NEW ORLEANS – Mavericks’ rookie O-Max Prosper had a rare achievement when he came into Sunday’s game against the Pelicans in the late minutes.
No, it wasn’t his first basket as an NBA player, although that got him a standing ovation from his teammates on the bench.
It was the fact that he officially played in three games in three nights.
The Mavericks had assigned Prosper to the Texas Legends for their G-League game Saturday in Frisco. They then recalled the 6-8 forward for Sunday’s game at New Orleans.
Prosper also had been with the Mavericks on Friday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Old school,” coach Jason Kidd said of playing three games in three nights after he played five minutes on Friday and 31 minutes for the Legends on Saturday. He put in six minutes of action on Sunday.
For the Legends the night before, he had 19 points and nine rebounds, shooting 6-for-20 from the field.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Prosper said of stepping on the court three times in three nights. “I felt it a little, even though I didn’t play a lot of minutes in two of the games. But it’s the travel that catches up with you, getting up early to catch a plane after playing Saturday so I could be here for Sunday’s game.”
Devin Harris, the former Maverick who now is an analyst for Bally Sports Southwest, said he remembered the lockout year of 2011-12 when the NBA condensed the schedule and sometimes had three games in three nights. The Mavericks had such an occasion and lost all three games in March of 2012.
Harris was with Utah at the time and while they did not have three games in a row, they did have four games in five nights.
“I was gassed by the end,” Harris said. “I played, like 54 minutes in Atlanta, and then we had to play at New Jersey the next night.”
The Jazz followed up that overtime loss with a win against the Nets.
Prosper’s minutes weren’t close to that, but it’s still a unique circumstance. He said he’s appreciative of playing at Frisco in the G-League.
“It was real good,” Prosper said. “I’ll continue to go over there and compete. It was great to have real-game minutes and help the team get their first win of the season. It was cool.”
Prosper is approaching his rookie season the right way. He’s not expecting anything to be handed to him. And he’s not offended by seeing action in the G-League.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to get going, get my rhythm,” he said. “I think it’s there to help me grow and get game reps. We competed and I was able to impact the game.”
It’s also accelerating the process of the game slowing down for him. All rookies have their head spinning for a certain amount of time. But when they start to understand the nuances of the NBA game, they tend to relax and play sharper.
“It’s true. It definitely has slowed down for me, just seeing and learning from the vets on this team and as you get more reps, you get more comfortable,” Prosper said. “Now, it’s slowed down for me from those first games in Abu Dhabi to now, I feel like I see things a little quicker and I know where to pick my spots and where I can be most effective.”
Said Kidd: “Anytime you can play minutes, it will slow down for you. But it’s going to take some time. Everyone’s different. But O-Max is going to continue to work hard and continue to get opportunities. His spirit – he works extremely hard.”
Briefly: Pelicans’ coach Willie Green was absent Tuesday night, suffering from an illness. Kidd, who missed the Nov. 3 game at Denver with an illness, could sympathize as James Borrego, the former head coach at Charlotte, took over for Green. “He’s one of the best coaches in this league,” Kidd said of Borrego. “For Willie to have him as the top assistant is huge. I know how Willie feels. It’s not good to be sick. But it’s going around.” . . . Maxi Kleber (right small toe dislocation) was out Tuesday and has been ruled out for the rest of the road trip.
Twitter: @ESefko
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