Mavericks: This Player Now Holds Keys To Postseason?

The Dallas Mavericks have apparently lost forward Chandler Parsons for the season, but this player holds the key to the postseason moving ahead.

As the Dallas Mavericks have lost small forward Chandler Parsons, likely for the remainder of the season, a somewhat frustrated fan base now wonders whether or not this team can realistically reach the playoffs. It’s not like this team is firmly entrenched as a contender, after all.

For this reason, speculation is plentiful regarding who exactly can help push this team into the postseason. According to Chuck Cooperstein, the radio voice of the Mavs, that player is point guard Deron Williams.

No argument there.

We know that Dirk Nowitzki will take the team on his shoulders at every opportunity. His 40 points against the sixth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday more than proves that fact.

It’s also clear that, at least on a given night, Williams can bring some offensive firepower. The former NBA All-Star from the Dallas area more than stepped up with 31 points in that same game against Portland. To be clear, the Mavericks will need efforts much like that down the stretch if this team is to reach the Western Conference playoff bracket, let alone win anything once they get there.

Having said that, there is one player who needs to be on the court as much as possible, and for reasons that are quite obvious.

Center Salah Mejri.

I was originally fascinated by this player given his recent stint with Real Madrid basketball in Spain. Living in this market at the present time, I can’t say that I watched as much Real Madrid basketball as I did soccer, but I was aware that the Spanish athletic power had a really tall center that was rumored to be headed towards the NBA this season.

Mejri, at 29 years old, qualifies as an NBA rookie, yet he’s seen plenty of professional basketball over the course of his career. Granted, stints with teams from around Europe don’t exactly meet the same level of competition that the NBA offers, but things have changed across the Atlantic where this game is concerned. The mere presence and ongoing career of Nowitzki proves this fact beyond any shadow of a doubt.

While still inexperienced in the United States, Mejri brings a maturity and unique skill set that you just don’t find everyday. At 7’2” and 245 pounds, you can compare Mejri’s height to that of Shaquille O’Neal. A good bit thinner than O’Neal’s playing weight, Mejri can run the floor and this was on full display against Portland last Sunday.

The Mavericks were plus-30 while Mejri was playing his best game as an NBA professional against Portland. His double-double consisted of 13 points, 14 total rebounds – and also six blocked shots.

In this case, those blocked shots are what Dallas needs moving forward.

You think it’s just a coincidence that the Mavericks actually outscored the ‘Blazers in the paint last weekend? This isn’t something that normally happens, and the question begs what might have happened if Mejri had played a few more minutes – he played 32:39, for the record.

Further, Mejri’s game against Portland was no flash-in-the-pan, either. While it is a somewhat limited sample size, this is likely only because of his limited minutes over the course of his rookie season with the Mavericks.

Might I suggest that Mejri is no longer a true rookie?

This walking stilt has chalked up highlight-reel blocks against all kinds of players, most notably Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Mejri is all about hustle and he’s not a bad free-throw shooter, especially for a player of his stature.

It’s true that head coach Rick Carlisle has been moving to a smaller lineup over the last couple of weeks, a necessity given the limitations and drop-off of starting center Zaza Pachulia since the new calendar year began. The results are yet to be determined, although the future of this season seems to point towards less and less reliance on Pachulia, at the very least.

Small-ball is certainly one way to go, although I will always favor having a tall, athletic center patrolling the paint if for no other reason than defense. Mejri is going to get his points, for sure, but he’s also going to prevent the easiest points for the opposition, those that come in the paint.

In the absence of Tyson Chandler, the Mavericks haven’t had that imposing presence near the rim that makes opponents think twice about sacrificing a possession to a blocked shot close to the iron or simply a missed layup. This is ‘Basketball 101’ and if that element is available to your team, you utilize it for all it’s worth. This was arguably the biggest intangible of the 2010-11 championship team that the Mavericks are trying to duplicate while Nowitzki still has the legs to endure an NBA schedule.

The Mavericks survived 26 points from Damian Lillard on Sunday and 22 points from C.J. McCollum, both representing the Portland starting back court. Reserve guard Allen Crabbe came off the bench with 24 points and you realize instantly that without a strong shooting night from these guards of the Trail Blazers, the Mavericks would have won Sunday’s game going away with no hint of the need for overtime.

Carlisle can now make this strategy a hallmark for his team over the remaining 12 games of the season.

Mejri may not turn the Mavericks into a contender this season, but he does bring a vital ingredient to a roster that to this point hasn’t been able to chalk up much success against the top teams in the NBA, and especially the powers of the Western Conference. Whatever remains for the Mavericks the rest of the way, the team at least knows that there’s a potential game-changer in the paint on every given night.

Next: Cowboys: Does Alfred Morris Change Draft Direction

Yes, Mejri is that difference-maker in the low post that might hold the keys to a playoff berth and perhaps even a deeper run than just four games.

The Mavericks begin a four-game road trip on Wednesday night with a key rematch against the Trail Blazers in Portland with a tip-off set for 9:00pm CDT. Dallas currently trails Rip City by just a half game for the sixth-seed while standing alone with the seventh-seed at 35-35.