Sergio de Larrea Is Making a Strong First Impression with Mavs

Two games into the preseason, the Mavericks have learned at least one thing with some confidence. Their 25th overall pick is not overwhelmed.

Sergio de Larrea played 45 minutes across both games against Houston and was the most composed young player on the floor in each of them.

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Friday's debut was the louder of the two. De Larrea finished with 11 points and six assists in 23 minutes against a Rockets team with Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Fred VanVleet all available. That was a real test for a rookie and he logged more minutes than anyone on the roster in a 135-117 loss.

The four turnovers were the blemish and they were predictable. Houston pressures the ball as hard as anyone in the league and physicality against ball handlers was identified as his primary developmental hurdle before he ever arrived. Those nights will keep happening.

Sunday was the better all-around performance, even with quieter counting stats. De Larrea had nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals on 3-of-7 shooting in 22 minutes of Dallas' 132-115 win, finishing plus-34, the best mark of anyone on either team. Houston did rest Durant and Sengun for the rematch, so the number came against a thinner rotation, but a plus-34 in a player's second NBA game is impressive regardless of who is on the floor.

The fourth quarter was where it crystallized. In that period alone, he put up four points, four rebounds and four assists, setting up a Tobi Lawal alley-oop, a Seth Lundy 3-pointer and a Tarik Biberović layup that pushed the lead to 132-113 with 23 seconds left.

Dusty May spoke about him at length during his pregame availability Sunday, calling him incredibly valuable and pointing to a competitive spirit that shows up most when games begin. May compared him to Cooper Flagg in one specific way, saying both look sharper in live action than they do in practice. He also acknowledged the gaps that come with being 20 while noting the rookie is working at them daily.

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Those gaps are worth being honest about. De Larrea will have rough nights. The turnovers will resurface, bigger guards will bother him and there will be stretches when the speed of NBA defenses takes something away from him. That is the cost of putting a 20-year-old in a rotation.

The patience is what makes it tolerable. He does not rush possessions, rarely forces anything and processes the floor at a level rookie guards almost never reach. Four seasons of professional basketball in Spain explain much of that.

What matters most is the opportunity in front of him. The guard room behind Kyrie Irving is thin, Marcus Sasser missed both games with left adductor soreness and Dallas will need somebody capable of running an offense when Irving rests. De Larrea just spent a weekend making the case that he can be that person sooner than expected.