‘Day By Day’: Dusty May On Minutes Conversations As Dallas Mavericks Get Healthier Before Brooklyn Nets

DALLAS — Santi Aldama made his Dallas Mavericks debut Friday, and Kyrie Irving and Max Christie are both off the injury report for Sunday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets. Before the 6:30 p.m. CT tip-off at American Airlines Center, Mavericks coach Dusty May said each player outside the rotation hears something a little different, depending on the projections for that game or the next one.

Dallas has used 16 players through nine games. Marcus Sasser, who has played in eight of them, was inactive as a coach’s decision against the Utah Jazz on Friday.

“Each guy is different,” May said. “I mean, some guys it’s, ‘Hey, stay ready.’ Obviously, we’re very empathetic. We have a deep roster, and a deep roster means that unless you’re playing multiple overtime games, no one’s going to be satisfied with their minutes. So just communicate the best we can with what our vision is.”

“I’d rather not divulge specific details,” May continued, “but each guy gets something a little bit different based on maybe the projections of this game or next game, or we feel like you’re earning a few more, or you feel like you need to do this if you want to earn more. But it’s day by day.”

Santi Aldama And Naji Marshall Return To The Dallas Mavericks’ Rotation

Aldama missed the first eight games after right knee surgery in March. Against Utah, he finished with 8 points and 9 rebounds in 13 minutes, 3 seconds, and Dallas was plus-17 with him on the floor.

Naji Marshall played in five of the first eight games while dealing with an illness. Off the bench Friday, he had 7 points and 5 assists in 24 minutes, 56 seconds, including the lob to Morez Johnson Jr. that made it 85-73 late in the third quarter.

“I thought his tenacity, his on-ball pressure, that gave us a little bit of ignition,” May explained, “and during that stretch when we were playing well, he had a lot of life, and man, he’s a great teammate. He makes everyone around him better. And now also since he’s back from his illness, he looks like he’s in much better shape, and he’s playing longer spurts, and up until then, he didn’t look tired at all.”

Dallas’ reserves outscored Utah’s 44-19 in the 112-100 win. Johnson finished plus-20 with 13 points and 17 rebounds, and Marshall and Aldama were each plus-17.

“The effort plays, the second shots, those allowed us just to hang around,” May said, “and we didn’t have to dig ourselves out of a hole in the second half because Utah was playing well in the first half. They were making shots. They found some holes in our defense. They had us bogged down. It’s what they do. They limit passes. They limit assists, and they get you into this one-on-one battle. And they’re quick and fast, and they’re good individual defenders.”

“So we didn’t adjust to the game very well early,” May added, “but because of the effort plays, we were able to hang around, and in the second half, just on our intensity level, our on-ball pressure, and we were able to wear them down, especially with our bench. I thought our bench was awesome tonight, and each night it’d be a little bit different. But the group that played majority of the minutes really had a major impact.”

Walter Clayton Jr., Marcus Sasser And The Guard Minutes

Walter Clayton Jr., who signed a two-way contract on Oct. 21, played all 12 minutes of the second quarter Friday and finished with 12 points in 22 minutes, 33 seconds. He is averaging 7.6 points and 3.0 assists in 15.4 minutes across eight games.

Utah traded Clayton to the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 3, and Memphis waived him in October. He and Aldama overlapped with the Grizzlies before both landed in Dallas.

“Hell of a shooter,” Aldama said. “Just get guys involved. And I think he had tough first year with two trades. That’s never easy. And I think he’s found his spot here. Just playing free, playing the way he played at Florida, and just seeing that, great guy, hard worker. So I think he’s going to really flourish here.”

Sasser is averaging 6.1 points and has made 39.1% of his three-point attempts. Sergio De Larrea, who scored a career-high 21 points against the San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 24, will miss his sixth straight game Sunday with a right knee sprain. May said his reevaluation will likely come next week.

Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery) and Tarik Biberović (heel bursitis) are also out Sunday. Irving’s status for Monday’s 7 p.m. CT game against the Indiana Pacers will be decided after he wakes up, May said.