Cuban says Mavericks’ injured trio among best in NBA

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban speaks highly of point guard Deron Williams, shooting guard Wesley Matthews and small forward Chandler Parsons.

“You take D-Will, Matthews and Parsons, they’re definitely top-of-the-league top three,” Cuban said. “So I think we’re going to be able to shoot the ball, we’re going to be able to run, we’re going to be able to pass the ball, we’re going to be able to pass-and-kick, we’re going to be able to hit 3s, we’ll be able to defend.

“So I think there’s a lot of upside.”

Unfortunately for the Mavs, that “upside” has to wait because Williams, Matthews and Parsons are still recovering from injuries. All three players have missed the first four preseason games.

Matthews underwent surgery on his left Achilles tendon March 11.

Parsons had minor hybrid microfracture surgery on his right knee May 1.

Williams has experienced pain in both of his calves at various points during training camp.

No timetable has been established for the return of any of the three players.

The aforementioned trio will have three spots in the starting lineup, and the Mavs are solid at power forward with perennial All-Star Dirk Nowitzki.

But the center spot remains up for grabs between JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia, Samuel Dalembert and Salah Mejri.

McGee has yet to play in the preseason because of a stress fracture in his left tibia. Pachulia is not an accomplished rim protector. Dalembert has played 52 minutes in the four preseason games and has 18 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks. He has shot 8-of-15 from the field.

But the Mavs are intrigued with Mejri, who had two points, two blocks, two assists and a game-high eight rebounds in Friday’s 91-84 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

“He’s actually a pretty good shooter,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He has a pretty big contusion on the top of his right forearm, so he’s had trouble shooting the ball the past four or five days.

“His activity is very good, he’s up around the rim, he can run, he can make plays, he’s blocking shots, his anticipation is good. This is an experienced international player.”

The Mavs signed Mejri, a Tunisian, to a contract on July 30. The 7-foot-2, 235-pounder averaged 4.3 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.6 minutes while playing 34 minutes for Real Madrid last season.

“He doesn’t walk out on the floor like a rookie,” Carlisle said. “Really, in fairness, he missed the first 10 days, probably a little more than that of practice because he had a fracture in his tibia that was healing.

“In a very short period of time he’s gotten a couple of opportunities and it’s been very positive. I’m encouraged. We’ll keep looking at him.”

The Mavs would like McGee to be their starting center. Still, with no valid timetable set for McGee’s return, the Mavs have to make do with what they have, and that includes employing Jarrid Famous and frequently using forward Jeremy Evans in the middle.

Dallas (0-4) will continue to try to get an extensive look at Mejri when they play the Cavaliers in Cleveland at 6 p.m. Monday in preseason.

“We’ll see what happens with the [center] spot,’’ Cuban said. “Zaza can definitely fill in.

“But between all the options we have at center, that’s going to be our biggest challenge followed by [guards] Devin [Harris] and J.J. [Barea], who is going to be the rest of the bench.”

While those decisions continue to be ironed out before the season opener Oct. 28 at Phoenix, at least Cuban believes that Williams, Matthews and Parsons will make up one of the best trios in the NBA when they are healthy.

And if that prediction comes to fruition, that should be a huge bonus for the Mavs.

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Cuban says Mavericks’ injured trio among best in NBA."