Morez Johnson Jr. finally looked like the player the Mavericks expected when they took him No. 9 overall.
After a rough opening stretch in which shin splints limited his conditioning in training camp and left him short of peak form, Johnson put together his best NBA showing yet on Friday. Christian Clark of The Athletic reported that the former Michigan standout turned in a strong two-way effort in Dallas’ 12-point win, finishing with a career-high 17 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive end, along with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, one steal and one block. He was also plus-20 in 24 minutes after having grabbed six or fewer boards in each of his first eight games.
The play that summed up the night came in transition, when Johnson finished a one-handed lob dunk.
“ I’m back, man,” Johnson said with a smile (YouTube link via Dallas Sports Journal). “ I’m right here.
See that lob? I wasn’t doing that two weeks ago.”
Clark noted that head coach Dusty May had acknowledged Johnson was “frustrated” by the slow start, but both believe the big man is past the shin problem.
“ I think he’s relieved to get back in the flow of playing,” May said. “ He has to continue to take care of his body, but he looks great. This is the guy who I think we’ll see regularly.”
Elsewhere in the Southwest, Victor Wembanyama’s latest monster outing drew plenty of praise from inside the Spurs locker room. Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News wrote that teammates and head coach Mitch Johnson lauded the star center for how he manages his body after his 52-point, 24-rebound, eight-block game on Wednesday. Wembanyama has been playing through an illness, and he also rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter of the win over Dallas after stepping on Walter Clayton’s foot.
“ He’s Superman,” guard Dylan Harper said. “ He rolls his ankle and pops right up and acts like nothing happened.
I’ve never seen nothing like that, but that’s just a testament to how he takes care of his body, how he focuses on his mobility, treatment, all that. So he’s able to do things like that.
”
Johnson said San Antonio puts a premium on health and wellness as soon as it brings in a player. The Spurs are 7-2 after Friday’s win at Sacramento.
In New Orleans, first-year Pelicans coach Jamahl Mosley opened up in a wide-ranging conversation with Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
Mosley talked about his time with the Magic, including being fired by Orlando in May, and explained why he chose to join the Pelicans after “flirting” with the idea of taking a year away from coaching. He also discussed building trust with players, especially Zion Williamson, and what it would mean to help New Orleans get back on track.
The Pelicans are 4-5 after dropping their first four games.
And in Houston, the Rockets sent second-round pick Bruce Thornton to their G League affiliate on Thursday before the Rio Grande Valley Vipers’ season opener, according to Larchard Binkley of TheDreamShake.com (via Twitter). The former Ohio State standout has not been part of Houston’s rotation so far in 2026/27.