# Reports on Maurice Ager's First Game



## StackAttack (Mar 15, 2006)

Ahhhh, Ager was a beast tonight, 23 points, nine rebounds (from a guard!), two assists, and a steal, including a huge three with 2:15 to go to put the Mavs up by one and in the lead for good. Mavs went on to win 89-85.

"That's the only way I know how to play in the fourth quarter when the game's on the line," Ager said. "I'm just thankful to be here. I love the way the Mavericks play. It's been a great day."

Josh Powell was supposedly a monster as well, including a three pointer. I had no idea that was part of his repotoire.

Scouting reports from some dallas-mavs.com posters:

mavsjunkie: 
"I just got back from the game of Mavericks spares vs. Nigeria, and here are my impressions of what I saw.

First off, Pavol is not gonna make it in this league.. He's foul prone to a spare Nigerian team, and he's really slow.

R. Marshall was okay, he's just a body IMO, he needs more work.

Josh Powell was a monster IMO. He was very good, had good defense great rebounding and had a 3 pointer.

Mo Ager, was fantastic. This guy was fast and got to the bucket with ease, and was a great finisher. He could handle the ball pretty good, and his 3 point shot was outstanding. He scored 23 points tonight, and he was almost a man amongst boys.

His defense seemed solid as well, and yeah he made a couple of mistakes, but his passes on the fast break were outstanding IMO.

All in all, I think Ager/Terry/Howard/Dirk/Damp on the floor will be some outstanding basketball. And when Devin comes in for Terry, it's going to be a fast fast fast team."

dude1394:
"I also just got back from the game. Here's what I saw.

- Pavel is a bust man. Not only as above foul prone but he isn't that strong. He's tall however and made it tough on a few guys inside. But the guy took him all of 10 feet outside and shot over him all night. The only thing that I will say about him is that he sort of seemed to show a little bit of a nasty streak, at least I thought his fourth foul came on a pretty intentional elbow to some guy. He doesn't even set a good pick, a bust imo.

- Josh Powell was really, really active and was over the rim all night long. Nice thing about him was that he let the game come to him, took his shots when he was open, set good nba picks, rebounded and contested defensively really well. He seemed the most mature player out there.

- Rawle Marshall looked like a rookie forcing up a bunch of stuff, throwing up junk at the rim and basically looking like an undrafted player. He won't be on the roster this year imo.

- A guy name Segena', Sagana' something I liked a lot. He was taller than Powell but he moved really well, he and josh were pretty studly in there and the Nigerians have some pretty hefty dudes imo. Their strengths I thought were there size inside.

- Mo had one pretty bad streak sandwiched between two really good ones. In the first period he looked like the most senior guy on the court. He was really court aware, hit his shots and got some really nice assists. He was really under control.

Then the bad period occurred where he seemed to force a little too much especially around the basket against as I said some pretty stout inside guys. I'm not sure he finised a basket in the second quarter. He also started missing some shots as he looked gassed.
In the fourth he pretty much put the game away in a few ways. Grabbed a rebound and pushed it up the court for a few assists to the big guy and hit a couple of 3s that iced it.

His shot: Really nice shooter it appears. He was taking NBA 3ptrs and hitting them. He will be a most excellent spot up shooter from anywhere. He had one at the end of the first half I think that was a step inside of half court and he just took a shot, not really a running fling but pretty much a jump shot. He's got plenty of range.

His ball-handling is much better than Mike Finley's imo, there were a few times when he stopped his dribble and got into trouble but he seemed to learn how they were doubling out on him and fixed it.

Really, really good team player.

IMO...He'll get some time this year. He's not as big as griffin for sure but he's a lot better offensively and aggressive.

Defensively...he got an incomplete from me. I didn't see much that looked exceptional. He looked like more of an offensive guy to me than defensive.

DJBenga made an appearance on the sideline which was pretty cool. The bottom bowl of the arena was about 2/3's full.

So Mo, Josh, the #40(segala or something) look like players. Everyone else, maybe next year. Rawle was really pretty dissappointing to me. I don't think he seems to have enough poise about him."

So the consensus is: Rawle and Pavel are busts, this #40 guy has something to him, and Powell and Ager are beasts. Apparently Pittsnogle and whoever else are slated to be in the Las Vegas Summer League, not this one, despite what I heard come straight out of Donnie Nelson's mouth on ESPN Radio. Terrific night for the future of Dallas Mavericks basketball. I'll try to get details on the next Summer League game as fast as I can, hopefully I can be at that one.

EDIT: Apparently this was the only exhibition game, the rest are in the Las Vegas league and Rocky Mountain revue, kinda sucks, I hope there's another one around here.


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## Jet (Jul 1, 2005)

This is great news, not only about Ager but everyone.. not what I expected from Rawle though..well, not what I wanted to see, lol


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## Saint Baller (May 3, 2006)

Expect minutes from our 1 years and rookies next year


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## StackAttack (Mar 15, 2006)

Something interesting...

http://www.spartantailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192931

Spartans fans are scoffing at talk of Ager being a strong defender...kind of interesting...


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## StackAttack (Mar 15, 2006)

Another report, by chumdawg:

"Just got back from the game (and dinner) myself. My thoughts echo much of the above. Dude, you and I saw a lot of the same things. Let's see...

#40 - Yeah, I want to know this guy's name, too. The first half I thought he was the best player on the floor. Outstanding leaper, pretty quick feet, and a nose for the basketball on defense. Aggressive, aggressive, aggressive. He blocked a couple shots, and he was out there blocking shots after the foul calls, too. He's got an eye on protecting that basket at all costs. And I was also struck by how strong he looked defending the post. He didn't give up any ground.

Also had a sweet turnaround jumper in the post, and another couple nice plays on offense. I think he had two and-one's, and made the free throws smoothly both times. The guy behind me said, "He looks like a young Kevin Garnett" when he was on the free throw line. I think he meant he literally looked like him, physically.

I kept trying to figure out how tall he is. Yes, he looks a bit taller than Powell. But he was jumping out and defending his man on the perimeter at times, and he looked like a small forward then. Really intriguing player. Doubt there is room for him on the Mavs, but I'm going to keep my eye out for him.

Pavel - Ugh. This game gave me a sick, sick feeling. He doesn't like he has progressed one bit since I last saw him play. I think what stood out the most tonight was his terrible rebounding. The young man just simply doesn't jump much at all. He was getting his hands on rebounds, and other players were easily knocking them out of his hands. Doesn't seem to block out well, either.

He did have one really nice possession where he blocked a shot out of bounds and then blocked another one when play resumed. That started a break that he finished with a thunderous slam (still, he didn't have to leap much). Yeah, I noticed the nasty streak, too. But mostly I was thinking he looked like an angry young man. There didn't seem to be any fire in his play between the whistles.

Still and all, it was obvious how the Nigerians did not want to take the ball inside when he was in the game. He was a strong deterrent, if nothing else. But if tonight's game is any indication, I can't see him logging many minutes this year.

Marshall - I don't know that we saw a whole lot, one way or the other. His length and quickness were on display when he made a nice steal and ran out for the dunk. He also played the point a couple times. But on the whole, not enough to form any strong impressions here.

Powell - Very pleased with what I saw. Love the aggressiveness on the offensive boards, and the ability to put it back. Nice to see him make that three-pointer. Yes, I agree that he looked like the most mature player on the floor. I'm expecting him to continue to improve, and I hope he gets enough playing time to do so.

Ager - I wasn't very impressed before the late part of the fourth. I was watching for the keen defense, and couldn't find it anywhere. One time he got juked at least three feet (on a nasty crossover by the Nigerian National point guard). I was thinking: Oh, my goodness, wait until someone like Kobe or Wade gets hold of him.

Even by the end of the game, I didn't see anything very impressive on defense. But you never know about these kinds of games. I will say that he seemed alert on that side of the ball, even directing teammates around on occasion.

The passing on the break stood out for sure. But it wasn't on the finishing end. He had at least two, and maybe three, long pinpoint passes that found a man for an easy basket. He did also have one terrific play where he stole the ball in the corner (after they had made a defensive rebound), drove baseline, then found Powell coming down the lane with almost a no-look pass. Powell dunked ferociously, and the crowd was merry. That was the play of the night, I thought.

He did force things at times. He tried a hard spin dribble at the top of the key that he lost as he made the move. (I think a teammate grabbed it, though.) Had his pocket picket a time or two. A little too careless with the ball for my liking. I can probably understand, though. Our point guards didn't seem at all interested in getting him the ball.

His form didn't look good at all on the two or three long turnaround jumpers he attempted. But when he was able to spot up and catch-and-shoot, he swished two or three of them. The back-to-back threes late in the fourth were very nice. If I'm not mistaken, the first one (to go ahead 81-80) was a pullup jumper with his man in front of him. The other was a catch-and-shoot, I think. Both found the center of the net, and it was especially encouraging to see his best shooting come in the clutch.

He showed a powerful quick first step another time or two, particularly (again) late in the fourth quarter where he blew by his man and finished at the rim. He looked a whole lot stronger going to his right than to his left, though. They bottled him up on the perimeter pretty handily when he moved left.

I thought it was a pretty heady play he made at the end of the first half. The Mavs were inbounding from their baseline with 1.9 left. He let the ball bounce and followed it up the floor. A defender began to come, but he coolly waited until the last possible second, picked it up and took a couple dribbles, and got off the half-court jumper as Dude describes. I like to see that awareness and cool.

On the whole, though, I'd have to say that considering the circumstances I came away a bit less than wholly impressed. I remember watching Devin's first game, at SMU against the Chinese nationals, and being dazzled by two or three tremendously athletic plays. Ager didn't do anything so outstanding. But he did have a solid performance. It will be interesting to see how much playing time he gets this year. Depending what we do in free agency, I could see him having "zero" chance, as Donnie put it before the draft, of having any impact this year.

He does wear a headband, though, so you never know."

This one's pretty negative about Ager's play.


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## Seed (Jun 29, 2005)

I don't care if he isn't great defensively, an average defender would be fine but we need a shooter that can spot-up.


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## SMDre (Jan 28, 2005)

StackAttack said:


> Something interesting...
> 
> http://www.spartantailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192931
> 
> Spartans fans are scoffing at talk of Ager being a strong defender...kind of interesting...


Don't know much about Ager's defensive skills, but I myself thought that the "Wade-Stopper" stuff was overboard by alot of reporters.


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## mrbeaubo (Jun 30, 2006)

Was at the game:

#40 was the best player out there tonight I think. Somebody get his name!!!

Powell looked good, seemed to take things slow and play good team ball.

Ager was good but seemed a bit selfish at times, feeling that first round pick. As soon as someone legit gets in there against him I think we'll see his real ball.

PAVEL - Not good, BUT DONT WRITE HIM OFF!!!! The guy is 7-5 and 20 years old. He showed no emotion and still moved about as good as Shawn Bradley ever did.... Give him time.

Was NOT impressed with Brian Hopkins at all.


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## SMDre (Jan 28, 2005)

mrbeaubo said:


> Was at the game:
> 
> #40 was the best player out there tonight I think. Somebody get his name!!!


I believe that it's Pops Mensah-Bonsu.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

SMDre said:


> Don't know much about Ager's defensive skills, but I myself thought that the "Wade-Stopper" stuff was overboard by alot of reporters.


You're absolutely right, we can't expect a rookie to stop one of the best players in the league. 

I really don't care much about this exhibition game or the Summer League, both has nothing to do with the style of the NBA, but thanks for posting.


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## StackAttack (Mar 15, 2006)

croco said:


> You're absolutely right, we can't expect a rookie to stop one of the best players in the league.
> 
> I really don't care much about this exhibition game or the Summer League, both has nothing to do with the style of the NBA, but thanks for posting.


Nor do we, just curious about watching the newest Mav play some ball.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

StackAttack said:


> Nor do we, just curious about watching the newest Mav play some ball.


I know.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

A pic from this game.


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## StackAttack (Mar 15, 2006)

Nice! Where'd you get that? The Telegram?


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

SMDre said:


> I believe that it's Pops Mensah-Bonsu.


Who I said we should've drafted second. :curse: I've been saying that for two years!


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

After reading all thoese reports, the thing that jumped out was the common disappointment in Pavel.

I suppose that wasn't too big a surprise....


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

StackAttack said:


> Nice! Where'd you get that? The Telegram?


Yes Sir -> http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/basketball/nba/dallas_mavericks/14952885.htm


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## 08bryant24 (Jun 28, 2006)

SMDre said:


> Don't know much about Ager's defensive skills, but I myself thought that the "Wade-Stopper" stuff was overboard by alot of reporters.


WADESTOPPER???
OVERRATED

It's difficult to stop Wade and i doubt a rookie would b able to do that
his defense is exeptional 
but he has a great shooting ability


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

08bryant24 said:


> WADESTOPPER???
> OVERRATED
> 
> It's difficult to stop Wade and i doubt a rookie would b able to do that
> ...


 He's probably referring to when Wade was at Marquette.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

edwardcyh said:


> After reading all thoese reports, the thing that jumped out was the common disappointment in Pavel.
> 
> I suppose that wasn't too big a surprise....


Yeah, it's always a bad sign when the* project * you draft has to have *brain surgery * before he can *warm the bench*.

I'm sure he's a good kid, but he probably should be making a living in Europe or somewhere.


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## StackAttack (Mar 15, 2006)

The worst part about Pavel is he was a pretty high pick...


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## Seed (Jun 29, 2005)

couldn't we have gotten Varejo in that draft?


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## StackAttack (Mar 15, 2006)

Yep, Pavel was 20th or 21st I think and Varejao was 2nd round 1st pick. Off the top of my head, if someone wants to look it up and correct me that's cool.


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