3 Studs, 2 duds from Dallas Mavericks' narrow win over Timberwolves

4. Dud - Josh Green

Josh Green didn’t negatively affect the Dallas Mavericks in their victory over the Timberwolves, but he also didn’t provide much at all from an offensive standpoint despite having a few opportunities to take advantage of mismatches on the perimeter.

Green started the game off clicking on all cylinders, as he had a pull-up jumper and transition layup off of a block he got on Anthony Edwards all early on in the contest. Green only shot one more field goal after that though, as he finished 2-3 from the field with four points.

Mavericks fans have been panning for Green to be more assertive and he did so in Dallas’ victory over the Trail Blazers on Friday night by scoring 14 points on 7-8 shooting from the field, but this game was a complete far cry from that. To Green’s credit, he was tasked with chasing around Mike Conley for a large chunk of the game and Minnesota typically runs Conley off of a lot of staggers, so Green was chasing around Conley all night and guarding Anthony Edwards for some stretches as well.

Green did a relatively good job of containing them on defense barring a few rough possessions on Edwards early on, but furthermore perhaps his tall task defensively may have affected his motor on the offensive side. Green had five rebounds and hustled well all night so by no means was it a complete ‘dud’ of a performance, but he has to continue working on being more reliable and assertive for Dallas on the offensive side going forward if he's going to be a part of Dallas' young core for years to come.