Mavericks rookie Anderson will play a lot during preseason

Fans of the Dallas Mavericks won’t have to wait long to get an extended look at rookie swingman Justin Anderson.

With shooting guard Wesley Matthews and small forward Chandler Parsons not expected to play much during the preseason as they recover from surgery, Anderson will play a lot leading up to the Oct. 28 regular-season opener at Phoenix.

“He’s going to have an opportunity to play a lot in the exhibition season, and from there he’ll earn his minutes,” coach Rick Carlisle said of his rookie. “But I think he’s well-positioned, all things considered.

“He’s very solid, he had a very good summer. He’s a worker, strong, can play multiple positions, and he’s from a great program at Virginia.”

Anderson had a distinguished showing in the Las Vegas Summer League. In six games, Anderson averaged 17.5 points and 4.2 rebounds. He shot 38.5 percent on 3-pointers.

“I thought he just picked up on what our system was going to be, how we wanted to play and how he fit into it,” Carlisle said. “It’s important for young players to keep developing their skills on the one hand, but on the other hand it’s got to be at the right pace.

“We can’t have guys in games trying things that are new things if they’re going to blow up. All in all, I like what he’s doing.”

Anderson just wants to get adjusted to the speed of the NBA game and start understanding the various concepts that comes with transitioning from college to the pros.

“Right now I’ve just got to continue to focus on myself and trying to give the best that I can in our system,” Anderson said. “I can’t get myself wrapped up into worrying about one of our main guys, our star guys, being injured.

“As far as when we compete, we’re all going to compete, and we’re all competing for minutes. But at the same time, in the end results, we’re competing to get each other better and I think it’s going to help us a lot.”

Drafted No. 21 overall last June, Anderson has a chance at becoming the Mavericks’ most prolific rookie since they used the 29th pick of the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft to select Josh Howard.

“Once again I’ve just got to continue to know who I am,” Anderson said.

And who exactly is Anderson?

“A hard-nosed player that plays hard every possession, unselfish, just doing whatever it takes, doing the little things,” the 6-foot-6, 228-pounder said. “It’s kind of built in my DNA since high school.”

Carlisle wants Anderson to keep his game simple.

“The important thing for rookies are to develop a defined game so that their teammates know what they can do and what they’re going to be able to do, and they’ve got to produce,” Carlisle said. “They’ve got to make shots, they’ve got to be in position to defense, they’ve got to rebound, and they’ve got to run.

“He’s a mature kid. Again, he’s been with us since really late June, and so he’s built a good foundation, and he’s just got to carry it forward.’’

This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Mavericks rookie Anderson will play a lot during preseason."