Shaqtin' A Fool = Javale McGee.
This is probably what most NBA fans are thinking. Maybe that will change in his young career with Dallas Mavericks.
The 7'2" center returned to the game almost one-year after getting injured while with Denver Nuggets. It was a good debut for him with the Mavs although they lost to Oklahoma City Thunder. He scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in limited minutes.
The performance of JaVale McGee, who has career averages of 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 19.9 minutes, didn't go unnoticed to his coaches and new teammates. They even think there is a lot of upside from him.
"He can be a big factor, there's no doubt about that, with his length and skill level and ability to affect shots defensively," coach Rick Carlisle said as per Star Telegram. "He's got a chance to be a guy that can really help us."
Guard Devin Harris also thinks they will get a lot from him on defensive standpoint although McGee is still working on his feel for the game.
"He's got a good feel on how to roll and find the open spots, and he was active on the boards," guard Devin Harris said. "It's still a work in progress as far as what we want defensively, but I think offensively he's got a good feel for what we want.
"He's definitely going to be somebody we're looking at to protect the rim. He's got a good feel on how to body-up on guys and he'll get more of a feel for the game because he hasn't played for a year-and-a-half."
It was a tough road for Javale McGee, a 'Shaqtin' a Fool' favorite. He suffered a stress fracture in his left tibia in 2013 while still with Dnver Nuggets and hardly returned to the game since then. Denver then decided to trade him to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the rights to Cenk Akyol. He played only six games for the Sixers and then waived in March 1 this year.
During these times, JaVale McGee thought he will not be able to play again.
"It was extremely frustrating not knowing if I was ever going to play again," McGee said Monday. "It was to that point when I got bought out by Philly, just because we just didn't know what to expect and things were taking a while."
With Dallas Mavericks a serious NBA title contender, will Javale McGee flourish and shake off his 'Shaqtin' a Fool' image?
