LAS VEGAS – If the Dallas Mavericks are unable to advance any farther in the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League, it won’t be because they haven’t had any adequate rest.
The Mavs (3-1) haven’t played since beating Croatia, 79-71, on Wednesday. And they won’t play again until they face the Minnesota Timberwolves (4-0) in the quarterfinals of summer league action on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. Dallas time at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Obviously, a lengthy layoff could have a positive or an adverse effect on a team.
“This is going into my 12th season in summer league in the NBA, and this is the longest break that I’ve seen,” Mavs summer league coach Mike Weinar said. “We played at 12:30 (p.m.) on Wednesday and now we play Saturday at 7:30 (p.m.).
“But look, we go through different schedule things all throughout the year. It’s just part of teaching these guys how to handle that.”
If the sixth-seeded Mavs beat the third-seeded Timberwolves, they’ll play the winner between the No. 2-seeded Detroit Pistons (4-0) and the No. 7-seeded Brooklyn Nets (3-1) on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. (all Dallas times). The Pistons and Nets play Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
In the other quarterfinal bracket, the top-seeded Boston Celtics (4-0) meet the No. 8-seeded Memphis Grizzlies (3-1) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., and the No. 4-seeded New Orleans Pelicans (3-1) square off against the No. 5-seeded Miami Heat (3-1) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
The championship game is slated for Monday at 8 p.m.
The long layoff by the Mavs isn’t any cause for concern for guard Daryl Macon, who drew a parallel between it and what many players experienced during their younger days.
“It kind of feels like AAU ball all over again, so most of us are used to it,” Macon said after Friday’s practice session. “We just got to stay ready.
“It’s basketball at the end of the day, so it doesn’t matter how many days we get off. This is our job.”
It’s a job the Mavs expect to perform well against Minnesota.
“There’s a lot of mental preparation, just keeping yourself ready to go, taking care of your body and making sure it’s 100 percent,” guard Josh Reaves said. “We don’t have any excuses not to be rested, so just take it day by day and just stay prepared and stay ready to go.”
The Mavs have been one of the surprise teams of the 32-team summer league. They’ve played gritty basketball, excelled on defense and had enough offensive punch to keep teams at bay.
In fact, the Mavs’ lone loss came when they blew a 15-point lead and lost to Sacramento, 105-101.
“We gave away one, but it happens, we learned from it, watched film on it, practiced and we’re ready to play again,” Macon said. “We’re going to try and get that loss back by trying to win this whole thing.”
That also was the battle cry from Reaves.
“It just feels good knowing that the team is coming together well,” Reaves said. “We said we like each other and we want to see each other succeed, so it just feel good just getting the results at the end of the day. All the hard work in practice and preparations is all coming together.
“I don’t see any reason why this team can’t win the championship. We have a lot of pieces — a lot of dynamic pieces, a lot of leaders — and if everybody just come together as one, I feel like we can win this thing.”
Gaining a berth in the playoffs is a testament of the job done by Weinar, his staff and the players to come out of nowhere and be in position to win the whole enchilada.
“I didn’t get into who was favored,” Weinar said. “I’m sure these big buildings had a bunch of those lines out, but we didn’t look at any of that stuff.
“We just talked about the hard play, and I’m really excited for our guys because they get an opportunity to play in a playoff atmosphere. The (personal) fouls go down to six like a regulation game, it’ll be a good atmosphere in there, and a good experience and a good learning opportunity.”
A learning opportunity the Mavs hope they can take full advantage of.
“We’re excited for the opportunity, we’re very excited that we were able to get into the playoffs as a sixth seed,” Weinar said. “Out of 32 teams, that’s an accomplishment.
“Now we’ve got to get to the next step and see if we can make some noise.”
Whatever noise the Mavs make against the Timberwolves, they may have to do so without Japanese sensation Yudai Baba, who suffered a shoulder injury while setting a screen in the game against Croatia.
“Yudai participated in meetings (Friday), but did not go through any contacts, so I will list him as questionable for tomorrow,” Weinar said. “Our training staff is on top of it and they’ll let us know where he stands tomorrow.
“He’s a good kid. Very coachable.”
The Mavs know it won’t be any easy task trying to upend the Timberwolves.
“They’re a talented group and they’re well-coached,” Weinar said. “We do a little more scouting now for the playoffs.
“They’re talented, they’ve got a couple of roster guys, but we didn’t really talk about that today. It’s about us and how we’re approaching our mindset.”
Reaves is anticipating a huge challenge from Minnesota.
“They’re a good team and they’re ranked as high as they are for a reason in this tournament,” he said. “We don’t take anybody lightly, don’t take any possession off and go in there and play every possession like it’s the last one and play as hard as you can.
“I feel like that’s going to give us the best results at the end of the day.”
Results the Mavs hope, with the adequate rest they’ve received lately, will weigh heavily in their favor.
Share and comment