Signed by the Dallas Mavericks this summer after being promised a starting five spot, JaVale McGee has started all six games so far with his new team. However, in none of them has he exceeded 14 minutes on the track and only in one of them did he return a plus/minus positive, coinciding with the lofty victory against the Memphis Grizzlies in the second duel of the course.
Instead, Christian Wood and Dwight Powell are enjoying more relevance and court time from the bench. Thus, the coach of the Mavericks, Jason Kidd, was questioned about whether Powell could snatch the position of center starter McGee, keeping Wood as the sixth man.
Kidd joked that he’d start games with six players if he could, before admitting that it’s an issue the coaching staff is looking at. According to the journalist ESPNTim MacMahon, the Mavericks compile a -30 in the 68 minutes played by McGee, compared to the +50 that Powell registers in 56 minutes.
Statistics aside, Spencer Dinwiddie wanted to praise Powell for his great work, highlighting all the intangibles he brings to the table. the shadows and who enable their peers to succeed. «PD [Powell] is the best pro,” Dinwiddie began, according to journalist Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “I have the utmost respect for him and I hope all Mavericks fans do too. Not every player can shoot 20 times, score 30 points and do all those dunks and flashy things, nor do they need to help the team.”
(Cover photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
