If Naji Marshall doesn’t watch himself, the Dallas Mavericks are going to have an international incident on their hands.
“I’m too strong, and I got too much bounce,” Marshall said with a flex to the camera in a video the team posted to social media on Tuesday. “I’m sorry, Macao. I’ll buy you another one.”
It came after a practice session in Southern China as the team prepares for two preseason games against the Houston Rockets. The two teams will play on both Friday and Sunday.
Marshall apparently brought
down a rim during the Mavs’ first practice session in China. He was proud of his work, taking time to snap some photos with his trophy before teammate Dereck Lively II slung it over his shoulder and carted it back toward the locker room like a felled piece of game in the wild.
But Marshall’s violent streak didn’t stop there. I mean, you can’t take this guy anywhere, apparently.
He broke a folding chair in the arena after the fact.
“No disrespect — I think I’m took big for China,” Marshall said in the video.
Mavs fans are hoping he brings the same destructive mindset to the court this year as he did last season, when he averaged a career-high mark of 15.2 points on 51% shooting from the field in 29.5 minutes per game, which is also a new career-high.
This season, Marshall will reunite with Willie Green, who was named the lead assistant on Mavericks head coach Dusty May’s staff in July.
“Now that Willie, we linked up again, I feel like I’m comfortable. Going into the season, it makes it much more easier,” Marshall told Dallas Sports Journalduring training camp. “I feel like easier communication, understanding that we really know each other and he knows how to get to me, I know how to talk to him. So I think it’s beautiful. … He just helped me be more of a dog. Worry less about things I couldn’t control, control what I can. Just worrying about what helps the team and stop worrying so much about myself. For real, a lot of different things, life outside of basketball, he taught me some stuff.”
The Mavericks’ preseason schedule begins on Friday, with a pair of preseason games this weekend at Macao’s Venetian Arena. Tipoff on Friday is scheduled for 7 a.m., and tipoff on Sunday is at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m., which will be an early measuring stick for your status as a Mavs sicko.
Both games will be televised on NBA TV, and for those who don’t get that channel, the Mavericks have you covered, with a stream of both games available here.
