Dallas guard Gal Mekel will move to D-League to continue rehab

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/02/28/5611675/mavericks-notes-team-impressed.html?rh=1#storylink=cpyThe Dallas Mavericks lost to the Chicago Bulls on Friday by the score of 100-91. The loss dropped the Mavericks to 36-24, third in the Southwest Division. With the disappointment of the loss came some good news on rookie guard Gal Mekel, who last played on January 13 against the Orlando Magic. Pkantz via Wikimedia CommonsAs reported by Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram, Mekel went through his first full practice since right knee surgery on January 17.  Head coach Rick Carlisle said that when Mekel is ready for game action, he'll spend some time playing for the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League. The Mavericks have struggled with injuries all season, yet at still 12 games above .500.  But Carlisle is well aware that having a deep bench is the key to overcoming injuries that are bound to occur of the course of an 82-game season. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve had a deep team and we’ve got guys that can step up. In the case of the last couple of years, we’ve had younger guys that had to step up in those spots, and that’s challenging for them and challenging for us.”Mekel, the 25-year old from Israel, played his college ball at Wichita State. Mekel has had limited playing time his rookie season. In 30 games, Mekel is averaging 2.4 points on only 34.5 percent shooting, in just 9.6 minutes per game. When Mekel returns, he'll have to fight for playing time with Shane Larkin and Devin Harris, behind Jose Calderon.