Mavs Full Court Press

Where's our old pal Nick?

In case you missed it, Mavs second-round pick Nick Fazekas, who was waived in the aftermath of the Jason Kidd trade, agreed to a 10-day contract with the LA Clippers on Wednesday. Fazekas played Friday night in a 110-104 loss to Denver and had an assist and an offensive rebound in a career-high four minutes of action. Way to go, Slick Nick!

Updated: Fazekas played four minutes, 39 seconds Saturday night in a 103-73 loss to the Pistons, but he did not match the lofty standards of his previous performance. Fazekas had just a turnover and a foul to show for all his hard work.

-- garza, mavs lite

Life at the end of the bench

Limbo is often the state of existence for an end-of-the-bencher kind of guy like Mavs guard J.J. Barea. Will he be active and put on the uniform tonight? Will he be inactive and be resigned to a sport coat?

Or, will he be assigned to the D-League team in Tulsa like teammate Moe Ager was last week. That's certainly not where he wants to be.

"Right now [he'll] keep practicing with the team because he's our third point guard and there are times in practice where we need him here, especially with us having two guys in the developmental league right now," coach Avery Johnson said, noting Ager and rookie Nick Fazekas.

"It's more beneficial for [J.J.] to be here now. That could change down the road."

Gulp. But such is life trying to make in the NBA. Barea really helped this team out earlier in the year through some injuries and other things. He even started four games early on, and came off the bench in a couple of games to provide a spark during that lackluster period the Mavs struggled through.

As for Fazekas and Ager, Johnson didn't have much to say about either one, other than to give them time, play some games and then the coaching staff will evaluate their progress.

-- Jeff Caplan

 

Fazekas gets company

Second-year guard Moe Ager was assigned to Tulsa, the Mavs' affiliate in the NBDL on Monday. Ager just hasn't been able to crack Avery Johnson's lineup, not with the glut of shooting guards on this team.

Johnson tried starting Ager earlier in the season, but the five-experiment didn't get past three.

So Moe will get some playing time in Tulsa and try to make it back. But, realisitically, with Devean George barely able to scratch out any time, it's going to be tough for Ager.

-- Jeff Caplan