FILM ROOM: What To Watch For - Mavs Summer League Primer
DALLAS - The start of the Dallas Mavericks' schedule in the 2021 Las Vegas summer league begins on Monday
While the Mavericks did not end up making a selection in the 2021 NBA Draft, there is still a variety of key things to watch during the team's summer league action.
Josh Green's participation in the Tokyo Olympics is likely to prevent him from being a member of the Mavericks' summer league roster. He was included on the roster to leave open the possibility of him playing, though.
The Mavericks would welcome the chance to get Green on the floor if it makes sense but are not going to force the issue. Regardless, the option to do so remains open from a technicality standpoint.
As for the rest of the 12-man roster, Tyrell Terry will be a significant part of the team's plans in summer league. He will be joined by Nate Hinton, who played last season on a two-way contract.
Much of the roster is made up of undrafted free agents from this year's class between LJ Figueroa (Oregon), Feron Hunt (SMU), Carlik Jones (Louisville), EJ Onu (Shawnee State), Eugen Omoruyi (Oregon), and Devontae Shuler (Mississippi).
The other players on the roster each have one-year of professional experience albeit limited in terms of playing time. Aside from Green, Terry, and Hinton, the Mavericks also have Devonte Patterson, Robert Franks, and Tariq Owens to round out the 12-man roster.
The opening game of the Mavericks' summer league schedule is on Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers and can be streamed on Mavs.com, as is the case for all of the team's summer league action. Tip-off for that matchup is 3 p.m. CT and can be viewed on NBA TV.
Next up is a Wednesday matchup with the Utah Jazz with an 8 p.m. CT tip-off time (NBA TV). There is a two-day period when the Mavericks will not play as the the final of the scheduled games is a back-to-back that begins on Saturday.
The Mavericks will take on the Denver Nuggets with a 2 p.m. CT tip-off (NBA TV) on Saturday then will face the Sacramento Kings also with a 2 p.m. CT tip-off (ESPN 2) the following day.
Let's take a look at some things to watch during the Mavericks' summer league action:
Tyrell Terry
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
There is still plenty of unknown that surrounds Tyrell Terry given how he appeared in just 11 regular season games and logged a grand total of 56 minutes of action. Those minutes came in a lot of garbage time, too, if not all in its entirety.
Where Terry was able to get the most live reps was as a member of the Memphis Hustle during the G League Bubble. He started in all 13 of his appearances and posted averages of 29.4 minutes, 14.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists.
Overall, Terry produced solid results and his shooting ability shined through out of spot-up and at times in off-ball screen actions. His catch-and-shoot accuracy was the top attribute analysts mentioned for his strengths when entering the NBA.
Terry is well-rounded as an off-ball threat but needs to display more capability creating off-the-dribble within the half-court. Being the focal point of the summer league team will serve as a prime opportunity to do so.
Most intriguing of all was the flashes he showed in isolation as a shot creator and at getting to the rim. He got by Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga each once out in space on two of those drives -- both times using a rip through move.
Where Terry will need to show the most growth lies in the pick-and-roll ball handling department. He sorely struggled to score using ball screens during this stretch as he produced a poor 0.547 points per possession on 53 scoring plays.
It was a real struggle for Terry to make a play against the big defender when dribbling off a ball screen. Whether he was outright blocked or his approach was significantly altered by length or contact, the results need improvement.
It's clear that as an undersized guard, Terry will need to develop a floater in order to get downhill using ball screens to counter drop coverage. Until then, he will face difficult circumstances to overcome on traditional finishes.
Seeing dynamic shot creation using ball screens from Terry would be a real plus, too. He was largely ineffective across the board using ball screens in the G League Bubble and that included the use of them to create pull-ups.
There is significant room for Terry to improve as a facilitator, in general, but seeing growth in the scoring department is the top priority. If the defense does not fear his ability to run a high ball screen and create for himself, there's little reason to create vulnerabilities by playing off floor spacers or the roll man.
Undrafted Free Agents
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With the Dallas Mavericks not making a single selection in the 2021 NBA Draft, the focus for new young talent is on the undrafted free agency market. The Mavs will deploy seven of these talents in summer league among the team's 12 players.
EJ Onu, 22, is the most unique of all of the undrafted free agents the Mavericks brought into the fold. He stands at 6-foot-11 and possesses a 7-foot-8.5 wingspan, which is enough to catch ones attention.
Playing against weaker competition at Shawnee State was a pivotal reason as to why Onu became overlooked. Last season, he averaged an impressive 16.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.6 blocks while shooting 40.0% from beyond the arc.
With so many big men already on the roster, including Moses Brown, who is a few months younger than Onu, it is worth questioning whether it's a better use of resources to give a two-way deal to a player at a different spot.
Eugene Omoruyi is a 6-foot-6 forward who scored quite a bit of buckets in the post during his collegiate career. He played three seasons at Rutgers before transfering to Oregon where he was a redshirt senior. He averaged 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists during his lone season with the Ducks.
Feron Hunt, a former Desoto High School standout, played his collegiate basketball at Southern Methodist University. The explosive athlete stands at 6-foot-8 and posted averages of 11.1 points and 7.9 rebounds during his junior campaign.
Carlik Jones, a 6-foot-1 guard transferred to Louisville to finish his collegiate career after playing his first three seasons at Radford in the Big South. He will be 24-years-old in Dec. and averaged 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists but very inefficient as a scorer.
LJ Figueroa is another Oregon product and he is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard who can knock down shots from deep. He is coming off a senior season with averages of 12.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists.
Devontae Shuler played all four-years of his collegiate career at Ole Miss and and averaged 15.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists during his final season. The 6-foot-2 guard played a balance between initiating and spacing off-the-ball.
If even one of those players were to pan out, it would bring a pivotal boost to the organization. This sample size will help in determining who is most deserving of a potential two-way contract for the 2021-22 NBA season.
When evaluating the Mavericks' roster, Feron Hunt or Eugene Omoruyi may have the greatest of the main undrafted free agent signings to land a two-way deal, if they play well. There isn't a need for more small guards or big men but they check other boxes in areas of greater need.
Unless, of course, the Mavericks are intrigued by the long-term potential of a player like EJ Onu and prefer to use the two-way spot for such a purpose. Moses Brown being slightly younger negates some of that need, if he remains on the roster.
Nate Hinton was the recipient of one of those two-way contracts last season and he will be participating in summer league to solidify his placement to land one again.
Half-Court Scheme
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
While Jason Kidd will not be coaching the Mavericks' summer league team, the principles of what he wants the team to run will be instilled and adopted.
Deploying what Kidd will want to do with the Mavericks is something that summer league coach Greg St. Jean has talked about planning to do.
The summer league team is not going to have the exact same style as if Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis were on the floor. However, some of the actions of the half-court offense and defensive principles will be intriguing to monitor.
With a shot blocker like Onu on the backline of the defense, it will be intriguing to see how the Mavericks approach defensive principles. He did not defend out in space all that well at Shawnee State, so will the team avoid switching ball screens and deploy drop coverage?
There isn't a player who used to shouldering a heavy load as a high screen-and-roll threat throughout games, either. These sequences have become the foundation of the Mavericks' half-court attack with Doncic running the show.
Even if the Mavericks' summer league team has real limitations in terms of emulating the 'regular' roster, seeing what half-court actions and basic defensive principles that are deployed will provide helpful insight.
