The Summer League Dallas Mavericks kick off their time in Las Vegas by playing the Golden State Warriors. It’s the game before the “big” game (Washington Wizards vs Utah Jazz), but still features quite a cast of players from June’s NBA Draft. The game’s selling point to casual fans is the Michigan match up between number nine overall pick Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg, who as selected eleventh. All four Dallas Mavericks draft picks from June should suit up Thursday evening. The game will
be on ESPN Here’s the main things you need to know:
- WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs Golden State Warriors
- WHAT: NBA Summer League, Game 1 for Dallas
- WHERE: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
- WHEN: 6:00 pm CST
- HOW: ESPN
Since no one’s played yet for the Mavericks, there aren’t any injyuries to report heading into the game. The Warriors did play in the California Classic, but as of this writing, there aren’t any injuries to be aware of.
Since I won’t admit to being hyperaware of any of the Dallas picks prior to June, the main draw of Johnson vs Lendeborg is a good place to start with this one. The former Michigan frontcourt teammates should spend at least some time guarding one another and I’m pretty excited to see if Johnson can stymie Yaxel’s mature offensive game. Past that, I’m curious to see how Sergio De Larrea looks against NBA-adjacent size and speed. Though the selection of Tobi Lawal didn’t enthuse me, I hope his athleticism translates at this level. I hope Vsevolod Ishchenko gets playing time, but don’t be surprised if he doesn’t make an appearance. John Poulakidas and Ryan Nembhard should look good in this environment, but you never know how things will pan out with different teammates.
One note: don’t get overly worried about how anyone shoots at Summer League. Part of my early Jalen Brunson disdain was watching him miss everything literally (he shot 23% from the field).
Either way, have fun. I’m going to try to!
