‘Just Play Like That Again’: Dusty May Wants More Of Morez Johnson Jr.’s 17-Rebound Effort For Dallas Mavericks
DALLAS — Two nights after Morez Johnson Jr. grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in a 112-100 win over the Utah Jazz, Mavericks coach Dusty May said the next step for the rookie is to do it again. May spoke before the Dallas Mavericks hosted the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at American Airlines Center.
Johnson finished Friday’s game with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 10 offensive rebounds, 7 defensive rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in a career-high 23 minutes and 48 seconds off the bench. Dallas won the offensive glass 21-8 and outscored Utah 20-5 in second-chance points. May said he does not expect the ball to find Johnson as often every time he crashes, and the request is the same approach regardless.
“Just play like that again,” May said. “I thought his tenacity impacted the game in a great way. Just the extra possessions. He typically plays like that, where every possession it’s a me-versus-you mentality as far as effort, and he usually wins most of those.”
“And obviously, if you crash every time, maybe the ball doesn’t come to you as many times as it did the other night,” May continued. “But just continue to put pressure on the other team and find those hidden plays that go into winning, but hopefully just the same approach and mindset of whatever this group needs, whatever this team needs to play better to win, is what he’s willing to do.”
Morez Johnson Jr.’s Night Against The Utah Jazz
The 17 rebounds were the most by a Mavericks player this season and gave Johnson his first career double-double. He became the sixth Maverick to record a double-double before his 21st birthday, joining Dirk Nowitzki, Dennis Smith Jr., Luka Dončić, Dereck Lively II, and Cooper Flagg.
In his ninth NBA game, Johnson also became the 11th player in league history to post a double-double with at least 10 offensive rebounds within his first 10 games. He and Popeye Jones are the only Mavericks to do it. Moussa Cissé is the only other Mavericks rookie with 10 or more offensive rebounds in a game.
Through nine games, all off the bench, Johnson is averaging 8.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in 16.8 minutes while shooting 57.1% from the field. Dallas selected him ninth overall in June, a day after May left Michigan to become the franchise’s head coach.
Shin Soreness, Minutes, And Monday’s Back-To-Back
Lower-leg soreness limited Johnson through training camp, and right shin splints left him questionable for the Oct. 24 home game against the San Antonio Spurs before he played on a minutes restriction.
Friday’s 23 minutes came after Johnson logged between 17 and 18 minutes in each of the previous four games. May reads a daily medical report before deciding who is cleared and how much they play.
“Well, I think that was adrenaline talking,” May explained. “No. Rez was obviously awesome. He’s been feeling better. The next day I checked on him, and he said he wasn’t feeling any pain in his leg.”
“So, we get a daily report,” May added. “I read the report. Who’s ready to go? But for the most part, it’s day by day. He was at shootaround. He looked good.”
Dallas hosts the Indiana Pacers on Monday at 7 p.m. CT on the second night of a back-to-back.
