Over the weekend, the Dallas Mavericks' growing injury problem turned into a nightmare.
Heading into last Saturday afternoon's game against the Boston Celtics, the Mavs only had two healthy centers in Daniel Gafford and Maxi Kleber. Dereck Lively II went down with a fracture in his ankle in the week prior and Dwight Powell was out due to a hip injury he sustained against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 17.
Dallas had no wiggle room when it came to their options, and the unthinkable happened when Kleber fractured his foot against Boston and Gafford became the only healthy center on the roster. Jason Kidd said that Dallas' nonstop injuries, especially to the bigs, is unlike anything he has ever seen, and the Mavericks didn't take too long to go sign a backup center to play behind Gafford until Powell, Kleber, or Lively II gets healthy.
On Sunday evening, Dallas waived Jazian Gortman and signed Kylor Kelley to a two-way deal. Kelley was a standout rim protector and rim roller in the G League for the South Bay Lakers, and he made his debut for Dallas on Monday night against the Washington Wizards.
Kelley's communication is already standing out in Dallas
Kelley finished with one point and four rebounds in his eight minutes of action in the fourth quarter, and he nearly threw down a wild alley-oop slam off of a pass from Jaden Hardy. He showed that he can at least give Dallas some decent minutes when Gafford is off the floor, and his size is intriguing, to say the least. His 7-foot frame and 7-foot-3 wingspan should force opponents to think twice before attacking the rim, and Kidd had some positive things to say about the 27-year-old big after the win over Washington.
Kidd thought that Kelley was solid in his minutes, and was specifically impressed with his "activity and talk."
"He was vocal," Kidd said about Kelley. "For someone just to get here, his voice could be heard on the floor and that’s a great sign for a newcomer."
Talking on defense is one of the most important things for a center, and Kelley catching Kidd's eye by doing this in his NBA debut is a great sign. Lively II's communication and leadership on defense have turned him into the anchor of Dallas' defense in only his second year, and Kelley has a great chance to learn under Lively II and take a page from his book when it comes to the right way to anchor the Mavericks' defense when he is in the game.
Kelley being vocal in his first game should help him become a more effective defender in Dallas' system since their scheme is all about switching, effort, and communication, and he couldn't ask for a better situation to step into right away. He is getting a shot to play for a contender who happens to be extremely thin at center, and productive minutes in his limited opportunities could
