The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Golden State Warriors in their first game of NBA Summer League, 101-90. LJ Crier scored 25 for the Warriors and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored 21 to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists. Rookie Morez Johnson Jr. led Dallas with 27 in defeat.
The opening minutes of the game featured both teams feeling one another out; the Warriors took an early lead by attacking the rim and glass. Tobi Lawal spent early minutes on Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, playing solid defense
against the bigger player. Sergio De Larrea scored his first points via a free throw only to exit the contest for Vsevolod Ishchenko after an off-ball collision with a Warrior. Following a timeout, the Warriors pushed past Dallas and threatened to take a double-digit lead. A Morez Johnson looseball putback followed by a dunk through a dish from De Larrea closed the lead to two. Dallas trailed 24-20 after one quarter of basketball.
The Warriors opened up the second quarter with a 9-0 run featuring consistent rim pressure. Dallas called a timeout after pushing the lead up to 16 just over three minutes into the frame. Johnson kept the Mavericks in it, and a flashy Nembhard lay-up cut the lead to 10 around the three-minute mark. The Warriors closed the half hard, lighting the Mavericks up from three while Dallas could not hit a shot. Johnson was a consistent bright spot, scoring 14 points in a variety of ways while also grabbing six boards. The Mavericks shot just 3 of 19 from three in the half to the Warriors six of nine. Dallas trailed 59-39 at the half.
The second half didnt get better for Dallas, at least not in the short term. The Warriors continued to hit shots from outside and Dallas wasn’t able to make much of a dent in the scoreboard. Poor shooting plagued Dallas in the third as well, and the Mavericks entered the final frame down 79-66.
De Larrea opened the fourth for the Mavericks with some fireworks, dishing a nice ally-oop to Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu. Feisty playmaking from Ishchenko in the quarter kept the game exciting, but the Mavericks simply could not finish good looks. Following a timeout at the 5:30 mark, Johnson finished a drive and got the foul and free throw, which cut the lead to 10 for the first time since the second quarter. Dallas followed that up with a John Poulakidas three and Johnson dunk to cut it down to five. The Maverick run continued with an Ishchenko basket. LJ Cryer hit back-to-back buckets to give the Warriors breathing room with under three minutes to go. The Mavericks were not able to get over the hump. Dallas fell to the Warriors 101-90 in their opening game of Summer League.
‘We have Rez and they don’t.’
If you had concerns about the Dallas Mavericks selecting Morez Johnson Jr. with the ninth overall selection in June’s NBA Draft, perhaps a 27-point, eight-rebound, three-assist, three-steal, and two-block performance will settle your nerves some. Do I have any idea what kind of player Johnson will be at the NBA after just one game? I do not. But what I do know is this is an NBA player who will find ways to contribute.
Dallas played a pretty bad basketball game; it’s to be expected for guys who’ve never played before (the Warriors are coming off of games together in the California Classic). Johnson had the type of game where he slowly and steadily made an impact. A loose ball putback here, a big rebound in traffic there. All of a sudden, he had 27 points on 17 shots. You feel his presence defensively; he’s a big, big person on the court that’s not easily moved.
So I recommend enjoying this workmanlike performance from a very solid player.
Dallas isn’t going to win much if they can’t shoot the ball
This sounds familiar doesn’t it. Dallas took 38 threes as a team, the Warriors just 20. The Warriors hit 10 (50%, for those of you who are bad at math). The Mavericks hit just nine attempts (24%). That is very bad. In top level analysis, I am here to inform you that you must hit shots in order to win basketball games.
A mixed outing for Sergio De Larrea
Let’s start with the good. De Larrea finished his first summer league game with nine points, six rebounds and five assists. He only committed one turnover, was a willing passer with his eyes often up near the rim looking for his teammates to finish plays.
But we must also discuss the bad. He was three of 14 from the floor, including just one of nine from beyond the arc. His handle, particularly in the first half, was incredibly loose. De Larrea was often too upright, his dribble nearly out of control at times.
Now, he’s allowed to have a poor shooting performance, and if you watched this game, his second half was much more confident than the first. But he got to the rim often enough and heard ghosts, stuttering at times, instead of just going up with confidence. He’s also another tall, rangy guy who looks taller to me than the listed height.
There’s some THERE, there, if you get me. Let’s see what he does next.
We see you, Vsevolod Ishchenko
I had no idea what to expect from our new Russian friend. Guys, he looks 16 years old in the face and I am learning just now that he’s 21. But if you want to see a guy who’s not afraid of the moment, Ishchenko is your guy. His box score contributions were meek, just seven points and three rebounds. But I saw a guy with a tight handle and really good vision. Once his teammates actually passed him the ball in the fourth quarter, we got to see some wizardry in potential dimes, very few of which were actually finished with a made basket. That’s okay though, this is a learning situation and today I learned Dallas drafted guys who have some ability. Let’s see what they do against the Lakers.
