<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-dallas-resiliency');   ga('set', 'title', 'Leading through the storm: Anthony Davis drops truth bomb on Mavericks’ resiliency');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Anthony-Davis-1.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Leading through the storm: Anthony Davis drops truth bomb on Mavericks’ resiliency</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-28T12:42:34-07:00">October 28th, 12:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-28T12:42:34-07:00">October 28th, 12:42pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks almost erased a 22-point deficit on Monday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Dallas got within one point in the fourth quarter, but OKC ultimately pulled away and earned a 101-94 win. Still, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-solved-problem-thunder-weaknesses-fix">Mavericks took a step forward</a> in what has been a challenging start to the 2025-26 season. A 1-3 start has led to some adversity, but Anthony Davis believes in the Mavs’ resiliency.</p><p>“We are going to keep fighting until the end of the game, even with the bad third quarter,” Davis <a href="https://x.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1983024065301402092" rel="noopener">told reporters after the game</a>. “Gave ourselves a chance to win the game… We can’t have those lows defensively, but we’re going to keep fighting until the end and gave ourselves a chance in the second night of a back-to-back.”</p><p>As AD said, it was the second of a back-to-back. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-dallas-cooper-flagg-unlocked-something-special-raptors">Mavs defeated the Toronto Raptors</a> 139-129 on Sunday night — a victory that represented Dallas’ first win of the season.</p><p>Dallas is currently playing through a five-game homestand. Things have not gone according to plan — something their record indicates — but the past two contests have left room for hope. The Mavs’ final game of the homestand is scheduled for Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers.</p><h2><b>Anthony Davis playing well despite Mavericks’ struggles</b></h2><p>One positive takeaway from Dallas’ season so far is the play of Anthony Davis. AD looks like a potential MVP candidate. The big man is averaging 25 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks per outing. He is also shooting 52.1 percent from the field.</p><p>He needs more help from his teammates, but AD is setting a leadership example. His leadership goes beyond his play, though. AD  often keeps the conversation focused on the team — as opposed to himself — while speaking to reporters. He is hopeful that the team can do a better job of trusting each other on the floor.</p><p>“We competed tonight,” Davis said Monday. “We can do a better job of trusting each other… Just making the right play. When you go in and there are four or five guys around you, trusting, I mean, we made some tough shots, but trusting the pass and the next guy in the corner, or wherever it is on the floor… Just getting better at, like, little things like that.</p><p>“It’s not a thing that we don’t, like, trust each other… But the ultimate trust comes from being able to make that next pass.”</p><p>Leadership means saying the quiet part out loud sometimes. The Mavericks’ ball movement has been questionable at best. They have serious questions at the point guard position, which has played a role in the lack of assists. Davis knows the team can be better at making the extra pass and finding open teammates.</p><p>For AD, he has often had to create his own looks. He happens to excel in that department, but his already impressive numbers could be even better with an increase of team chemistry on the floor.</p><p>Anthony Davis and the Mavericks will look to win their second game of the 2025-26 NBA season on Wednesday night against the Pacers at 8:30 PM EST.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Leading through the storm: Anthony Davis drops truth bomb on Mavericks’ resiliency

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-jason-kidd-honest-anthony-davis-conditioning');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jason Kidd gets brutally honest on Anthony Davis’ conditioning');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_0247.jpeg"><figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Jason Kidd gets brutally honest on Anthony Davis’ conditioning</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-25T15:54:36-07:00">October 25th, 3:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-25T15:54:36-07:00">October 25th, 3:54pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-fans-demand-dallas-fire-nico-double-digit-loss-wizards">Dallas Mavericks have gotten off to an 0-2 start</a> to the 2025-26 NBA season, and chatter in the NBA world has centered around Anthony Davis and his conditioning. Davis underwent eye surgery in the offseason, requiring him to wear protective eyewear for the rest of his career. As the regular season has tipped-off, Davis might not be in quite the shape that the Mavericks need out of him.</p><p>Prior to the Mavericks’ Sunday game against the Toronto Raptors, head coach Jason Kidd spoke about Anthony Davis’ conditioning, and what it will take to get him <a href="https://x.com/RonKnowsSports/status/1982158335211098350" rel="noopener">in the type of shape</a> the team needs him to be in, as per Ron Harrod Jr. of DLLS Mavs.</p><p>“Again, he’s been out with the surgery, so I think him playing 36 minutes last night will help with that conditioning,” Jason Kidd said. “Playing PJ [Washington] 39 minutes is not something that we want to do. So a lot of those guys. . .were probably tired and made some mental mistakes, but I’d rather that happen now than later. I think AD is trending in the right direction of being in the shape that we need him to.”</p><p>If Davis is not quite there in terms of his conditioning to start the season, then it has to at least be impressive the production that he’s still been able to give the Mavericks.</p><p>Through the Mavericks’ first two games of the season, Davis is averaging 24.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocked shots in just about 35 minutes of play. What has been noticeable though is Davis’ shooting efficiency. He’s shooting only 39 percent from the field and 25 percent from the three-point line, well under his career averages.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-mavericks-luka-doncic-anthony-davis-trade">Davis was initially acquired by the Mavericks in the shocking trade</a> involving Luka Doncic from last season. Davis was the centerpiece of the deal for Dallas as they cited a focus on defense as the reasoning behind the trade. He appeared in a total of nine games for the Mavericks last season as the team rallied from a poor regular season to grab a play in spot.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jason Kidd gets brutally honest on Anthony Davis’ conditioning

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-anthony-davis-season-opener');   ga('set', 'title', 'Watch Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama absolutely son Anthony Davis during historic season opener');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Spurs-center-Victor-Wembanyama.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h1>Watch Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama absolutely son Anthony Davis during historic season opener</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-23T05:56:49-07:00">October 23rd, 5:56am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-23T05:56:49-07:00">October 23rd, 5:56am</time><address><a>Rishabh Bhatnagar</a>Rishabh is a seasoned NBA and sports journalist and editor with over seven years of experience working for reputed organizations. A novelist first and foremost, he has written three fiction books. His high threshold of knowledge combined with his writing skills gives him the ability to write uniquely insightful pieces across basketball, soccer, cricket, lawn tennis, eSports, and a variety of other sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-fans-convinced-victor-wembanyama-mvp-watching-1-game">San Antonio Spurs produced a dominant 125-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks</a> on opening day at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. In what was a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-mindset-injury-frighten-nba">historic, record-breaking night for Victor Wembanyama</a>, who was playing his first official game since February, he scored 40 points and had 15 rebounds.</p><p>En route to that stat line was a dominant dunk over none other than Anthony Davis, who finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds with 7-22 shooting. Per a clip posted by ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel on X, Wemby <a href="https://x.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1981208163237147011" rel="noopener">initially won the defensive rebound</a> after a failed shot from the Mavericks.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">This is against Anthony Davis, a multi-time All-Defensive player and one of the best frontcourt defenders in the league.</p><p>Wembanyama makes him look like some random guy at the park.</p><p>Year 3 Wemby is different. <a href="https://t.co/usLluJtkAB">pic.twitter.com/usLluJtkAB</a></p><p>— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1981208163237147011?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>He then drove alone to the three-point line where he was met with a double-team headed by AD. However, all it took for the 7 foot 4 inch forward was a slight shuffle, after which he drove past Davis and proceeded to land a left-handed dunk.</p><p>“This is against Anthony Davis, a multi-time All-Defensive player and one of the best frontcourt defenders in the league. Wembanyama makes him look like some random guy at the park. Year 3 Wemby is different,” Siegel wrote on X, clearly impressed with the ease with which Wemby completed the dunk.</p><p>Wembanyama posted 21 points by halftime, set a Spurs record for points in a season opener, and keyed a 13–0 run late in the second quarter. The game also saw Cooper Flagg make his official debut, along with No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper.</p><p>Flagg finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds but did not score until the first possession of the second half. Harper on the other hand came off the Spurs bench in the first quarter and sparked a surge that put San Antonio in control, finishing with 15 points.</p><p>Regardless, the night chiefly belonged to Wembanyama, who led the Spurs to three dominant quarters that helped them bring home a 32-point win. Stephon Castle added 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists and was the second-highest scorer for San Antonio.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Watch Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama absolutely son Anthony Davis during historic season opener

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-cooper-flagg-reminder-debut');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ Anthony Davis sends stern Cooper Flagg reminder after inconsistent debut');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Cooper-Flagg-during-his-NBA-debut-in-2025.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Mavericks’ Anthony Davis sends stern Cooper Flagg reminder after inconsistent debut</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-22T22:10:24-07:00">October 22nd, 10:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-22T22:15:49-07:00">October 22nd, 10:15pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>DALLAS — All eyes were on Cooper Flagg on Wednesday night as the Dallas <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-dallas-officially-selects-cooper-flagg-2025-nba-draft">Mavericks’ 2025 No. 1 overall pick</a> made his NBA debut. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-cooper-flagg-rejects-savior-label-before-season-begins">Expectations were high for Flagg</a>, but he endured an up and down game. He ultimately scored 10 points on 4-13 shooting from the field to go along with 10 rebounds and a steal as the Mavs were defeated 125-92 by the San Antonio Spurs. He will certainly have better performances, but he was able to secure a double-double.</p><p>Anthony Davis isn’t worried about Flagg despite the rookie’s inconsistent debut. <a href="https://x.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1981223081676067212" rel="noopener">He reminded everyone</a> that it was only “game one” while speaking to reporters following the loss.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Anthony Davis on Cooper Flagg after his up and down performance <a href="https://t.co/pXBOxdntVC">pic.twitter.com/pXBOxdntVC</a></p><p>— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1981223081676067212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Game one, I mean, he’s still a rookie,” Davis said of Flagg. “I was the same way coming in. Preseason obviously good, but when that game one comes around, packed stadium, national TV game… I’m not sure if he’s a social media guy or not, but, everything was ‘number one pick Cooper Flagg, Wemby matchup’ and all this stuff.</p><p>“So, you start hearing it, I’m not sure if it got to him. But it’s first game jitters when it’s time for the real thing, so he’ll be fine.”</p><h2><b>Cooper Flagg’s NBA debut doesn’t go according to plan</b></h2><p>Flagg started the game slow, going just 0-2 from the field en route to a scoreless first half. He found other ways to contribute — recording six rebounds — but Flagg’s first half did not exactly live up to expectations. However, Flagg wasted no time in the second half, <a href="https://x.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1981198699666821422" rel="noopener">scoring his first</a> NBA points on a mid-range jumper within the first minute of the third quarter.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">There it is! Cooper Flagg finds the bottom of the net to begin the second half for his first ever NBA points <a href="https://t.co/0ioVWLas0d">pic.twitter.com/0ioVWLas0d</a></p><p>— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1981198699666821422?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>He was much more aggressive in the second half. As mentioned, Flagg was able to finish the game with a double-double. It wasn’t a bad debut, but Flagg expects to play at a much higher level moving forward.</p><p>Flagg said he made an effort to be “more aggressive” in the third quarter.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Cooper Flagg says he was trying to be “more aggressive” in the third quarter following his scoreless first half. <a href="https://t.co/rvU1YCTVes">pic.twitter.com/rvU1YCTVes</a></p><p>— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1981221938891554914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Just trying to be a little bit more aggressive,” Flagg said of his second half approach. “Trying to assert myself a little bit, but, you know, just trying to take what was there.”</p><p>For the Spurs, Victor Wembanyama was unstoppable. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick scored 40 points and 15 rebounds to lead San Antonio.</p><p>The game was marketed as Wembanyama vs. Flagg — but that was always unfair. Wembanyama is three years older and has two seasons of NBA experience. Meanwhile, Flagg hadn’t even played in a regular season contest before Wednesday’s affair.</p><p>It is important to remember that Cooper Flagg is only 18 years old. There is no need to overreact to one game. Flagg’s ceiling remains extremely high, and he has a legitimate opportunity to become a superstar in the NBA.</p><p>The Mavericks’ next game is scheduled for Friday night at the American Airlines Center against the Washington Wizards. The contest represents the second matchup of a five-game homestand to begin the 2025-26 NBA season for this Mavs squad.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ Anthony Davis sends stern Cooper Flagg reminder after inconsistent debut

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-anthony-davis-attention-big-moment-game');   ga('set', 'title', 'Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis grab attention with big moment after Lakers-Mavericks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Lakers-news-Luka-Doncic-Anthony-Davis-grab-attention-with-big-moment-after-game.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis grab attention with big moment after Lakers-Mavericks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-15T23:39:20-07:00">October 15th, 11:39pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-15T23:39:20-07:00">October 15th, 11:39pm</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a>Paolo Mariano is a freelance writer, editor, and producer based in Manila, Philippines. He is a journalism graduate from the University of Santo Tomas and the father of a young girl whose personality swings from Simone Biles to Dillon Brooks. A beacon of objectivity, he believes Penny Hardaway is the true NBA GOAT.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers had no answer for the Dallas Mavericks in the fourth quarter on Wednesday and absorbed another loss in the preseason, 121-94, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-dallas-dominates-lakers-fourth-quarter-points-differential">The Mavericks improved to 3-1</a>, while the Lakers fell to 1-4.</p><p>Every face-off between the two teams will always have extra sauce due to their blockbuster trade last season, which sent Luka Doncic to Los Angeles and Anthony Davis to Dallas.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-unbothered-take-mavericks-fitness-overhaul">Doncic and Davis have talked about their displeasure</a> when the seismic development happened, with both admitting that they didn’t want to leave. But clearly, they have moved on and don’t harbor any ill feelings toward each other.</p><p>They even <a href="https://x.com/NBA/status/1978691889277583839" rel="noopener">shared a wholesome moment</a> after the game on Wednesday, as shown in the video posted by the NBA.</p><p>“All love between Luka &amp; AD,” read the caption.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">All love between Luka &amp; AD 🙌 <a href="https://t.co/aQfTVs4WQU">pic.twitter.com/aQfTVs4WQU</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1978691889277583839?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Any lip readers out there? We need to know what they laughed about.</p><p>Doncic sat out the contest, while Davis led the Mavericks with 18 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and one block in 32 minutes.</p><p>Fans only had good things to say about the positive interaction between the pair of All-Stars, who will forver be linked to each other.</p><p>“Hard not to smile looking at this interaction. Two genuinely good dudes who just so happen to be forever linked due to Nico Harrison’s idiocy,” <a href="https://x.com/JB4Threee/status/1978693869110739374" rel="noopener">said</a> @JB4Threee.</p><p>“That’s warm,” <a href="https://x.com/TJBLFG/status/1978701204226998736" rel="noopener">added </a>@TJBLFG.</p><p>“No reason for them to be mad at each other,” <a href="https://x.com/Listogetsit/status/1978693115188842648" rel="noopener">wrote</a> @Listogetsit.</p><p>“Respect between the gents,” <a href="https://x.com/fjwalfurt/status/1978691997591302195" rel="noopener">echoed</a> @fjwalfurt.</p><p>“My two dawgs! We’ll always love AD, and Luka is the present and future,” <a href="https://x.com/Loveisblin10696/status/1978702412635328659" rel="noopener">posted</a> @Loveisblin10696.</p><p>“Luka and AD would be so good as teammates,” <a href="https://x.com/BigSportsTheory/status/1978697470138855589" rel="noopener">suggested</a> @BigSportsTheory.</p><p>Doncic has only appeared once in the preseason, putting up 25 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in 22 minutes in their loss to the Phoenix Suns, 113-104, on Tuesday.</p><p>Davis, meanwhile, has suited up in four games, averaging 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis grab attention with big moment after Lakers-Mavericks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-reaction-cooper-flagg-usa-practice');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ Anthony Davis reveals ‘Oh s**t’ reaction to Cooper Flagg at Team USA practice');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Cooper-Flagg%E2%80%93Anthony-Davis-preseason-alley-oop-will-strike-fear-into-rivals.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h1>Mavericks’ Anthony Davis reveals ‘Oh s**t’ reaction to Cooper Flagg at Team USA practice</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-15T07:51:09-07:00">October 15th, 7:51am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-15T07:51:09-07:00">October 15th, 7:51am</time><address><a>Rishabh Bhatnagar</a>Rishabh is a seasoned NBA and sports journalist and editor with over seven years of experience working for reputed organizations. A novelist first and foremost, he has written three fiction books. His high threshold of knowledge combined with his writing skills gives him the ability to write uniquely insightful pieces across basketball, soccer, cricket, lawn tennis, eSports, and a variety of other sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cooper Flagg’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-cooper-flagg-earning-rookie-of-year-hype-preseason">first official game in the NBA will be against the San Antonio Spurs</a> on October 23 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. While he has played regular minutes in the Mavericks’ preseason campaign thus far, it will be fair to say that Anthony Davis had an idea of his vast skill set beforehand.</p><p>After all, the first overall pick of the 2025 draft did take part in a practice Team USA scrimmage back in July 2024, when Davis and co. were preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics. And well, even as a 17-year-old, Flagg looked well in his comfort zone according to his Dallas teammate.</p><p>“Zero nerves. He went out and balled,” AD revealed when asked about <a href="https://www.espn.in/nba/story/_/id/46586159/cooper-flagg-put-league-notice-ever-played-nba-game" rel="noopener">his first impression of the suspected prodigy</a>, per ESPN. The then-Duke superstar was utterly impressive in a practice game for the Team USA select squad. He swung the scrimmage with a late three-play scoring burst that helped the Select Team rally from a double-digit deficit.</p><p>This was followed by a baseline turnaround over Jrue Holiday, after which he drilled an off-dribble three over Davis himself, following it up with another an and-1 tip-in over Bam Adebayo.</p><p>“He was cooking. He definitely stood out. Guys obviously were hearing the name, and we all knew who he was. But a lot of guys tend to, I don’t want to say be hesitant, but when you’re going against guys like myself, Bron, Steph [Curry], you see these guys and it’s like, ‘Oh s—,” Davis revealed.</p><p>Flagg revealed afterward that he definitely felt like “he belonged” and “could be out there” in the NBA, something Davis’ testimony confirmed.</p><p>“You look up to and you idolize these guys, and now you got to go play against them. You kind of get nervous, which is normal. But for him, he has the utmost confidence in himself,” the ten-time All-Star revealed.</p><p>There is no doubt that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-bill-simmons-calls-mavericks-cooper-flagg-competitive-psycho">Flagg is one of the most-hyped prospects to ever join the league</a>. However, as far as the evidence, including his preseason outings suggests, the 18-year-old is well and truly ready to take the NBA by storm.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ Anthony Davis reveals ‘Oh s**t’ reaction to Cooper Flagg at Team USA practice

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-jason-kidd-makes-anthony-davis-minutes-claim-upcoming-lakers-game');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ Jason Kidd makes Anthony Davis minutes claim for upcoming Lakers game');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Mavericks-forward-Anthony-Davis.jpg"><figcaption>Peter Creveling-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Mavericks’ Jason Kidd makes Anthony Davis minutes claim for upcoming Lakers game</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-14T10:04:47-07:00">October 14th, 10:04am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-14T10:04:47-07:00">October 14th, 10:04am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd is excited to build on Anthony Davis’ performance against the Utah Jazz when they face the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-championship-goal-media-day">Davis’ championship goal he declared at Media Day</a> set the tone for training camp and preseason, as Kidd hopes the momentum carries over to the Mavericks’ game against Anthony’s former team.</p><p>Davis, who finished with 25 points, six rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in Monday’s 114-101 win against the Jazz, checked the boxes for Kidd, who’s kept a close eye on Davis’ <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinGraySports/status/1977970848222020006" rel="noopener">conditioning and timing</a>, per DLLS’ Kevin Gray Jr.</p><p>“This is probably one of his best games. We’ve only played a couple, but I think you can see his conditioning; you can see he’s starting to ramp up more minutes. So, we’ll see,” Kidd said. “We’ll ramp up his minutes again on Thursday. But if he’s going to play like he did tonight, that puts us in a good seat to win a lot of games — being able to do it from the inside/out, playmake defensively, you could see he was into the game from the beginning. It was a really good game We have to build on it.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd says that Anthony Davis, who played 25 minutes on Monday night against the Jazz will have his minutes ramped even more on Wednesday against the Lakers <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MFFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MFFL</a> </p><p>(🎥: <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a> YT) <a href="https://t.co/8ttURwYgOG">pic.twitter.com/8ttURwYgOG</a></p><p>— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinGraySports/status/1977970848222020006?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Monday night’s 25 minutes is the most Davis has played for Mavericks coach Jason Kidd. He clocked in 24 minutes in Saturday’s 120-116 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Davis finished with 12 points and four rebounds.</p><h2><b>Anthony Davis drops championship goal at Mavericks Media Day</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Mavericks-forward-Anthony-Davis-Cooper-Flagg.jpg"><figcaption>Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Mavericks forward <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-cooper-flagg-anthony-davis-preseason-alley-oop-strike-fear-rivals">Anthony Davis’ alley-oop dunk from Cooper Flagg</a> already has fans excited for what’s to come. Adding the NBA’s first overall pick in Flagg, who some perceive to be a generational talent, to a Davis-led Mavericks team, is understandably exciting, especially when it’s going to be AD’s first full season sinceh is trade from the Lakers.</p><p>While Kyrie Irving rehabs from a torn ACL, Davis is confident that his Mavericks are championship contenders, and that <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1972719351624282374" rel="noopener">the goal to win a title</a> isn’t in the future, it’s in the present.</p><p>“The goal is still to bring a championship here. I think we have a good ball club,” Davis said. “The goal is still to bring a championship here. I think we have a good ball club.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Same thing as last year… Nothing [has] changed for me. The goal's still to bring a championship here… I'm happy to be here… I want to win here."</p><p>Anthony Davis on his message to the Mavs fans heading into the season 🙌</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoeyMistretta_</a>) <a href="https://t.co/9CRhNFbad5">pic.twitter.com/9CRhNFbad5</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1972719351624282374?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Mavericks will face the Lakers on Wednesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ Jason Kidd makes Anthony Davis minutes claim for upcoming Lakers game

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-dereck-lively-ii-big-lineup-challenge-anthony-davis');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II reveals challenge of big lineup with Anthony Davis');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Dereck-Lively-II-dribbles-the-ball-against-Hornets.jpg"><figcaption>Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II reveals challenge of big lineup with Anthony Davis</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-12T09:16:30-07:00">October 12th, 9:16am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-12T09:16:30-07:00">October 12th, 9:16am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks have completely changed their approach as a team. To begin the 2024-25 season, Dallas’ offense was its strength with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving leading the way. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-mavericks-luka-doncic-anthony-davis-trade">The Doncic trade in February</a> that led to Anthony Davis ending up in Dallas has given the Mavs a new identity. Last season, the Mavericks often utilized a lineup with one big on the floor — something that has changed following the trade.</p><p>Dallas started D’Angelo Russell, Klay Thompson, Cooper Flagg, AD and Dereck Lively II on Saturday night against the Charlotte Hornets. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-cooper-flagg-earning-rookie-of-year-hype-preseason">Flagg played well</a> despite a 120-116 loss, while the lineup itself had its share of ups and downs. After the game, Lively <a href="https://x.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1977211052489081218" rel="noopener">addressed the big lineup</a> with Davis (6’10”) and himself (7’1″) on the floor at the same time.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">A lot of talk about the two bigs approach on here tonight. I asked Dereck Lively II about playing alongside Anthony Davis.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MFFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MFFL</a> <a href="https://t.co/bQRMqtEXCP">pic.twitter.com/bQRMqtEXCP</a></p><p>— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1977211052489081218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“It’s just knowing when he’s out there on the perimeter, I’m backing him up,” Lively told reporters. “When I’m out there on the perimeter, he’s backing me up… just being on a tandem. If he’s on the left side of the floor guarding the ball, I’m backing him on the right side. I’m making sure everyone is in the correct spots, vice versa. When I’m talking, he’s talking. Whenever he’s talking, I’m talking. We’re backing each other up.</p><p>“I’m trying to pick his brain on what sets he’s trying to get into, what spots he’s trying to get to, you know, help him get easy buckets, easy shots. While also everyone’s focused on him, I’m gonna get my easy shots. So, we’re just learning, playing together, it’s been a lot of fun. We’re out there having fun. Wouldn’t trade it for anything.”</p><p>There are positives from the lineup. Opposing teams will obviously have a difficult time scoring at the basket. Potential drivers will think twice before approaching the paint with the two bigs in the game.</p><p>However, there could be negatives. The Mavs’ pace will be impacted and Dallas’ three-point shooting could be questionable. Lively shared his thoughts on possible challenges as well.</p><p>“We just can’t step on each other’s toes,” Lively said. “I wouldn’t say it’s challenging, it’s just learning one another. We’ve had a whole summer, just growing together… Now it’s just evolving that into a game. Things are not always going to go as you want it to go on the court. So, it’s just being as adaptive as you possibly can on the floor.”</p><p>The Mavericks’ big lineup has pros and cons. Dallas is all in on a defensive approach, though, so it should help in that regard — at least in the paint.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II reveals challenge of big lineup with Anthony Davis

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-cooper-flagg-anthony-davis-preseason-alley-oop-strike-fear-rivals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg–Anthony Davis preseason alley-oop will strike fear into rivals');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Cooper-Flagg%E2%80%93Anthony-Davis-preseason-alley-oop-will-strike-fear-into-rivals.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg–Anthony Davis preseason alley-oop will strike fear into rivals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-11T22:55:49-07:00">October 11th, 10:55pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-11T22:55:49-07:00">October 11th, 10:55pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis showed off some chemistry during the Dallas <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-cooper-flagg-earning-rookie-of-year-hype-preseason">Mavericks’ preseason matchup against the Charlotte Hornets</a> on Saturday night.</p><p>Flagg is preparing for his first NBA season, being the Mavericks’ first overall pick of the 2025 draft. Davis is gearing up for his second season at Dallas, his first full year with the team after they acquired him from the Los Angeles Lakers in February.</p><p>The duo had the time to get to know each other throughout the summer, seeing how they can benefit from one another on the court. They showed that within the first minute of regulation. Flagg <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1977174457799393320" rel="noopener">used a pick-and-roll play</a> as he lobbed up the pass for Davis to catch and throw it down for the alley-oop dunk.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Cooper Flagg dishes it to Anthony Davis for the SLAM 😤<a href="https://t.co/LO0pdNWwih">pic.twitter.com/LO0pdNWwih</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1977174457799393320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>How Cooper Flagg, Mavericks played against Hornets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Cooper-Flagg%E2%80%93Anthony-Davis-preseason-alley-oop-will-strike-fear-into-rivals-1.jpg"><figcaption>Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It was a nice highlight for Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis to create together. However, the Mavericks were unable to cap it off with a win, falling 120-116 to the Hornets.</p><p>The game was close between the two squads as Dallas trailed 61-59 at halftime. However, Charlotte had a solid third quarter by outscoring the hosts 34-29. This proved to make the difference as the Mavericks’ rally came up short.</p><p>Perimeter shooting and rebounding played key roles in deciding the winner of this preseason encounter. The Hornets knocked down 16 3-pointers on a 41% clip while grabbing 54 rebounds. It wasn’t the same for the Mavericks, converting 10 triples at 37% accuracy while securing 37 rebounds.</p><p>Six players scored in double-digits on Dallas’ behalf, including Flagg and Davis. Klay Thompson led the way with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from downtown. Naji Marshall came next with 13 points and four assists, Davis had 12 points and four rebounds, while P.J. Washington provided 12 points and three assists. Meanwhile, Flagg finished with 11 points, four assists, three rebounds, and three steals.</p><p>The Mavericks will prepare for their next preseason matchup, being on the road. They face the Utah Jazz on Oct. 13 at 9 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg–Anthony Davis preseason alley-oop will strike fear into rivals

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/3-anthony-davis-bold-predictions-2025-26-mavericks-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Anthony Davis bold predictions for 2025-26 Mavericks season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Anthony-Davis-bold-predictions-2025-26-season-with-Mavericks.jpg"><figcaption>Anthony Davis bold predictions 2025-26 season with Mavericks</figcaption></figure><h1>Anthony Davis bold predictions for 2025-26 Mavericks season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-02T23:45:52-07:00">October 2nd, 11:45pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-02T23:47:45-07:00">October 2nd, 11:47pm</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a>Paolo Mariano is a freelance writer, editor, and producer based in Manila, Philippines. He is a journalism graduate from the University of Santo Tomas and the father of a young girl whose personality swings from Simone Biles to Dillon Brooks. A beacon of objectivity, he believes Penny Hardaway is the true NBA GOAT.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When Anthony Davis made his debut for the Dallas Mavericks last season, he yelled to the fans at American Airlines Center: “I’m here!” Until he wasn’t. Davis, who was having a monster performance, failed to finish that game against the Houston Rockets as he suffered an adductor strain, which sidelined him for multiple weeks.</p><p>He returned in the final stretch of the campaign and helped the Mavericks squeeze into the Play-In Tournament. They, however, didn’t advance to the playoffs after losing to the Memphis Grizzlies.</p><p>Davis admitted that the move to Dallas after being shockingly traded by the Los Angeles Lakers was a bitter pill to swallow. Being sidelined for several games also didn’t make his transition with the Mavericks any easier. But now, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-practice-highlight-kyrie-irving-hyped">as Davis enters a full season in Dallas</a>, it seems there’s a charge of optimism coursing through him. It does feel that he’s here!</p><p>Also here are these three bold predictions for Davis in the 2025-26 season.</p><h2>Anthony Davis will be named Defensive Player of the Year</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Anthony-Davis.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-anthony-davis-victor-wembanyama-dpoy-narrative">Davis has not been shy in admitting</a> that he wants to win as Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY). He has even campaigned for himself in recent seasons. Yet the award remains elusive to him. He has flirted with it several times as one of the finalists. Well, this will be the year when the NBA finally recognizes him as DPOY. Don’t be surprised if he leads the league in blocks.</p><p>The Mavericks have other able defenders in Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, PJ Washington, Naji Marshall, and Max Christie. But it will be Davis who will push them to the top of the league’s defensive ratings. Playing alongside fellow rim protectors should make it easier for Davis to patrol the paint and gamble on the ball. It will be almost impossible for the NBA to keep dismissing Davis’ defensive impact, especially with voters’ fatigue possibly coming into play.</p><h2>Anthony Davis will play at least 70 games</h2><p>There’s no debate that Davis is one of the NBA’s most talented big men. He, however, has been as durable as a wet tissue. <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/davisan02.html" rel="noopener">In the last five seasons</a>, he missed 151 games due to various injuries. He has only played at least 70 games three times in his career. The 10-time All-Star, however, will reach the mark in the upcoming season, especially with the league imposing a minimum number to be eligible for an individual award.</p><p>With the Mavericks loaded at the frontline, Davis won’t be forced to carry a heavy load, which should preserve his body. He could even see longer minutes of rest, with Lively, Gafford, Washington, and Dwight Powell holding down the fort. If the 32-year-old Davis stays healthy and plays at least 70 games, he could be one of the contenders for MVP.</p><h2>Anthony Davis will shoot a career-high from three-point range</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Mavericks-center-Anthony-Davis.jpg"><figcaption>Petre Thomas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Having the ability to shoot from long distance has become almost a requirement for any big man in today’s NBA. While he mostly operates in the paint, Davis has always had a soft touch, especially from midrange. But he can also sink three-pointers from time to time. Last season, he made 35 three-pointers in 51 games.</p><p>With the Mavericks, he will play his natural position of power forward. He could see more opportunities to step outside, shoot three-pointers, and reach a new career-high in terms of accuracy. His career-best is 34.0%, which he tallied in the 2017-18 season with the New Orleans Pelicans. Last season, he only shot 28.2%, but it’s safe to assume that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-cryptic-they-never-see-that-part-message">Davis worked on his touch in the offseason.</a> It’s not impossible for him to hike it up to more than 34.0% in the upcoming campaign.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Anthony Davis bold predictions for 2025-26 Mavericks season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-stop-overreacting-anthony-davis-weight');   ga('set', 'title', 'Let’s stop overreacting to Anthony Davis weight gain before Mavericks season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Davis-exits.jpg"><figcaption>Petre Thomas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Let’s stop overreacting to Anthony Davis weight gain before Mavericks season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-02T17:26:50-07:00">October 2nd, 5:26pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-02T17:26:50-07:00">October 2nd, 5:26pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Over the years, Dallas Mavericks fans grew used to hearing sports “experts” and analysts breakdown images and videos of Luka Doncic’s body and conditioning. If an image surfaced where Doncic looked slightly bigger, it would lead to allegations of the star not taking his conditioning seriously enough. If an image surfaced during the offseason of Doncic looking slightly more in shape, people would instantly assume Luka’s primary focus was conditioning and losing weight. It became an obsession — and now the same thing is happening with Anthony Davis.</p><p>For those that live under a rock or simply don’t follow sports, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-mavericks-luka-doncic-anthony-davis-trade">Davis was traded to the Mavs</a> — along with Max Christie and a first round pick — from the Los Angeles Lakers for Doncic last season. One of the rumored reasons for the Mavs’ shocking decision centered around conditioning concerns over Doncic.</p><p>Davis reportedly gained around 15 pounds this past offseason — leading fans to wonder if the organization may have some frustration as a result. However, AD recently clarified that putting on weight during the offseason is part of his process, as he then loses it during the preseason and season.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Since last year’s training camp with the Lakers, Anthony Davis has gained 15 pounds 😯 <a href="https://t.co/gyn5EdqVhg">pic.twitter.com/gyn5EdqVhg</a></p><p>— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) <a href="https://twitter.com/bballforever_/status/1973379876221513914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>However, the Anthony Davis weight discussion is already being picked up by many outlets and analysts. Former player and current ESPN analyst <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-why-kendrick-perkins-disappointed-anthony-davis">Kendrick Perkins even went as far as to say he’s disappointed</a> in the big man.</p><p>“I’m very disappointed or a little disappointed in Anthony Davis because I thought he would come in and be on a mission,” Perkins <a href="https://x.com/ESPNNBA/status/1973843613088964668" rel="noopener">said of</a> Davis’ current weight, via NBA on ESPN.</p><p>Is there truly reason for concern, though?</p><h2><b>No need to panic over Anthony Davis’ weight</b></h2><p>If AD weighs a bit more, it’s not that big of a deal. He’s still a superstar player. Injury concerns have been a problem in the past for AD — but those have occurred regardless of his physical shape.</p><p>Davis’ weight has never really been much of a concern in the past. One has to imagine the conversation is becoming especially viral at the moment given the manner in which Doncic was traded.</p><p>For what it’s worth, Luka lost weight this summer and appears to arguably be in the best shape of his life — something that won’t help the new narrative surrounding Davis.</p><p>However, Anthony Davis can silence the talk by playing well in his first full season with the Mavericks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Let’s stop overreacting to Anthony Davis weight gain before Mavericks season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-why-kendrick-perkins-disappointed-anthony-davis');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Kendrick Perkins is already ‘disappointed’ with Mavericks’ Anthony Davis');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Anthony-Davis-1.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Kendrick Perkins is already ‘disappointed’ with Mavericks’ Anthony Davis</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-02T14:47:31-07:00">October 2nd, 2:47pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-02T14:47:31-07:00">October 2nd, 2:47pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Dallas Mavericks are coming into the season with high expectations, and their success will hinge on the health of their key players. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-body-training-camp">Anthony Davis has come into training camp healthy</a>, but some have noticed that he may have put on a few pounds.</p><p>Nonetheless, Davis <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2025/10/01/dallas-mavericks-anthony-davis-weight-gain-luka-doncic/" rel="noopener">doesn’t seem concerned</a> about his weight.</p><p>“I feel good,” Davis said via Mike Curtis of The Dallas News Journal. “I kind of [gain] going into almost every season, because I put on so much weight over the summer. Then by the time November comes, I’m usually like 255, 258. I never want to come in at my playing weight, because then I lose weight during the season and then I’m too small.”</p><p>There are still people who are skeptical about Davis’ conditioning, Kendrick Perkins being one of them. The former player went on NBA Today and <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1973856338339156443" rel="noopener">shared his thoughts</a> about the Mavericks’ star.</p><p>“You need to come into camp in shape. I’m very disappointed or a little disappointed in Anthony Davis because I thought he would come in and be on a mission,” Perkins said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"You need to come into camp in shape. I'm very disappointed or a little disappointed in Anthony Davis because I thought he would come in and be on a mission."</p><p>Kendrick Perkins on AD's conditioning ahead of training camp 👀</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNNBA</a>)<a href="https://t.co/UPtPeXGQYP">pic.twitter.com/UPtPeXGQYP</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1973856338339156443?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Perkins is probably overreacting about Davis, as it doesn’t look like it will be a problem for him to lose the weight throughout the season. At the same time, he’s come into training camp with no limitations, which is good news for the Mavericks.</p><p>It’s understandable why there could be a cause for concern, especially with Davis, since he’s dealt with injuries a lot over the past few years. If the Mavericks want to have a successful season, they’ll have to lean on him to carry them on both sides of the ball. It will definitely be important for him to be available in the first half of the season, as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-kyrie-irving-workout-video-brings-excitement-acl-injury-rehab">Kyrie Irving is still working his way back</a> from an ACL injury that he suffered last season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Kendrick Perkins is already ‘disappointed’ with Mavericks’ Anthony Davis

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-practice-highlight-kyrie-irving-hyped');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks star Anthony Davis’ practice highlight leaves Kyrie Irving absolutely hyped');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Anthony-Davis.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Mavericks star Anthony Davis’ practice highlight leaves Kyrie Irving absolutely hyped</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-01T18:40:30-07:00">October 1st, 6:40pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-01T19:16:31-07:00">October 1st, 7:16pm</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a>Paolo Mariano is a freelance writer, editor, and producer based in Manila, Philippines. He is a journalism graduate from the University of Santo Tomas and the father of a young girl whose personality swings from Simone Biles to Dillon Brooks. A beacon of objectivity, he believes Penny Hardaway is the true NBA GOAT.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Still recovering from a knee injury, Kyrie Irving could only watch from the sideline as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-cooper-flagg-first-practice-klay-thompson-verdict">Dallas Mavericks started their training camp</a>. But he made sure to make his presence felt by cheering them on, particularly Anthony Davis.</p><p>Davis only played nine games for the Mavericks last season due to an adductor strain he sustained in his debut. It sidelined him for weeks, forcing him to miss 18 games. Entering his first full season in Dallas, the 32-year-old star aims to be more durable this time, especially with Irving out for an extended period.</p><p>During a scrimmage, Caleb Martin drove to the rim and tried to body up Davis. The 10-time All-Star, however, easily blocked Martin’s shot. <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1973504494475550876" rel="noopener">The defensive play</a> got Irving absolutely hyped.</p><p>“Ay, yeah, big fella, let ’em know! Let ’em know!” yelled the 33-year-old Irving in a video posted by the NBA.</p><p>“Why’d he try to body you like that?”</p><p>“Like I don’t lift, man,” replied Davis, while jokingly flexing his muscles.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Let 'em know!" 🗣️💪</p><p>Kyrie was loving this AD block at Mavericks Training Camp! <a href="https://t.co/ngWQ0rZuXd">pic.twitter.com/ngWQ0rZuXd</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1973504494475550876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Clearly, the competitive nature of the Mavericks is already in full swing in training camp. Davis remains one of the league’s top defensive players, especially when he’s fully engaged, but that didn’t deter Martin from trying to score on him.</p><p>Fans grew concerned after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-cryptic-they-never-see-that-part-message">Davis posted a cryptic message</a> on his Instagram Story before training camp. But judging by his lighthearted response to Irving and overall aura these days, it looks like the champion big man is in high spirits.</p><p>As for Irving, he said he’s right on schedule with his recovery after tearing his ACL in March. There, however, is still no clear timetable for his return. He signed a three-year, $119 million contract extension in the offseason.</p><p>The Mavericks squeezed into the Play-In Tournament last season but fell short of advancing to the playoffs after losing to the Memphis Grizzlies.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks star Anthony Davis’ practice highlight leaves Kyrie Irving absolutely hyped

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-austin-reaves-recalls-anthony-davis-group-chat-message-luka-doncic-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lakers’ Austin Reaves recalls Anthony Davis’ group chat message after Luka Doncic trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Lakers-Austin-Reaves-Anthony-Davis.jpg"><figcaption>Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Lakers’ Austin Reaves recalls Anthony Davis’ group chat message after Luka Doncic trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-01T14:17:51-07:00">October 1st, 2:17pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-01T14:17:51-07:00">October 1st, 2:17pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Lakers guard <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-mavericks-luka-doncic-anthony-davis-trade">Austin Reaves relived the shocking Anthony Davis trade</a> with the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic. Reaves, who was in a group chat with Davis at the time, received a text from his former teammate that he disregarded as a joke. Then, his phone wouldn’t stop going off, as was the same for the rest of his Lakers teammates, as the early hours of Sunday, February 2, 2025 was a very memorable night for many.</p><p>Reaves told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B7gNfdl-_E&amp;t=194s" rel="noopener">the story of how he found out</a> that Davis, along with Max Christie, were headed to the Mavericks in an interview with The Old Man and The Three podcast.</p><p>“The first thing I looked at when I pulled my phone up, AD [Anthony Davis] said, “They traded me.” And if anybody knows AD, I don’t know if you know AD very well, he jokes around a lot. So I literally laughed, and I put my phone down. My phone kept going off, and I was like, ‘What the hell?’ So I pulled up Instagram and I seen Sham’s tweet or post or whatever,” Reaves said. “I called Aaron and Reggie, and I was like, ‘What the f***?’ And they were like, ‘There’s no way this is real.” And I was like, ‘All right, cool. Let me know if you hear anything else.’”</p><p>One of the Lakers’ assistant coaches, who was with Christie at the time of the call, confirmed to Reaves that the deal for Luka Doncic, was, in fact, real.</p><p>“I call one of our assistant coaches, Bo,” Reaves added. “And I was like, ‘What the fuck?’ And he was like, “Uh.” And that’s all he said. And I was like, ‘Uh, what?’ Like, he was like, “It’s real.” And I was like, ‘Okay, how do you know that?’ And he was like, ‘I’m sitting by Max Christie.’”</p><p>Doncic, Reaves, and the Lakers lost 4-1 in their opening-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.</p><h2><b>Rivals speculate Lakers’ Austin Reaves gets $40 million annually</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Lakers-guard-Austin-Reaves.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Upon entering a contract year, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-rumors-rivals-speculate-austin-reaves-40-million-next-contract">Lakers guard Austin Reaves could get $40 million</a> annually on his next deal. Reaves’ value has skyrocketed over the past two seasons, as he’s entering <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6669125/2025/09/29/austin-reaves-lakers-contract-training-camp/" rel="noopener">a new plateau in his career</a> ahead of 2025-26, according to The Athletic’s Dan Woike.</p><p>“The Athletic spoke with team and league sources who expect Reaves to earn more than $35 million a year on his next deal, with sources from two teams (neither being the Lakers) speculating that he could command more than $40 million a year,” Woike reported.</p><p>The Lakers started training camp this week.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ Austin Reaves recalls Anthony Davis’ group chat message after Luka Doncic trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-body-training-camp');   ga('set', 'title', 'Fans notice Anthony Davis’ body in Mavericks training camp');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/740390850-anthony-davis-rockets.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h1>Fans notice Anthony Davis’ body in Mavericks training camp</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-30T21:48:59-07:00">September 30th, 9:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-30T21:48:59-07:00">September 30th, 9:48pm</time><address><a>Rishav Bhat</a>Rishav is a seasoned NBA and sports journalist and editor with over seven years of experience working for reputed organizations. A novelist first and foremost, he has written three fiction books. His high threshold of knowledge combined with his writing skills gives him the ability to write uniquely insightful pieces across basketball, soccer, cricket, lawn tennis, eSports, and a variety of other sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Injury issues have gone hand-in-hand with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-turns-tables-reporters-start-media-day">Dallas Mavericks’ star Anthony Davis for years now</a>. The 32-year-old played just nine games in his debut campaign after being traded in February 2025.</p><p>Finally healthy, Davis will be looking to move on and has joined the rest of the roster at the Mavericks’ training camp. However, fans have found a point of concern in <a href="https://x.com/dallasmavs/status/1973185881466085422" rel="noopener">the pictures posted</a> on the official Mavericks’ X account.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Day ☝️ of Training Camp. <a href="https://twitter.com/UTSWMedCenter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UTSWMedCenter</a> // <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MFFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MFFL</a> <a href="https://t.co/J3kDFvPbiN">pic.twitter.com/J3kDFvPbiN</a></p><p>— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1973185881466085422?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>In one of the pictures, AD can be seen holding out his hand while smiling in the distance. And while Mavericks supporters will be delighted to see him in good spirits, many believe that he has arrived at camp looking overweight.</p><p>“AD look a lil huge…” one fan <a href="https://x.com/LakeShowDon/status/1973195707889885577" rel="noopener">commented on the post</a>, clearly concerned with the allegedly visible weight gain. Listed as slightly above 251 pounds by ESPN, a number of X users pointed out that he looks heavier than last season.</p><p>“AD found Luka’s snack stash,” <a href="https://x.com/Mavs_McGee/status/1973195994172104877" rel="noopener">another user joked</a>, referencing former Mavericks star Luka Doncic’s issues with conditioning. Doncic has reportedly lost 30-31 pounds during the offseason and his transformed physique was on full display during Slovenia’s run in the EuroBasket 2025.</p><p>“Don’t let Nico see AD’s body? Or he will end up back with the Lakers,” <a href="https://x.com/marco469/status/1973194910187810945" rel="noopener">one user wrote</a>, claiming that the Nico Harrison will be quick to send him back to the Los Angeles Lakers if he sees the weight gain.</p><p>The Mavericks GM had <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-rumors-why-nico-harrison-luka-doncic-holding-team-hostage">referenced Doncic’s struggles</a> with weight and conditioning and a lack of defensive effort as the reason behind the trade that brought AD to Dallas in the first place.</p><p>“Did AD eat Luka?” another user wrote, <a href="https://x.com/freakingbadass/status/1973203167413412084" rel="noopener">clearly mocking</a> the Mavs star.</p><p>“AD looking a bit thick,” <a href="https://x.com/BucketHatKeion/status/1973191162602332477" rel="noopener">another wrote</a>, summing up the seemingly universal concern from fans.</p><p>Davis’ physical playing style and mobility mean that his 6-foot-11 frame is often put under extra stress, with a range of his previous injuries attributed to his heavy frame. The 10-time All-Star suffered a left adductor strain during his Mavericks debut on February 8 against the Houston Rockets, and it will be interesting to see what weight he is listed at for the upcoming campaign.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
25.0	11.8	2.8	1.5	1.8

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
25.0	11.8	2.8	1.5	1.8

Anthony Davis news

Anthony
Davis news