The Dallas Mavericks played their first Summer League game against the Golden State Warriors, and while they were down for much of the game and lost, Morez Johnson Jr. showed exactly why the Mavs made an A+ pick.
Johnson Jr. showed his physicality and effort on the boards and in the paint. There are still players to highlight, but he was by far the best on the court and finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals, two blocks, and shot 12/17 from the field. He played like a power forward, but he runs the court like a runaway freight train.
Some might have been shocked because he was projected in the middle of the first round, but he was the first Michigan guy off the board before Aday Mara and Yaxel Lendeborg. But it only took one Summer League game for fans to realize that the Johnson Jr. pick was gold.
Morez Johnson Jr. showed he was the perfect first-round draft pick
Obviously, when Dusty May was hired as head coach, it changed the whole game around. It was widely reported that he would use that influence to draft one of his Michigan players. Mara is a perfect big man to complement Cooper Flagg, but Johnson Jr. brings a different kind of toughness that's so valuable.
The recent champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks, have had a glue guy, like Lu Dort and Josh Hart. It's a lot to ask a rookie to be that guy, but Johnson Jr. has reached his physical ceiling to incredible heights. If he fixes up his 3-point shooting, he's going to be an unstoppable masterpiece.
One concern was that Johnson Jr. wasn't a threat from deep, but he shot 1/4 from that range. 25 percent isn't great, but Johnson Jr. is using the Summer League to at least get comfortable.
He also made an emphatic block and showed he's just as much of a threat on the defensive end. A player of his energy is going to be hard to leave out of the starting lineup, which will increase the questions surrounding Naji Marshall and/or P.J. Washington.
Speaking of energy, Tobi Lawal showed us that same athletic energy, going for five points, four rebounds, and shooting 1/3 from deep. Just like Johnson Jr., Lawal is another athletic freak who has to get better at shooting. He has physical tools like Johnson Jr., and fans will love it.
Johnson Jr. showed up, and if he did anything right, he showed Mavs fans that Masai Ujiri and May killed this first-round selection.
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