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Dallas Mavericks: Samuel Dalembert vs Salah Mejri

By Isaac Harris

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With three games left in the preseason, could the Dallas Mavericks only have one battle on their hands for the final spot on the roster?

Coming into training camp, the Mavericks found themselves with many roster questions surrounding the overall makeup, but nothing is up for grabs more than the center position.

In every game of the preseason, we have seen Zaza Pachulia start and produce rather solidly at the center position for the Mavs. It seems that ever since day 1 of training camp that Pachulia would be getting the first crack at starting next to Dirk.

JaVale McGee is who many Mavs fans have high hopes for, but still has been troubled by injury and unable to get healthy enough to hit the court. Even though McGee has yet to be cleared, his roster spot seems to be locked in for the season.

Oct 6, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Samuel Dalembert (24) dunks during the first half against the Denver Nuggets at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Then we come to the Haitian big man Samuel Dalembert and his role with the team. With Dalembert knowing the ropes from being a Maverick a few years ago, he was brought back on a cheap one year deal to try to prove to the Mavericks he deserves a spot on the roster.

But could his roster spot be challenged by one of the partial guaranteed contracts?

Ever since the day the Mavericks signed Maurice Ndour I have been very vocal about his chances of making the roster. Now after a mediocre preseason and the latest news of a stress reaction in his left leg, his roster chances could be in jeopardy.

Enter Salah Mejri.

The only one of the partial guaranteed contracts brought in for camp that hadn’t seen any court time before the preseason game in Tulsa was Salah Mejri. Nursing an injury to his leg from international ball over the summer, Mavs fans had yet to see what the Tunisian big man could bring to the table.

Against OKC, Mejri registered right at 12 minutes with four points and five rebounds. Facing Atlanta at home on Friday, he logged almost 20 minutes with two points, eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Even though the stat sheet doesn’t pop out to you, he introduced himself to the Dallas fans Friday night with his athletic defensive presence.

So could the 29-year-old big man from Tunisia challenge Samuel Dalembert’s roster spot on the team?

For the sake of a 15 man roster breakdown, the starting five (including Zaza) are locks.

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The three guards of Harris, Barea, and Felton are locks as previously mentioned by Rick Carlisle.

The two impressive young vets of Evans and Jenkins are locked as rotational players off the bench.

The Flame Thrower is back to launch it and first round pick Justin Anderson right behind him.

Javale McGee is intriguing, but considered by most to be a lock on this team.

One that I personally question is Dwight Powell, but as long as he don’t play his way out of a roster spot this week, he should be a lock.

This leaves one spot for Samuel Dalambert and the ‘fab five’ of partial guaranteed players fight for one spot. In my opinion, this is a two-headed race between Dalembert and Mejri for that last spot.

Samuel Dalembert is Samuel Dalembert, the definition of mediocrity. Yes, he knows the system. Yes, he helped the Mavs push the eventual champion Spurs to 7 games in the first round. But why not try for more?

Salah Mejri is a older, smarter JaVale McGee-type of player. He possesses top-notch weak side rim protection while being able to catch lob passes and finish at the rim. For a guy standing at 7’1″, Mejri also moves rather quickly for a man of his stature.

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    • Now considering all of that, he obviously has his weaknesses. His free throw shooting and jump shot is well below average. His adjustment to the NBA style of basketball is bringing out nerves in the big fella, but he should tame them over time.

    If Mejri makes the roster, he could very well be our best defender, and maybe rebounder, in the paint this season. If Dalembert makes the roster, I don’t know of anything you could say he would be the best at.

    I really believe Salah Mejri has the potential to turn into a serviceable big man for the Dallas Mavericks, the question is, do the Mavericks feel the same way?

    So with three preseason games remaining, who will win the battle for this final roster spot?

    Next: Deron Williams to Miss All of Preseason

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