FanPost

Update on Hammons with the Mavs

Training camp has started in the NBA, so that means that AJ is getting his first real reps with his new team, the Dallas Mavericks. I've been following the Mavs on their SBN site to see if there is any news on AJ and I stumbled upon a fanpost about an open practice that the Mavs streamed. I went ahead and found the the video which is posted on the Mavs facebook page and watched when AJ played. Here are my thoughts from what I observed.

The first thing that stood out to me is that AJ was the centerpiece of their offense when he was out there. Now, I don't mean that in the way that he was the top scorer but I mean that the ball went through AJ. Not only that, but he was very active in setting screens, being patient and making wise passes, and posting up. He was constantly talking to his teammates and never seemed tired or disengaged. The best part was the player he seemed to have the best chemistry with was JJ Barea who is one of the regulars on the Mavs roster. JJ caught AJ for an alleyoop that was beautiful but AJ was fouled on the play. It's a good sign that AJ is working well with the guys that will be playing major minutes during the regular season. Oh, and I forgot to mention that he swished one of his signature hook shots. The only thing I would say he needs to work on offensively is looking for his shot more often. He looked to pass right away many times when he could have gotten a good shot in the post.

Now on to defense. AJ had two blocks including a blocked dunk. As Purdue fans who had the pleasure of watching AJ for 4 years, this comes to no surprise. The blocks weren't the most encouraging thing I saw though. AJ was talking and pointing guys out when they were getting back on defense which I'm sure the credit of that should go to Matt Painter. AJ will need to harness those traits if he wants to be a defensive anchor in the NBA. Lastly, he did alright at being active on the perimeter and closing out on guys. He still isn't a strong perimeter defender but he was active and was putting forth a lot of effort in that department.

Probably the best part of the whole thing is it looks like AJ is having no trouble fitting in. He was laughing on the bench with the guys (this was a fun event for the guys and fans) and seemed to have good chemistry with the guys on the court. He seemed to be enjoying himself in the game and was really working at what he was doing. He seems to have landed in a good spot which really makes me happy. He has one of the best coaches in the league in Rick Carlisle and a fantastic mentor out of Dirk. I'm excited that AJ is in such a good place.

Of course this was just an open practice so it obviously isn't the same as a game, but AJ seems to be gelling with this team well and is getting into a groove. We all know how good AJ can be when he gets comfortable, so I'm still firmly in the opinion that the Mavs got the steal of the draft this year.

If you want to watch the open practice you can find it here and you need to fast forward through a bunch of promotional stuff. If you are a basketball junkie or just want to see AJ play, I highly recommend it.

Items in the FanPosts are entirely at the discretion of those that post them. They do not represent the views of Hammer & Rails, SBNation, or Purdue University in any way.