working to limit those. Whether it’s diving on the floor, getting steals, 50/50 balls, or offensive rebounds, we’ve been trying to eliminate the things we can control.”

Kidd also acknowledged the need for the Mavericks to tighten their defense after a few lapses this season. Though the team has remained in the top 10 for defense and offense, Kidd believes they can reach an elite level with a renewed focus.

“We’ve got to get back to guarding,” Kidd explained. “But overall, we’re still in the top 10 in both defense and offense. That gives us a good chance. We just need to tighten things up on defense to get back to that elite level.”

Here are some key observations from the Mavericks’ practice facility:

Klay Thompson Puts on a Shooting Display

Watching Klay Thompson’s daily shooting work is fascinating. He holds himself to an extremely high standard and is as intentional as possible with each rep. It’s immediately apparent why he’s been one of the greatest shooters in the history of the NBA. He’s coming off a 29-point performance against the Warriors, averaging 22.7 points on 50.0% shooting from three over his last three games.

Even when Thompson is going through basic spot-shooting drills, he’s not only highly accurate, but he’s doing it while having someone tightly contest him. The goal is to get as close to simulating a realistic game scenario as possible.

Another staple of Thompson’s workout is going through various outcomes as a pick-and-pop option. He does it all, whether he’s taking the shot on the catch, attacking the defender to get to the rim, or using a shot fake to create space for a jumper.

Given how important movement is for Thompson’s game, he intentionally works through the different situations he encounters during a game, whether he simulates filling the wing in transition, drifting to the corner, flaring out after being inside the line, or simply adjusting to the pass.

Thompson works on beating a defender to get to different parts of his arsenal. Some of the approaches he worked on while we observed included taking step-back jumpers, driving to the rim, or getting to a spot and using a shot fake to get the defender in the air.

Bigs Go Through Drill Station with Tyson Chandler

The Mavericks’ bigs spent much time together in a drill station, focusing on “getting on the same page” with the guard in pick-and-roll situations.

“When we look at how we run our offense, there are times when we do things too fast. As a big, we’re supposed to control the defense and help control the offense,” Lively said. “We’re telling our guards to wait for the big to come down and set the pick. That makes everything fall into place better. It helps with getting shots, getting dunks, and opening looks for everyone. We’re just trying to make sure everyone is on the same page and keeping the same tempo.”

One focus we saw was the Mavericks working on passing out of the short roll, with each big cycling through different off-ball roles.

However, what we mostly saw was the bigs working on guarding in space while having to guard two-way contract signee Jazian Gortman.

Lively discussed his defensive growth, especially his guarding on switches. He emphasized the importance of footwork, controlling the ball handler, and working as a team to box out or clean up rebounds.

“It’s all about moving my feet and not biting on fakes,” Lively explained. “I try to force the ball handler to their non-dominant hand and keep them where I want them to go. If they get to the middle, they win. If they go baseline, then I win. My teammates know to stay home, so I can clean up the rebound or box out.”

Another focus was handling guarding 2-with-1 in the paint by stabbing at the ball while the guard drives before recovering if the pass is made to the big stationed in the dunker spot. Chandler started by showing how it’s done.

Chandler continues to mentor Lively, helping him understand the game’s nuances. Their relationship has been building since Lively arrived in Dallas, and Chandler has been working with him even at Summer League practices in Las Vegas. When the team can get practice time in Dallas, Chandler is eager to help Lively.

Inside Olivier-Maxence Prosper’s Development

Working with assistant coaches God Shammgod and Alex Jensen, Olivier-Maxence Prosper spent much time working on closeout attacks, spacing from different spots on the floor, and playing out of the corner in handoffs. This was after he did spot-shooting. With Kleber sidelined recently, Prosper has effectively handled receiving spot minutes in the rotation.

Here’s a look at a few of Prosper’s off-ball reps, between a drive off the catch for a finish, a catch-and-shoot jumper on a corner drift, and a give-and-go cut for a dunk.

Prosper went through the full scoring gauntlet of variations when playing out of a Zoom action handoff. He worked on everything from navigating the interior defense before finishing to using a fake after turning the corner to create a pull-up, getting to a contested floater, or simply shooting it in the gap.

Prosper worked on defensive slides, which he’s continued from his rookie season.

Spencer Dinwiddie Works on Pick & Roll Scoring

Spencer Dinwiddie often works closely with assistant coach Jared Dudley. To help him stay sharp, they work through pick-and-roll scoring approaches based on different ball screen coverages, whether he’s rejecting the screen or getting into the gap after using it. There’s more to their workout, but this is often what we see.

Maxi Kleber Puts Up Shots

After missing the past three games, Kleber returned to practice. The severity of his rib fracture remains to be seen, but this marks another day he put in extra shooting reps and worked on his conditioning. It seems he’ll play through it.

Naji Marshall on the Practice Court

While Marshall did participate in practice, he didn’t go through an extra workout in front of reporters. He talked with assistant coach Darrell Armstrong and shot free throws on the chain net.

What’s Next

The Mavericks will build on their momentum after a big win against the Warriors. All eyes will be on the statuses of Dončić and Irving as they prepare for the Clippers. The team has a practice on Wednesday to continue putting reps in practice during a rare schedule gap, with the team staying in Dallas for multiple games.