3 studs, 2 duds in Mavericks’ dominant victory over Grizzlies

The Dallas Mavericks skimmed through the Memphis Grizzlies in a 125-110 win last night. In a team effort, the Mavs shot an unreal 45.7 percent from behind the arc.

Two of the newest Mavericks, Grant Williams and Derrick Jones Jr., played a phenomenal game on both sides of the floor in a clutch win.

For the first time since the 2004-05 the Mavs have started off the regular season with a 3-0 record.

Here are three studs and two duds from the road win.

Honorable mention: Tim Hardaway Jr.

Tim Hardaway Jr. can occasionally be one of the most frustrating players to watch on the Mavs roster, but as of lately he has been on pure fire.

Hardaway Jr. put on a masterclass while making a case for becoming a Sixth Man of the Year candidate. In his 29 minutes of play, Hardaway Jr. dropped 21 points, five rebounds, and shot 3-7 from the 3-point line.

Not only did Hardaway Jr. excel on the offensive side of the floor, but he also took a key charge that kept the Grizzlies' deficit at nine points early in the 4th quarter.

If the Mavs can rely on Hardaway Jr. consistently to hit big time shots and be a solid defender then there will be many problems for opposing teams.

5. Stud - Grant Williams

In the Mavericks' win, Grant Williams was nothing but great.

Less than four minutes into the first quarter, Williams hit three 3-pointers to give the Mavs an early lead.

Williams in a very efficient performance against the Grizzlies dropped 15 points, three rebounds, two assists, and shot 4-8 from behind the 3-point line. His great defensive efforts were one of the reasons that the Mavs got this big win.

Williams has been shown on television multiple times proving he has become one of the key vocal leaders for this team, which is something that the Mavs had struggled with having in the past.

Throughout his three games with the Mavericks, Williams is now averaging 12.3 points and five rebounds per game, while shooting a sparky 45 percent from the 3-point line. The trade from the summer for Williams is looking great for Dallas, and Williams' performances have been key to winning.

Expect Williams to have a big role in the Mavs' game on Wednesday facing the Chicago Bulls, and he could have to guard Zach Lavine or DeMar DeRozan.

4. Dud - Seth Curry

One of the past signings this offseason that had Dallas sports fans very excited about was Seth Curry.

In his 15 minutes of play, Curry had three points, two assists, and two rebounds, while shooting a scrappy 1-5 from the field.

Curry made some great defensive efforts, but regardless of that, it’s not the reason why the Mavericks chose to sign him to a two-year deal this past summer. In 28 minutes of play in the first three games of the season, Curry has only attempted three 3-pointers. All of which were shot in the Mavs win over the Grizzlies.

Luka Doncic and Curry had a very solid connection when the two were on the Mavericks a few years back, but we haven’t seen them share the court together much so far this season.

At the pace Curry is at, don’t be surprised if Jason Kidd decides to take a bigger chance on Jaden Hardy to create more offense for the Mavericks.

Luckily for Mavs fans, Curry shoots over 43 percent from three and averages 15.5 points per game in his career against the Chicago Bulls, which of whom the Mavs will take on Wednesday.

3. Stud - Derrick Jones Jr.

After two games of struggling on the offensive side of the floor, Derrick Jones Jr. finally proved why Jason Kidd chose to start him as the Mavericks’ small forward.

There was never a doubt in anyone’s mind that Jones Jr. was an elite perimeter defender for this Mavs team, but after his production on both sides of the floor, he has made a clear case to be a very beneficial factor for this squad.

Jones Jr. shot a very efficient 7-10 from the floor while also going 4-6 from three. The lengthy wing finished the night with his third-highest career game in scoring with 22 points, while also contributing four rebounds.

The 6-foot-5 forward is the perfect fit for what the Mavs needed to accomplish having a fast-paced team with highly skilled defenders.

If Jones Jr. can stay consistent offensively, expect him to finish out the games just like he did in the big win last night. He struggled shooting the three previously, but last night was different.

Jones Jr. will take on his former team, the Chicago Bulls, on Wednesday night. Hopefully he will be able to showcase his talents again and help lead the Mavs to a 4-0 record.

2. Dud - Dereck Lively II

In the first week of the NBA regular season, one of the rookies who had made some serious noise was Dereck Lively II.

Lively II has consistently proven that he is a major lob threat and rim protector for the Mavericks, but in the win, he barely saw the floor after being in foul trouble throughout the whole night.

The 7-foot-1 rookie saw the floor for just 14 minutes in the Mavs' victory over the injured Grizzlies team. Lively II finished the first half with four fouls and seemed to be very frustrated with the officiating.

Although Lively II and Doncic connected on an alley-oop late in the second quarter, Mavs fans had expected more out of the rookie. Lively II finished the game with two points, six rebounds, and one block. He also finished with five personal fouls.

With Maxi Kleber struggling so far this season, it will be very important for Lively II to stay out of foul trouble early in the game.

If Jason Kidd is serious about Lively finishing out the games for the Mavs, he should possibly consider making a minutes change in the rotation to prevent these kinds of situations.

Lively II has made a clear case that he’s the team's best rim protector, so hopefully there will be an improvement in getting in early-game foul trouble.

1. Stud - Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic has made a clear case after three games this season that he should be the frontrunner for league MVP.

In just the third game of the year, Doncic put up his second triple-double of the season while dropping an impressive 35 points, 12 assists, and 12 rebounds. He also had shot an astounding 11-22 from the field while shooting 6-12 from three as well.

As impressive as Doncic is offensively, he has surprised many fans with his defensive efforts. With Doncic’s high IQ, he’s capable of reading the opposing team's offensive schemes and can create multiple turnovers within a short period.

Doncic has been on an absolute tear this season for the 3-0 Mavericks while averaging 39 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 9.7 assists per game with a true shooting percentage of 69.7.

One of the biggest questions heading into last night's victory was if Doncic could continue to run a fast-paced offense without Kyrie Irving suiting up for the game. It was very clear he was capable of doing that and it’s one of the main reasons the Mavs got the win.

With his defensive skills on showcase last night, Doncic made Kenyon Martin look like a fool for his recent negative remarks regarding his defense.

At the pace Luka is playing at, it will be very difficult to stop himself and this Mavs team in general this season.