Gauging the panic meter on 3 struggling Mavericks ahead of regular season

The long wait of looking for revenge for the 2024-25 Dallas Mavericks is just days away. The anticipation is growing tremendously for the Mavericks' opening night, as they face an important matchup on Thursday night against the San Antonio Spurs.

Even with the days to opening night getting slim, there still might be a right to be concerned about some parts of the 2024 preseason. The Mavericks finished the preseason 1-3 but opened the preseason by losing the first three games.

The last thing a team wants is for a player to struggle in the preseason and then have it carry over into the regular season. A few Mavericks players had a slow preseason that has some Mavericks fans concerned for opening night.

Gauging the panic meter on 3 struggling Mavericks before regular season

High expectations are placed on the Mavericks this season in an attempt to make another run to the NBA Finals, but the Mavericks need all their players on their roster to be consistent to make another trip happen.

It's important to remember that not too much analysis should go into the preseason considering that Luka Doncic didn't play and nothing was at stake, but it is fair to have our eyes on a couple of players who may not have performed as well as expected.

3. Quentin Grimes

The Mavericks were excited to dump Tim Hardaway Jr.'s contract and acquire Quentin Grimes from the Detroit Pistons. A fresh start was needed for the 24-year-old, and Dallas seems to be the perfect place for him to do that.

Grimes showed flashes of his potential in the Mavericks' third preseason game when he scored 20 points in 22 minutes on 64 percent shooting, but the last preseason game may have shown concerns he might take time to develop still.

In the final preseason game this past Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks, Grimes did record 10 rebounds, but scored one point and shot a rough 0-7 from the field. To make it more of a concern, Grimes played 24 minutes.

Outside of his one 20-point game, Grimes didn't score over 10 points in any other game. Despite his low scoring numbers, Grimes proved that he is going to be an outstanding defender, and there is much more to his game than his 3-point shooting.

Grimes ended the preseason on a poor note if just analyzing the stat sheet, but he still made a big impact in that game.

Panic meter - 4

2. Klay Thompson

The Mavericks completing a sign-and-trade to acquire Golden State Warriors legend Klay Thompson sent shockwaves around the entire NBA. Maverick fans couldn't wait to see Thompson in a Maverick jersey, and he ended up playing in three preseason games.

Maverick fans were excited about Thompson's debut even if it was a preseason game, but the excitement wore away some after an inefficient debut. Thompson scored 10 points on 3-9 shooting from the field, but his next game is where fans got concerned deeply and had bad flashbacks.

In the Mavericks' preseason loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Columbus Day, Thompson recorded no points in 21 minutes. Thompson shot 0-9 from the field that also included 0-of-6 from three. Thompson's zero-point game immediately brought back flashbacks of his zero-point game in his final Warriors game in the 2024 Play-In Tournament.

It's important to note that both Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic weren't playing against the Clippers, but NBA Twitter still decided to run with this poor game from Thompson and doubt immediately crept back in for some fans.

Thompson finished the preseason on a high note by recording 11 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes in the final preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks last Thursday. While Thompson did shoot 3-7 from three in the win, he shot a combined 4-of-11 from the field.

His mid-range jumpers weren't falling for most of the preseason, and although it's going to be a completely different ballgame when he is playing next to Doncic, fans still saw him at his best (in stretches) and worst in a small sample size.

It's important for Maverick fans to know that it was preseason, and Thompson was learning Jason Kidd's system, but a poor preseason will draw concern from fans, especially when Thompson recorded a zero-point game. The Mavericks will need Thompson big this season to score next to his new superstar duo of Doncic and Irving.

Thompson is going to be getting plenty of good looks from three all season long, but his slow starts in all three games were a bit concerning. He turned these slow starts into productive performances in two of the three games, and he should be just fine as a complementary piece next to Doncic and Irving.

Panic meter - 4

1. Spencer Dinwiddie

When the Mavericks brought back Spencer Dinwiddie, it sent excitement to the Mavericks fan base. Dinwiddie was a key piece to the Mavericks' run to the 2022 Western Conference Finals and had tons of exciting moments in Dallas.

Dinwiddie coming back to Dallas immediately made Mavs fans believe that he would pass many players in the rotation, but after the 2024 preseason, Dinwiddie might be one who could be used as trade bait and get fewer minutes than anyone expected. Dinwiddie being on a one-year contract this season does benefit Dallas considering he isn't locked up for a long time, but it is important that he performs better when he is on the floor.

In the 2024 preseason, Dinwiddie averaged 6.3 points per game and shot 8-27 (30 percent) from the field. That is not an impressive preseason, nor is it a preseason the Mavericks needed to get out of Dinwiddie.

Dinwiddie looked unplayable at times during the preseason and now may get his minutes significantly dropped by head coach Jason Kidd if he continues to struggle. When Dinwiddie gets hot, he has the ability to be a starter at the point guard position on any team. However, when Dinwiddie gets cold like he was the entire preseason for the Mavericks, he can be a burden to the offense.

Dinwiddie has always been an important role player off the bench for his entire career, but his preseason struggles are a major concern. Dinwiddie needs to be the perfect guard to come in for Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving when they need rest, but his preseason play impacted him in a rough way.

Everyone's role is going to look different once Doncic returns to the lineup, but Dinwiddie's play was worse than expected.

Panic meter - 8