Mavericks: Dennis Smith Jr proves he ‘gets it’ against Draymond Green

The Dallas Mavericks may have lost on Monday but it was Dennis Smith Jr who won one particular battle against Draymond Green

The Dallas Mavericks lost again. This time to the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors. Few things went right for the Mavs on Monday. Individual efforts as well as team efforts fell short as the Mavs moved to 0-4 for the season.

One highlight from that game featured Mavs rookie, Dennis Smith Jr, going hard to the rim only to be stopped by Warriors enforcer, Draymond Green.

Following the play Daymond Green offered some choice words to the Mavs’ rookie guard and lucky for us, he explained his statements following the game:

"“Yeah, that (bleep) ain’t happening. This ain’t summer league, bro. Not just gonna dunk on nobody. Better luck next time.”"

It was a great stop by Green, for sure. Except for that whole fouling thing. Green, more concerned about his image than team success, considered the situation a win for him. Sadly, he’s not even right about that. After all, Green was unable to stop DSJ within the rules of the game. He needed to resort to other measures to keep from being posterized.

So what’s clear is that Green was more concerned about being embarrassed than he was at stopping the high-flying rookie from scoring. Draymond Green is a talented player with a nasty attitude that the Mavericks would be lucky to have. The only problem is he doesn’t get it. Or at the least doesn’t value it (unlike double-negatives which he clearly values).

In a season in which we must, all too often, search for  the bright side, Dennis Smith Jr showed us all that he appears to “get it”. Said Smith when informed of Green’s postgame comments:

"“I don’t know what he’s talking about, he can’t say anything after he fouled me. I really don’t care”"

The Mavericks and Warriors are polar opposites these days. The Warriors are shoe-ins for the Championship once again. The Mavs are looking at another lottery-bound campaign. One is building, the other is built. But it’s the Mavs rookie who’s showing the common sense and maturity.

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At that point in the game, the Warriors were up 94-83 on the Mavericks. There was still 1:31 left in the third quarter so the game was still up in the air. DSJ scores and it becomes a nine point affair. The foul itself was the smart move. It would discourage further attempts at going to the basket and it was, frankly, the only way Green could have stopped DSJ from scoring.

Why Green would want to bring further attention to his inability to stop Dennis Smith Jr is hard to understand. It’s like bragging after you get called for pass interference. It’s misguided and foolish to rejoice in it.

The good news is DSJ didn’t make a big deal about it. He stated the facts and moved on. He knows the Mavericks lost and beyond that, not much else matters. It’s a good attitude to see in the primary cornerstone of the Mavs.

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But make no mistake, DSJ cares. Everyone cares. It will be fun to see these teams face off again because you can bet Dennis Smith Jr will be looking for his opportunity to beat Draymond Green again.