Max Christie has "the green light to shoot 3," Mavericks analyst Devin Harris said, adding that Dallas wants "8, 10, 12 3-point shots a game" from him. That is Harris relaying the plan, not word from coach Dusty May.
Analyst Devin Harris expects Kyrie Irving, out 19 months, to be eased back. His view, not team word: "I would be shocked if he actually played that Indiana game." Dallas opens with 3 games in 4 nights, the Spurs home opener the back end of a back-to-back.
Cooper Flagg gets the ball late in close games, Mavericks analyst Devin Harris said, and he has already seen it in practice: "They're going to put the ball in his hands in clutch situations." Dallas is also hunting corner threes off Flagg's pick-and-roll.
Zaccharie Risacher's job while defences load up on Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg: run the floor, push the pace, chase rebounds off teammates' misses and cut behind his man. "Those backdoor cuts for easy layups are going to be huge," Mavericks analyst Devin Harris said.
Max Christie was limited at Mavericks practice with a sore foot. "He's here shooting and doing stuff, but yeah, he wasn't full go," Dusty May said. Morez Johnson Jr. had a good practice, though May said "I can't imagine he's going to be able to play a full 48."
Rookie Sergio de Larrea "looks like a guy that could play in the rotation," Dusty May said at Dallas Mavericks practice; teammates play better around his passing. May doesn't want only Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving carrying Dallas: "those guys are going to be worn down."
"Just to see Kyrie back competing like he was, I thought he made a lot of really good passes." Dusty May liked what Kyrie Irving showed in the Mavericks' postgame against the Hawks, and said Irving trusted his teammates.
Asked if Zaccharie Risacher starts opening night, Mavericks coach Dusty May wouldn't commit; the lineup is undecided. But on his second half against Atlanta, his former team, "he's gonna be a major rotation piece and play a lot."
Zaccharie Risacher on his slow starts through four preseason games with Dallas: "I gotta do a better job and show up early in the game... The first half usually during those preseason games wasn't that good." Facing his former team, the Hawks, was "exciting."
After a camp of minor issues, Morez Johnson Jr. said he knocked off rust in Dallas's Oct. 16 game: "I didn't feel like I was in great rhythm ... but I'll get there soon." Used heavily at center, he said it feels like power forward since he still switches onto everyone.
Jabari Smith Jr. is taking on more of Houston's rim protection. "It's just on me to go try to protect the rim more," he said at practice, vowing more contests and more help defense near the basket. On his defensive technique: "I feel like it's all coming together."
From the Rockets' practice: Marcus Smart was sick, by a brief, partly garbled account. Ime Udoka said Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams have "no restriction," but some players will miss back-to-backs early in the season while Houston leans on its depth.
"Reed will be a huge part of what we do." Ime Udoka on Reed Sheppard, despite a Rockets backcourt now including Marcus Smart and Fred VanVleet. Sheppard has improved everywhere, especially on defense. Udoka wants a 10-man rotation early, saving some developing players.
Ime Udoka doesn't expect Marcus Smart's preseason edge over Reed Sheppard to last into the regular season: the two "complement each other and can play together." Smart, Amen Thompson and Tari Eason are a defensive unit the Rockets coach keeps "in our back pocket."
"I got more offensive responsibility in those lineups." Amen Thompson says his role grows when the Rockets go to second-unit groups with Tari Eason and Marcus Smart, because he trusts those two to handle the defensive matchups.
Worst in the league in the last 6 seconds of the shot clock, good in the first 6: Ime Udoka says the Rockets aim to play faster and take the first quality shot. They also want more threes, having shot well on few attempts, and passes out to shooters over forced putbacks.