Salah Mejri Deserves More Minutes

Salah Mejri has recently given the Dallas Mavericks a flash of his talents and that should earn him some extra minutes.

Salah Mejri began to get recognition from the NBA once his career with Real Madrid began in 2013. In July 2015, the Dallas Mavericks ended up signing him to a contract and the 7’2″ center began his NBA career by playing in five preseason games.

He was very active in the paint, with his best game coming against the Cavs in an outing that included six points, eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

He made his regular-season NBA debut on opening night, making him the first Tunisian to play in the league. Since then, he has not seen much time. From Oct. 29 to Jan. 12, he played in three games for a total of 18 minutes and never scored.

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However, his fortunes have changed as of late. He’s only played in two games in the month of January, but his production in both has made it seem like he could be a viable option.

On Jan. 13, Mejri played 25 minutes against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Rick Carlisle opted to rest the Mavs’ starters that night, meaning the bench was going to play a huge role in the game. His five dunks led him to 17 points in the game. He also added nine rebounds, an assist and a block.

Just nine days later, he appeared against the Thunder again. This time, the circumstances were a little different. There was roughly eight minutes left and the Mavs were down by double-digits.

He made his mark immediately, blocking a Russell Westbrook drive in the lane and meeting Kevin Durant with a block at the rim. Then, Mejri went on to add five points and a rebound in just eight minutes of action as the Mavs fell short in their comeback attempt. After the game, he dropped a pretty epic quote.

It’s never easy transitioning from country to country to play professional basketball and Mejri still has a lot to learn. For example, there are still times whenever he catches the ball under the basket and hesitates instead of using his incredible size to overpower his opponents.

Despite that, Mejri has showed some enticing abilities in the two games mentioned above. The Mavs are used to having a tall, slim center as Tyson Chandler played on the team twice in the past five seasons. Mejri has a similar skill set in terms of blocking shots and holding out in the lane.

There is one thing he seems to have that Chandler never had though. He’s only shown it to us a few times this season but Mejri is decent at driving the lane. He’s done it a few times on dunks and layups and it looks very natural for a player that is almost always the tallest player on the court.

Though Mejri is inactive most nights, it’s time for him to get some more playing time. The Mavs are thin at center as it is, with Zaza Pachulia carrying the main load and Dwight Powell and JaVale McGee sharing the rest of the minutes there.

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In his last two games, he has proved that he can be dangerous and that’s something the Mavs should take note of. He’s shown that he can handle the pressure in late game situations, which is something that many rookies struggle with.

Salah Mejri is a very intriguing option for the Mavs to explore and it’s definitely time for him to see the court more often.