MAVS NEWS:

[BigDirk41]

I think a lot of our troubles with him out this season was because Lively and Maxi were also out.  Its tough to win games when most of your frontcourt is injured and your star player is struggling.

I think Naji is the closest we have to PJ.  They have a lot of similarities but Naji does not have the defensive interior presence that PJ does.  For that the only option I see right now is Maxi (when healthy). 

I don't see Omax playing a significant role this season.  We are almost 20 games into the season with multiple injuries at his position, and he has yet to record a 3 pointer or a block this season.  Now that everybody is healthy, I think he would be better served playing in the G league for another year.

I don't think Omax will ever play a significant role for the Mavs. I have never seen him possess the IT factory when I watch him. He's a freak athlete, but he's not a freak basketball player. I agree that Naji is the closest we have to PJ on the team, but there is clearly only one PJ. He's a difference maker and an All NBA defense level player. Maxi can't play any kind of extended minutes at this point in his career. He's still skilled, but fragile as glass. We really need PJ to stay healthy. This team won't compete for a championship without a healthy PJ and healthy team as far as that goes.