JaVale McGee made his Dallas Mavericks debut in late November and at that point it seemed like he would become a regular part of the rotation and be a regular contributor but that has not happened. McGee's minutes have been sporadic and he has been a DNP- coaches decision on a few different occasions since returning but head coach Rick Carlisle believes that he will eventually play a big role for the Mavericks, according to Eddie Sefco of the Dallas Morning News.
McGee was recovering from a leg injury that has cost him a lot of time the past couple of seasons before finally returning on November 22nd. Since getting back on the floor McGee has appeared in eight games but he has only played 10 minutes per game and hasn't really had enough time to make a consistent impact. McGee though, did have his best game of the season on Friday night against the Memphis Grizzlies as he had 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks and he appears to be getting close to being 100 percent.
Carlisle still doesn't believe McGee is at 100 percent as he is not cleared for back-to-backs yet and he still doesn't have the full athleticism back. Carlisle believes it's because he didn't have a full training camp or preseason but he did say that at some point he envisions McGee being a bigger part of the team.
"At some point, he'll be more involved. I'm pretty sure of that," said Carlisle.
As of right now Carlisle has decided to use McGee more based on matchup as he doesn't want to over exert the center right now but he feels that as time passes he can use him more consistently. McGee's conditioning seems to be the issue right now but that is to be expected as he came back during a time when the NBA schedule is extremely busy and the Mavericks haven't had much practice time.
When McGee does get his conditioning back in order it seems like he will have a big role off the bench and that shouldn't come as a surprise. Carlisle has been high on McGee since the Mavericks signed him and he brings things to the table that nobody else on the Mavericks does including athleticism and rim protection. Friday night's game seems to be an indication that McGee is getting there as he played a season high 18 minutes so expect those minutes to continue to creep up in the near future.
