How was Pavel tonight?

[jamalccc]

Anyone went to the game between our summer league team and the Chinese team? Give us a report.

[V]

From Dallasbasketball"

Mavs lose 85-80, but had some very bright spots.

Devin Harris - Looked like a very young point guard, who didnt know when to pick his spots to push the ball or walk it up. But looked like he had floor General potential, which he is going to need to develop FAST!. Also, missed a breakaway dunk in the first half.

Josh Howard - everything you would expect from him. Going to be a very important part of the mavs team for the long future. Rebounded, attacked on offense, blocked shots on defense. Essentially a Michael Finley replacement.

Pavel Podkolzine - Very big, and very uncoordinated. Moved very slow and committed 4 fouls i probably 15 minutes of burn. But, what can you expect from a 18 yr old. id say at least 5 years before he is getting 20+ minutes.

DJ Mbenga - Looked like an extremely athletic 7 footer. Very raw offensive talent, but incredible athleticism. Went for the steal every time on defense, but with some fundamental work could be a VERY huge pickup for the mavs.

Jon Steffannson - him and howard were easily the most mature and knowledgeable players on the court. showed some flashes of greatness and will probably be relied on if Kidd is not acquired.

Rest of Team: Garbage. Boddicker can shoot, Flores can play some, and the skinny fair skinned guy could shoot. Other than that, expect nothing else.

Mengke Bateer is Huge.

[V]

double post

[grndmstr_c]

That's good to hear that Jon played well. We may need him.

[DubOverdose]

I thought Steff was excellent. I'd start him at PG before Harris. Pavel seemed more coordinated than I thought he'd be, but DJ Benga impressed me. VERY athletic and active hands. He had some stupid fouls, but that's expected. #25 was a good rebounder and scored a good amount. #50 (some center) had a poor start but played very well near the end of the game. Flores was better than I thought he would be.

[dirno2000]

My Take:

Pavel - I didn't have high expectations so I was pleasantly surprised. He's not a stiff...he moves better then I expected. Early in the 1st he swooped in from the ft line to aggressively grab a rebound. He missed the 1st put back attempt, but grabbed another rebound and scored.

In the 3rd quarter he showed his range, nailing a 17-footer from the wing when China left him uncovered. He also dunked on Yao off of a pass from Jon. Overall he was solid, but the Nellies are right when they say that he hasn't been coached...he's really raw. That being said, he can help us in spots and will probably improve as the year goes on.

As far as his size, he's not 7'5. I don't care what that picture shows, Yao is clearly bigger and taller. I would guess that if Yao's 7'5, Pavel is about 7'2 or 7'3. I'm not even going to talk about strength...Yao pushed him around on the offensive end and got wherever he wanted to go. Pavel's post defense needs work, but I give him credit because he never back down.

MbengaHe has an NBA body and when he was in the game he played his heart out. He too struggled with Yao, but he was able to use his quickness a couple of times to steal the entry pass, kind of like Eddie does. He surprised me because he had a couple of nice post moves to score on Yao. He kind of shoots with one hand, and he has a soft touch around the basket. We need to keep this guy, even if it means carrying him on IR all season.

DevinAfter tonight’s game I'm more praying that we can sign Marquis. He's going to be a hell of a player, I just don't know if it's going to be this season and I'm not willing to give him the ball and say" It's your team.

He's only been playing the point for a couple of years and it shows. He's still picking up the intricacies of the position...things like you can make soft passes in the NBA. He had a couple of passes where you could see his vision. He also turned to ball over a lot...twice he just lost the ball in traffic. Low point of the night: he missed a break away dunk in the 2nd quarter...it seemed to shake him up for the rest of the half.

He came out strong in the 2nd half, showing that quickness. His 1st step is incredible...I just wish he would use it more. He had a couple of really impressive moves going to the basket where he finished strong. He also made, I think, 3 three's including a 4-point play.

FloresI don't think he has much future in the league.

JoshLooked great in the 1st half...he couldn't miss. In the 2nd half he could miss and he shot too much. Probably because his body of work was more impressive than that of anybody else on the team. Besides that he was Josh...playing aggressive defenses and going to the glass. The problem was, Josh needs a pg who can create for him and he didn't have that tonight.

Anyway, just my thoughts...we'll see what happens Saturday.

[V]

Yao scores 22 in China's win

National team hangs tough against Mavs' summer league team


11:36 PM CDT on Thursday, July 1, 2004


By DAMON L. SAYLES / The Dallas Morning News



FORT WORTH – Del Harris watched his Chinese National team fight for rebounds, hit the floor on intense charges and take accidental shots to the face. It was a physical style of play where the team wasn't expected to hold an advantage.

But when the buzzer sounded, the Chinese team had beaten a team Harris knows plenty about.

China left TCU's Daniel-Meyer Coliseum with an 85-80 victory against the Mavericks' summer-league team in exhibition play Thursday night. The Chinese did the dirty work to earn it.

They grabbed rebounds, eight more than the Mavericks. They made free throws down the stretch, six of seven in the final 1:09 and 24 of 30 for the game.

More importantly, they fought back from a five-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

"I'm proud of the way my guys fought through what I thought was a tough night," Harris said. "They kept their cool and played with heart. People say the Chinese are not tough, not physical. I think they proved them wrong tonight."

Yao Ming led China with 22 points and 11 rebounds, despite playing with a nagging left toe injury. He declined comment while walking gingerly out of the locker room.

"Yao's toes are not good," Harris said. "We're going to catch him up with a doctor [Friday], but for now, he's in a lot of pain. I know he's tough and can play with pain. Hopefully, he'll be all right."

The Mavericks shot 46 percent from the field but made only 10 of 18 free throws. Rookie Devin Harris led with 15 points, and Josh Howard and Rod Gregoire added 12 each.


Mavs assistant says Harris 'raw but talented'
Mavericks assistant coach Charlie Parker liked what he saw of first-round pick Devin Harris, the heir apparent to the starting point guard position vacated by departing free agent Steve Nash.

"He brings maturity and tenacity to us," said Parker, who coached the summer-league team Thursday. "He is solid defensively, but offensively is where as a point guard he'll have to make his mark."

Harris finished with 15 points, three assists and two steals in 32 minutes, but he also had six turnovers. Parker expects the rookie to show more of what he can do while staying relaxed on the court.

"It's hard to tell after his first game. He's definitely raw, but he's talented," Parker said. "I really like what I saw from him."


Boddicker plays game before making NBA trips
Former Longhorn and Duncanville standout Brian Boddicker scored five points in 17 minutes for the Mavericks. It will be his only appearance in a Mavericks summer-league uniform this season.

Boddicker will travel to Detroit on Saturday to work out with the Pistons, then travel to Utah on July 15 for a workout with the Jazz. What mattered to him most was having the chance to play his first professional game in the summer league in front of familiar faces.

"It was a lot of fun. You've just got to play as hard as you can," Boddicker said. "You may not think you're playing well, but someone in the stands watching you might think otherwise."

[Simon2]

Isn't this weird that Del is actually coaching the Chinese team. Essentially, he has Yao and the Rockets future in his hands. What if he runs Yao into the ground? The Rockets will be pissed. What if he keeps Yao in the game during a blowout and he blows a knee or injures a foot? That would be crazy.

[ocelot_ark]

That gives me some hope...I'm sure both Harris and Pavel were plenty nervous. This WAS their first "NBA" experience.

[PepperTheMavsFan41]

I was there as well.

Devin

I was disapointed in Harris to tell you the truth. The Chineese Guards might be the worst guards he ever plays against. He was clearly better than them, but didnt abuse them at all.

The first 5 min of the 2nd half were his best. He stole the ball, hit a 3, had an asst all in a very quick span.

His shot you can tell is better than avg but not amazing. Hes certainly not Steve Francis but not Steve Nash either.

His arms are really long, but his very frail. Hes goin to get pushed around easily.


I can see why he was a high reguarded player, but top 5. Im not sure.


Actually besides JoHo Stephanson was the best Mav. This dude can handle the ball. He didnt shoot from the outside much which hes suppost to do, but he drove the lane and dished with ease. Hes More athletic than you think as well.

Pavel

Pavel is big, real big. Not Yao big, but still big. Dudes only 19.

Yao was throwing his body into him all night. Not man handling, but still had his way with him around the basket. Pavel acutally dennied Yao pretty nice thou.

His hands arent bad. He caught all the passes and didnt have any SHawn Bradley moments. He took a sweet pass from Jon and absolutly threw it down hard over Yaos arms. It woulda SportsCenter. Hes got a nice touch as well. Hes very comfortable from 18 if need be.

DJ whatshisface.

Not bad at all!!

Dudes shoulders are VERY nice. Nice D. Hits the boards nice. 2 blocks, and didnt just blocked, but threw it. Im sure thou he would only play 17 mins a game max at first before fouling out.

Most surprising thing of the night was he actually had touch around the basket. He went over his right shoulder from about 12 off the glass with his first shot.

[ocelot_ark]

Thanks for the reports guys!

[dude1394]

Ok so how big was Mbenga? And how much did Pavel weigh? Inquiring minds want to know?

[dirno2000]

Originally posted by: dude1394
Ok so how big was Mbenga? And how much did Pavel weigh? Inquiring minds want to know?

Hard to tell...he was much shorter then Yao. I would say 6'11 or 7'0. Cuban was right about his wingspan, it could be 7'5.

Pavel is at least 30 pounds lighter then Yao. Tonight was the 2nd time I've seem him up close and he's a freak of nature.

On the plus side, it looks like Yao keeps coming up with nagging injuries.

[Jamisonite]

i doubt he is 6''11 after seeing pics of him with bradley...i think hes about 7'3

[dirno2000]

Originally posted by: Jamisonite
i doubt he is 6''11 after seeing pics of him with bradley...i think hes about 7'3

I was talking about Mbenga. I said earlier that Pavel is about 7'2 or 7'3

[basketball jonessss]

His hands arent bad. He caught all the passes and didnt have any SHawn Bradley moments.

Damn, no blocked shots or shot alterations like Bradley. Did you see any "Bradley like" defensive domination?

[Murphy3]

Bump for Stressboy.

[Hitman]

People that were there:

Who looks more ready to play point: Steffanson or Harris?

[DubOverdose]

Stefansson looked much more polished. I definitely saw a good amount of Nash's moves. He also has a nice 3pt shot. Harris played full court defense and tried to force a lot of TOs. Harris did have some nice moves, but didn't always seem in control...that could just be that he was nervous, didn't have much time to play with the team before the game, who knows.

Pavel v. Benga
Right now, Benga seems a lot closer to NBA ready. He had some silly fouls, but whenever the ball was floating around in the air, he tipped it to a Maverick. VERY athletic. He was running up and down the court the whole time and seemed to log a good number of minutes without getting tired. He has a soft touch around the rim and I think he hit some 15 foot jumpers in warm up. VERY unselfish. He had some chances to dunk it, but dished it out instead. His arms are huge (probably bigger than his thighs), but his ankles are tiny. I'd really like to see him on the roster, but he will obviously need to work on both offense (dunking) and defense (blocking shots, no silly fouls). Don't get me wrong, I think he did block some shots in the game, but he came VERY close to blocking many more. With some work he could probably be a great shot blocker. I really think he will be able to force a lot of TOs in the paint. Pavel seemed pretty coordinated for his size, but he definitely seemed like he was trying too hard...struggling. It is obvious he hasn't played long because the game doesn't seem natural to him. Pavel did THROW IT DOWN once which shook the crowd up. He tried going for a lot of blocks. He took a few minutes off during the game, but it didn't seem like he slowed down for too long.

[Stressboy]

Thanks murphy.

[Dirkenstien]

Thanks for all of the reports everyone. I can't wait to see them for myself tommorrow night.

[dirno2000]

Originally posted by: Hitman
People that were there:

Who looks more ready to play point: Steffanson or Harris?

As of today, probably Jon, just because he's going to make fewer plays to get you beat. Still, we have to force feed Harris minutes because he's going to make plays that Jon just can't make. He'll make mistakes along the way, but as he adjusts to the position and the speed of the game he's going to be really good.

[thewillis12]

i also went to the game. pretty entertaining. i never realized how huge yao was. i thought he was kinda skinny but he is bulky and a little cut now. wish bradely could have turned out like that. at least get yao's calfs. his lower body strength was very strong. pavel and some of the other centers had trouble moving him.

Jon- i couldnt tell where he was at first because he has a buzz cut for a haircut. but this kid is amazingly quick. actually a decent defender. the mavs use him as a forward and a two guard most of the time, but i think he is gonna be a solid player in about another year. can probably come off the bench this year and contribute now that nash is gone.

Harris- kinda dissapointed. he kept jacking up threes but he did make a sweet 4 point play. i think he missed the FT. has an amazing dribble but gets pushed around alot. if he wants to get to nash's level, he needs to seriously bulk up.

Pavel- this was the matchup everyone cheered for during the game. everytime he touched the ball or yao touched it the crowd got realy excited. he had an ok dunk and has a very nice stroke for a shot but that is not how he should develop. are you listening nellie???? dont want another jump shooting center. dosnt realy know how to time jumping for rebounding. alot of times he kept jumping at random moments to try and grab a rebound and that ended up being a three point play for yao. other than his defense, pavel might get 1-5 min per game. he has great potential.

chinise team should be kinda embarrassed. they played a SUMMER LEAGUE team and only won by 5 points. if this is the national team than they are looking to get spanked by the US.