Antonious Cleveland attempts to give the Mavericks some needed depth

Antonius Cleveland played in just six games with the Dallas Mavericks in the 2019-20 season, working as a two-way contract player with the Texas Legends. Those were mainly garbage time minutes for the guard-slash-forward; Cleveland spent most of his time this year with the Legends.

Where were they before the break?

In 36 games with the Legends, Cleveland scored 14.4 points on 49 percent shooting from the floor while grabbing seven rebounds a game, and just over one and a half steals. For years, Cleveland’s made an impact in Summer League and the G-League with how hard he plays. While only 6’5, he’s a physical player who attacks relentlessly.

Unfortunately, his outside shot this season has been fairly poor, as he’s shooting under 30 percent from distance on limited volume.

Key stat to know

26. That’s how old Cleveland is. Given the broader timeline of the Mavericks, signing Cleveland to a two-way contract was an interesting choice. Of course, given how many players they are developing on the Maverick roster, it’s understandable that they simply wanted to give a contract to a hard working player hoping to stick it out in the NBA.

Outlook for Orlando

That both he and Josh Reaves are even there speaks to some of the challenge the Mavericks have in terms of roster depth. Considering injuries, players opting out, and players who are simply not there (looking at you Michael Kidd-Gilchrist), there’s an outside chance that Cleveland sees the floor some. Carlisle tends to prefer players he’s familiar with and this is Cleveland’s second stint in Dallas following a 13 game segment in 2017-18.

It’s unlikely of course but in a strange season what’s one more odd thing to view while watching basketball.