INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was making such a fuss over Naji Marshall on Wednesday night that he probably
wound up being the president of the Dallas Mavericks forward’s fan club.
Prior to the game against the Mavs, Carlisle went on and on about how impressed he is with Marshall and what he’s been able to accomplish this season with the Mavs.
“He’s an aggressive player and a player that I really like,” Carlisle said. “I can see why (the Mavs) liked him and wanted to acquire him.”
Marshall signed a three-year, $27 million free agent contract with the Mavs last summer after he spent the first four years of his career with the New Orleans Pelicans. And he’s been a beacon of light for the Mavs this season.
“I liked him a lot in New Orleans,” Carlisle said. “He was starting to take his game up in a lot of ways.
“He was starting to shoot the three consistently.”
Over eight games before Wednesday’s contest against the Pacers, Marshall averaged 22.9 points and 7.9 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field. That includes scoring 20 or more points in six of those games, including a 34-point, nine-rebound, 10-assist outing against Phoenix on March 9.
Marshall added to his hot scoring streak during Wednesday’s 135-131 loss to the Pacers when he collected 20 points on 8-of-15 shots. He also had nine rebounds, and now has five or more rebounds in eight of the last nine games.
A series of unfortunate injuries to several of his teammates has led to some increased playing time for Marshall. And he pounced on his opportunity and has become one of the Mavs’ most effective players.
“You knew he was a hard-playing hit-first guy that was going to play with a lot of attitude and was about the right things,” Carlisle said. “He’s getting a lot of shots and guys like him love opportunities like this.”
EXTRA OFF DAY: Monday and Tuesday marked the first time since the All-Star break that the Mavs had at least two days off between games.
Indeed, it was refreshing for the Mavs to get an extra day off considering they’ve been besieged with injuries throughout this season.
The Mavs have played 14 games since the All-Star break, playing games every other day except when they had contests on back-to-back nights at home
against Phoenix on March 9 and at San Antonio on March 10. Prior to playing the Pacers, the Mavs last played on Sunday at home against Philadelphia.
BRIEFLY: Before Wednesday’s victory over the Mavs, the Pacers recently won a pair of games in dramatic fashion. On March 11, they trailed Milwaukee by three points with 3.2 seconds remaining. But Tyrese Haliburton nailed a three-pointer with 3.1 seconds left, was fouled on the play by Giannis Antetokounmpo, then hit the free throw to complete the unbelievable four-point play which led to a 115-114 triumph for Indiana. On this past Monday in Minnesota, the Pacers trailed the Timberwolves, 130-129, late in overtime, until Obi Toppin drained a three-pointer with 3.1 seconds to go to give Indiana a 132-130 victory. “I do like how we’ve played in recent weeks,” Carlisle said. “We’ve had some lulls, but we managed to be very resilient. It is a group that I love and believe in. This past week we had to be really opportunistic to win a couple of these games, and these games are all tough. If we drop those games we’re probably in sixth right now (in the Eastern Conference standings) instead of fourth. That’s how close everything is in the NBA.” . . . Thanks to the Phoenix Suns’ 127-121 win over the Chicago Bulls Wednesday, the Mavs and Suns are tied for the 10th and final Western Conference spot for the NBA play-in tournament with identical 33-37 records. And if the Mavs and Phoenix end the season with the same record, the 10th spot would go to the Suns by virtue of them winning the season series against the Mavs, 3-1, and the Mavs would head to the NBA Draft Lottery.
X: @DwainPrice
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