The NBA Summer League has opened the door for Morez Johnson Jr., and based on his physicality, effort and scoring, he's no mistake, and fans shouldn't be worried anymore about his ceiling. Johnson Jr. may as well sit out for the rest of the NBA Summer League, but two guys should continue competing for a key backup spot.
The backup point guard role may be up for grabs this season thanks to Ryan Nembhard, the Mavericks' undrafted point guard from last season, and Sergio De Larrea, the Mavericks' first-rounder from this season.
Nembhard went for a double-double against the Golden State Warriors in the summer league, scoring 15 points, 11 assists, one steal and one block. De Larrea put up nine points, six rebounds, a steal and a block. The two players have very different archetypes, and while Nembhard seems to have the upper hand with experience, De Larrea looks like he's right there to be next to Kyrie Irving in the PG depth chart.
Mavericks' backup point guard spot looks like it's up for grabs
Even though Nembhard outperformed De Larrea on the stat sheet, the first-round pick from Spain wasn't too far off. Nathan Grubel, who covers the NBA and the NBA Draft, noted that Da Larrea was contributing without getting noticed on the box score.
"Sergio De Larrea has been better than the box score would say. Has made a lot of sharp plays off the ball on offense. He’s been late on some defensive rotations, but nothing terrible. I think he’s been a bright spot for Dallas today along with Morez."
For newly acquired Marcus Sasser from the Detroit Pistons, his numbers and minutes have dropped off in his short NBA career. Like Nembhard, Sasser has the experience over De Larrea, but the Spanish guard has plenty of size and length to make plays and play defense.
Nembhard has great speed, IQ, and a heck of a shot with loads of confidence, but his size matters in the NBA. He's 5-foot-11, and if bigger guards take him on, he's going to be on the wrong side of mismatches. De Larrea, at 6-foot-5, has a defensive advantage simply because of size, but as Grubel pointed out, he has to get better at defensive rotations.
Although for Nembhard, he's coming off one of the best games of his career, scoring 15 points, nine rebounds and an eye-popping 23 assists in the season finale against the Chicago Bulls. The second-year man from Gonzaga is no doubt a playmaker, and if we're talking now, he's got the backup spot to lose.
However, if De Larrea can get consistent shooting with better perimeter defense, this is going to be a nice competition in the regular season.
Still a long way to go, but we can expect the two guys to get equal minutes throughout the summer league.
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