What Anderson's D-League Dominance Means for Dallas
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Dallas' rookie, Justin Anderson, has not seen the NBA court much this season, but that hasn't kept him from dominating.
The Mavericks are known to send their young players to their D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends. This gives the individuals a chance to prove their worth and gain experience while allowing the organization a chance to see what they are capable of against a lower level of competition. If a player can light up the stat sheet in the D-League, then they are usually able to at least contribute to an NBA team.
In previous years, Dallas has sent players such as JJ Barea, Dominique Jones, Ricky Ledo, Jae Crowder, Shane Larkin, Bernard James, among others. The undrafted Barea was a beast as he averaged 27.3 points and 7.8 assists in the 2006-2007 season for the Fort Worth Flyers. Clearly, JJ's dominance was no fluke, as he has proven to be one of the best off-the-bench sparks for the Mavs for a long time. Currently, little JJ is averaging 10 points and 4.2 assists per game off the bench. He's also proving that he can fill the starter role when need be, scoring a career high 32 points against New Jersey and then 26 points against Chicago while Deron Williams is out with a minor hamstring injury.
On the other hand, we have a late 2nd round pick out of Providence (where he played a grand total of 0 games), Ricky Ledo. Clearly, being picked 43rd overall, there were little expectations from Ledo; but once he hit the D-League, people (including me) thought he could be a solid role player. We were wrong. In his D-League career (63 games), Ledo has averaged about 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists per game, while shooting 33% from outside the arc and 49% from 2. None of this translated to the NBA where he averaged .95 points in 16 games played with Dallas and 7.4 points in 12 games played with the, then lottery bound, Knicks. The Mavericks waived Ledo last season to make room for the Amar'e Stoudemire signing; Ricky was then signed to two 10-day contracts with the Knicks, and then he signed a contract to play exclusively for the Texas Legends. Ledo is currently averaging 21.2 points per game with the Reno Big Horns, but his hopes of making an NBA roster are looking pretty bleak for now.
So now there is Justin Anderson, a 22 year old Rookie out of Virginia who is going back and forth from Frisco to Dallas. With the Mavericks, Anderson is averaging 6.3 minutes while scoring 2.2 points and grabbing 1.1 rebounds per game. In 5 games with the Legends on the other hand, Anderson is basically playing the entire game, scoring 24.2 points, pulling in 4.8 rebounds, and dishing 3.4 assists per game, while shooting 37% from the three point line. Only being a rookie, Justin "Simba" Anderson is clearly too much for the D-League to handle, but can he bring similar production to the NBA? Eventually, yes. Rookies hardly ever flourish in Carlisle's system, but give them one year to learn, and a sophomore in Dallas can be in the regular rotation.
The biggest reason Anderson's game will translate to the NBA, unlike Ledo, is because of his NBA-ready body and pure athleticism. This rook is 6'6, 228 pounds with a nearly 7 foot wingspan and a maximum vertical of 43 freaking inches. Another thing Anderson is that Ledo wasn't and Barea tries to be is an aggressive defender, which is always welcomed on any NBA team. Anderson will continue to be shuffled to and from Frisco this year as Carlisle will need him to prove that he can play the way he has against a lower level of competition continuously at a young age. But mark my words: this D-League dominance is no fluke; Justin Anderson will be one of the biggest contributors to this team for years to come and may even find himself in a position to start one day.
And for your entertainment purposes:
