John Jenkins: Dallas Mavericks Player of the Game

The Dallas Mavericks played the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight for their 3rd preseason game and it went much better than the first two. Although we fell to the Thunder 88-100, the Mavericks really looked impressive for the first 3 quarters of the game.

Zaza Pachulia had an excellent game finishing with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Justin Anderson had a new high with 11 points including 2 highlight reel dunks, but this night belonged to John Jenkins and his 26 points.

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For anyone who watched the game tonight, this shouldn’t come as any surprise. Jenkins was a man on a mission hitting shots from everywhere on the court, sneaking behind defenses, and getting himself open throughout the game. Jenkins was 11 for 18 on the night including a less than stellar 2 for 7 from the 3-point line.

Positive Takeaway:

There is a lot that can be said about Jenkins’ play tonight and almost all of it is a positive. John Jenkins has been the star of this team in the preseason and it has been about his entire play, not just his knack for shooting the ball.

Jenkins has been able to show his worth on both ends of the court while proving that he will be capable of running the point spot. He has had a few steals and a few blocks while guarding a number of different players at different levels of talent and through it all has proven to be serviceable.

The reason I am the most excited for Jenkins though is the fact that we know we are going to be short handed going into the season with Wesley Matthews expected to miss opening night as well as a few more games presumably. For awhile, I thought that could be a really big void for the Mavericks to fill but after watching Jenkins, my mind is finally at ease.

So in other words, the positive takeaway from his performance is that he is just an all around athlete that can make our team better when he is on.

Negative Takeaway:

There wasn’t much negative to Jenkins game tonight. He took a few forced shots but some outhouse went in so its hard to fault him for it. When you’re on fire, you shoot.

The only worrisome part of the game for John Jenkins tonight and throughout this preseason is his 3-point shooting percentage. He shot 2 for 7 today which isn’t great for a known 3-point threat but as I have watched him play, I’ve noticed that when he gets his feet set and isn’t shooting on the run he usually makes the shot. More time will give a better indication on how his shooting will be but for now, keep an eye on it.

John Jenkins had a spectacular game tonight and I personally can not wait to see how he does for us this season. Great game for the Mavericks tonight and look forward to another preseason matchup with the Hawks on Friday.

Congrats to John Jenkins on his stellar outing tonight! We are excited to have him in a Mavs uniform for the upcoming season and whatever lies ahead.

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