The Dallas Mavericks began their participation in the NBA Summer League with a 0-2 record following a 108-88 loss against the Memphis Grizzlies.

A poor start plagued by turnovers put the Mavericks behind 13-0 early before trailing by as many as 21 points in the opening period. Dallas was down 30-11 after turning it over 12 times while shooting just 3 of 13 overall and 2 of 8 on free throws.

At this point, the game was already lost, and the closest the Mavericks came was being down 61-46 in the third quarter. The Grizzlies pulled away for good, using a 19-0 run after Dallas attempted to rally back. Memphis led by as many as 24 points. By somehow recording 27 turnovers, it was an undisciplined and unprepared showing.

Summer Mavs coach Jared Dudley credited the ball pressure the Grizzlies applied for causing such problems for the team’s turnover woes. However, it was concerning that regular ball pressure was problematic enough to cause significant issues.

“You can’t have 27 (turnovers),” Dudley said. “Even for the Mavericks, when we have 17-18 (turnovers), it’s a recipe for losing. And for them, it wasn’t like there was a 2-2-1 (defensive scheme). It was a 1-on-1, man-to-man ball pressure.

“The refs let you be physical, but that’s how it is. We tried all different combinations of different guards,” Dudley explained. “Their pressure forced us to play a tempo that we weren’t accustomed to playing, and because of that turnovers were rampant.”

Memphis had 16 steals in this game, which was more than the number of turnovers (15) the team recorded. There were four players with multiple steals for the Grizzlies, including Scottie Pippen Jr. with five and Jake LaRavia with four.

“You saw their guards ball-pressure. (Scotty) Pippen Jr. literally took the game from us in the first quarter — just his ball pressure,” Dudley said. “I’ve never personally seen so many steals in the backcourt lead straight to layups.”

Olivier-Maxence Prosper, a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, remains the Mavericks’ top developmental priority of the team’s Summer League plan. He totaled 16 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals. He turned it over four times while shooting 6 of 14 from the floor, 2 of 4 from deep, and 2 of 2 on free throws.

Dudley was content with the three-point attempts Prosper took, but felt there were some fadeaways he shot that he would have preferred better shots on those possessions. Instead, Dudley would have liked to see him work the ball to the big in split action or get off the ball and screen, suggesting a need for a better feel for the game.

“Today was better, but a lot of times he shot the threes, which I don’t mind (because) they were open,” Dudley said of Prosper. “He shot a couple of fadeaways that I don’t want him to shoot, and when he drove I thought finally he was patient with the pump fake.

“I’m trying to get him in different positions of either posting coming to his strong right hand,” Dudley explained. “Sometimes just playing through the bigs split action, sometimes you’re setting screens and splits, and sometimes you’ve got to have the feel of the game.”

Prosper went from scoring only two points while making just 1 of 6 shots before halftime to scoring 14 after the break while going 5 of 8 overall and 2 of 3 from deep. For a second-year player, a stronger performance is needed earlier in the game to set the tone for the group.

“I thought he shot the ball pretty well when he did have it,” Dudley said. “He just has to make his reads. He wants it really, really bad and it’s our job to every game make it a little bit slower and a little bit slower. So, I’m hoping these last three games that we have that we can do a better job and try to get him better again.”

Looking ahead, the Mavericks will face the Miami Heat on Wednesday at 2 p.m. CT at the Thomas & Mack Center.

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