Mavs squeezing the best out of McGee

The Dallas Mavericks signed JaVale McGee to a two-year contract on Aug. 13 to do just what he did Friday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.

In his first six minutes against the Grizzlies, McGee blocked two shots by Zach Randolph and made dunks on lob passes from Raymond Felton and J.J. Barea. It’s the type of energy the Mavericks need from their backup center.

McGee missed all of training camp due to a left tibial stress fracture, and his playing time has been restricted. As a result, the Mavericks haven’t fully enjoyed all that the 7-foot, 270-pound center can bring to the court.

“He’s not 100 percent of where he was before his injury just because he hasn’t had a training camp, and he hasn’t had a significant amount of time being cleared,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s kind of a game of catch-up for him.

“We’re on a slow burn type situation for ramping him back up, but at some point he’ll be more involved. I’m pretty sure of that. I just don’t know when, and in the meantime he’s just got to keep working on what we’re doing.”

Before Friday, McGee played in only seven of the Mavericks’ first 26 games and averaged only 4.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and nine minutes a game. But his conditioning is not where it needs to be for extended playing time.

“I think it’s conditioning, it’s reps,” Carlisle said. “Because of our very busy game schedule, we just haven’t had many of what I would call quality practices where they’re scrimmaging and [have] a lot of live play.”

McGee only played 28 games the past two seasons with Denver and Philadelphia because of issues with his left leg. The Mavericks figure if the eight-year veteran gets his body right, they’ll have someone they can plug in the middle who can protect the rim on a regular basis.

But, no one knows when McGee’s body will be completely right.

“You’re talking 14-16 months,” Carlisle said, referring to the time McGee has struggled with his leg injury. “He has played some games in the interim, but it’s just been here and there.”

Briefly

▪ The Mavs’ next home game is Dec. 26 against the Chicago Bulls. The Mavs visit Toronto on Tuesday and Brooklyn on Wednesday.

▪ Guard Devin Harris doesn’t know when he’ll be able to play again after he sat out Friday’s game against the Grizzlies with a strained right hamstring. Carlisle said Harris’ injury isn’t considered serious, but he had no timetable for his return.

▪ Guard John Jenkins went through concussion protocol and passed all the tests. Jenkins was injured in a collision at practice earlier this week.

▪ Rookies Justin Anderson and Salah Mejri were assigned Friday to play for the Texas Legends of the D-League.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Mavs squeezing the best out of McGee."