Dusty May puts Sergio de Larrea’s five turnovers on the help around him

DALLAS — Oct. 14, 2026 — Sergio de Larrea finished Wednesday’s 101-97 preseason loss to the New Orleans Pelicans with five turnovers. Dusty May did not put them on the rookie. Asked about the giveaways after the game at American Airlines Center, the Mavericks coach said he didn’t think Dallas gave de Larrea, whom he calls “Larry,” enough help while he was on the floor.

It was a short answer, and it said a lot. De Larrea played 30 minutes for a Dallas team missing Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, Santi Aldama, Marcus Sasser, Jett Howard and Morez Johnson Jr. With that many ball handlers and creators out, the 20-year-old guard was asked to run the offense against a Pelicans team that played nearly all of its regulars.

Mavericks coach Dusty May on Sergio de Larrea’s five turnovers.

May said that he didn’t think they gave Larry enough help while he was on the floor. pic.twitter.com/5BaCCA5cIV

— Ron Harrod Jr. (@RonKnowsSports) October 15, 2026

Video: Ron Harrod Jr. on X

A full line, with the mistakes included

De Larrea’s night was not just the turnovers. He scored 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting, made two of his three threes and both of his free throws, and added six assists, four rebounds, a steal and two blocks. Dallas was plus-2 in his minutes in a game it lost by four.

The giveaways came the way they do for a young passer who likes to thread the ball. The play-by-play shows New Orleans picking off several of his passes, with Jordan Poole, Herbert Jones and Saddiq Bey each jumping a lane. Jalon Moore also stripped him once. A Dallas group without its usual shot-makers gave him few easy outlets, and that is the gap May was pointing at.

May has liked what he has seen since China

May has been talking up de Larrea since the Mavericks’ two games against Houston in Macao. De Larrea had 11 points, six assists and four turnovers in 23 minutes in his debut, then finished plus-34 in 22 minutes in Sunday’s 132-115 win, the best mark on either side.

“You look at the plus-minus and he’s pretty good,” May told reporters after that win. “Consistently helping his teammates be better than they would when he’s not on the floor. He’s a great leader, he’s still developing his voice, but he’s just a guy that plays to win every single possession.”

Before that game, May had said the rookie “has the factor” and also named the part he still has to work on. “Being a young guy, there’s still some deficiencies there, and he’s attacking them daily,” he said. Wednesday’s turnovers fit that description. May’s answer afterward made clear that he sees them as a team problem as much as a rookie one.

What it means for the rotation

Dallas acquired de Larrea’s draft rights, the No. 25 pick in June, from the Los Angeles Lakers and signed the 6-foot-5 Spaniard on July 3. Three games into the preseason, he has become the playmaker May keeps turning to when the regulars sit. Without Irving and Flagg on the floor, few other Mavericks can create offense.

May has called Friday’s home finale against the Atlanta Hawks more of a dress rehearsal. That should mean more of the regulars around de Larrea, and with them, the kind of help May said was missing on Wednesday. Dallas opens the regular season on Oct. 21 in Houston (7:30 p.m. CT, 3:30 a.m. Thursday in Cairo).