| Summer League Analysis: Game 1, Vs. Seattle Authored by J.T. Magee - July 7, 2007 - 3:32 pm
Dallas was simply mismatched against Golden State. It’s kind of hard to beat a team when the opposing head coach once traded up in the NBA Draft for that team’s franchise player. Anyways, Dallas has a few players to watch out for this summer and, if they keep playing like they did against Seattle, they’ll be on the roster and getting playing time.
Jose Juan Barea
Barea ran the show for Dallas. It’s as simple as that. Barea dribbled, passed and shot the Mavs’ way to crushing an overwhelmed Sonics squad. Barea can see the court as well as any point guard at the LVSL and he was dishing and diming it to the perfect spots. Ten of those cents were for Maurice Ager to posterize Jeff Green with. Can we start calling him the Doug Flutie of the… Las Vegas Summer League? He had the determination to make the right play at all times. He got ahead of himself when trying to force the issue, but he was assertive within the Mavericks’ offense. He knows the Mavs’ offense better than most of the players on the team and would talk to guys when they made plays, bad or good. If Barea continues to make it look easy, he may convince Dallas he’s worthy of some playing time.
If everything pans out, Barea should be the start of a trend on Day 1 and hopefully the rest of the Summer League: good point guard play results in a win. If Barea was the standard for overall point guard play, he made a case for himself against the Durant-led Supersonics. Now, if he’d only wear 22….
Renaldas Seibutis
Seibutis didn’t get much action, but his passion for the team was undeniable. He went over to hug Mo Ager after an And-1 dunk and looked like he was having a lot of fun on the court. Seibutis didn’t play much in the game, but he seemed to fit onto the team very well. Seabuiscut won me over because he just had it in him. Seibutis won me over when he showed he looked like he belonged on the court, just as long as he can guard a crossover a little better next time. Julius Hodge’s crossover wasn’t too great. It was enough to shake Seibutis, warranting potential for getting an ankle broken bad by one the better LVSL guards. Aside from that, he played pretty well in his limited action.
Maurice Ager
Ager didn’t look like a man approaching his second season. He looked like he knew what he wanted to do: run the floor, crash the boards and crush the rim. Ager finished most of his shots at the rim, including a sick dunk on rookie Jeff Green. He didn’t have to show any outside game because he was getting to the rim too easily. I won’t take anything away from him defensively because he had to guard Kevin Durant for most of the game. He forced him into some bad shots, but Ager won’t be asked to guard any 6-10 SG/SF/PF/whatever-the-hell-he-wants player for a while. He was aggressive on defense, especially when playing on one side of the court and the ball was on the other. He showed a lot of poise staying in his area and not letting any guards leak into the key at the same time. His team defense was better than his one-one-one defense, but his overall play hinders anything negative with his defense at all. He was simply everywhere he was needed and not needed. Ager was by far one of the brighter spots on Day 1.
Brandon Bass
Bass, a 6’8” power forward who spent his NBA seasoning with the New Orleans Hornets, was assertive in the post against the Sonics. When he got the chances, he had his way in the post. If a Sonic big man miss-read a shot, he was there for the offensive rebound. When he was in the right spot down low, Barea gave his a nice pass to finish a dunk with. Although his post-up game is a bit predictable, his lower body strength helped his succeed when getting rebounds or playing effective interior defense. Bass played his role with ease. I want to see him against some more established power forwards. Strong play against the better power forwards at the LVSL would help Bass get an invite to Dallas’ Training Camp.
Reyshawn Terry
Terry was nice today. He was a part of the winning by playing well in transition and getting to the free throw line. He played solid defense on the perimeter. He was on point with his angling and his ability to read his opponent. Terry used his athleticism very well when getting into the lane and to the free throw line. His ability to drive into the lane and get some points from the stripe is one of the areas that will help keep Terry on the roster this season. He played well, but in some stretches, he wasn’t near the play. If he wants to keep his hold on a roster spot, he’ll have to… continue to play like he did against Seattle.
Desagana Diop
Diop clearly was an NBA center. Just five years ago, Diop was among the likes of Mouhamed Sene and Johan Petro, not picking everything up and making stupid fouls. Diop, aside from his well-timed denial of a Durant shot, was big on the boards and controlled the paint. Wait. That sounds like the Desagana Diop that started for Dallas during the season. Well, it was. He’ll really earn his stripes if he continues this type of play against some of the marquee names in the LVSL, like Greg Oden. It was surprising to see him on the floor but a welcoming addition due to the sloppy play down low.
Nick Fazekas
His shot is pretty when it falls. When it doesn’t, Fazekas should be on the sideline, working on high school cornerback drills, specifically high school cornerback footwork drills. His footwork against some pretty stiff competition stood out like a pee stain on a 4-year-old’s khaki pants. He was actually pretty decent on the boards in his limited action. Not on the actual boards, but he was usually on the right side of the glass. Unfortunately, because he is primarily a stand-still shooter on the perimeter, his offensive rebounding will rarely be there. Half of his boards were on the offensive glass, but when two rebounds are the total, it shows a need to crash the glass. He was on the correct side when the shot was in the air, but even if he was on the right side, the fact he was on the perimeter wasn’t helping. I want to see him in the post more. Then we can decide whether or not Fazekas is worth any playing time in the regular season.
Caleb Green & Clay Tucker
Both played pretty good within the team, but I wasn’t focused on them enough during the first action. I will be on the look out for both. Green’s play in the post was adequate. His defense wasn’t too great, only because he picked up too many ticky-tack fouls. Tucker made his case on the free throw line. A shooting guard with a decent handle, I’d like to see what Tucker could do off the dribble. These two were fairly impressive in the little bits I was focused in on them.
Overall View
Dallas ran the floor very well and was controlled by Barea. His play and running the offense is what helped them get out to quick stretches of dominating both ends of the floor. They played efficient basketball and looked well-prepared as a team. I would like to see them against a team that matches up with them better than Seattle. That team had a lot of holes. |
