‘Very Locked In Mentally’: Dallas Mavericks Rookie Morez Johnson Jr. Details What 10 NBA Games Have Taught Him
DALLAS — Morez Johnson Jr. grabbed 9 rebounds in 19 minutes, 9 seconds off the bench Sunday night as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets 130-93 at American Airlines Center. The rookie added 4 points and an assist and drew a technical foul with 3:51 left in the third quarter.
Sunday was the 10th game of Johnson’s NBA career, and he has come off the bench in all of them. Full practices are rare in the NBA, Johnson said.
“Physically, fast pace,” Johnson said. “[Got to] be very intentional. You don’t get days where you like get like a full practice in. You just got to be very locked in mentally.”
Dallas took Johnson ninth overall in June. He started all 40 games for Michigan last season after transferring from Illinois and won a national championship under Mavericks coach Dusty May, whom Dallas hired as head coach in June.
Morez Johnson Jr. On Locking In On Defense
Johnson had 7 defensive rebounds, and Brooklyn shot 38.8% from the field. The Mavericks have the versatility to switch everything with different groups, Johnson said.
“I think it showed when we lock in defensively, we can be a very good defensive team,” Johnson explained. “We got some versatility on the defensive end, switching one through five with different lineups.”
May challenged a shooting foul called on Johnson with 5:33 left in the second quarter, and the call was overturned. Johnson entered Sunday averaging 8.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in 16.8 minutes.
Johnson On Playing Alongside Santi Aldama
Santi Aldama scored 12 points off the bench in his second game with Dallas, and he and Johnson checked in together midway through the first quarter. Johnson said Aldama will even bring the ball up the floor sometimes.
“Just him being a pick-and-pop four or five man, being very versatile, putting the ball on the floor, bringing it up sometimes,” Johnson said. “And he’s extremely vocal. I didn’t know he was this vocal until we started playing together.”
Johnson had not played more than 18 minutes in a game before Friday, when he posted 13 points and a career-high 17 rebounds against Utah. For a teammate jumping in with little practice, Johnson’s advice is to keep talking.
“I was that guy a few weeks ago, so I say just being over-communicative, but just talking,” Johnson said.
Dallas (6-4) hosts the Indiana Pacers on Monday at 7 p.m. CT.
