Gal Mekel played 23 minutes off the bench against the Rockets on Friday, scoring 11 points with one board, six assists and one 3-pointer on 5-of-7 shooting.

Another positive was only one turnover, which has been a serious problem for the rookie. Mekel is a lot of fun to watch and he's taking advantage of the headstart to lock down the backup role while Shane Larkin (ankle) is out. He's sneaky handcuff to Jose Calderon in very, very deep leagues.

Gal Mekel started at point guard for the Mavericks again on Wednesday and had four points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals on 2-of-9 shooting in 27 minutes.

He's scored a total of six points on 3-of-14 shooting in his two preseason starts, and Monta Ellis was initiating the offense for much of the night. And once Jose Calderon and Devin Harris are back from their injuries. Mekel will become even more of an afterthought.

Gal Mekel will start at point guard for the Mavericks on Monday night.

He'll fill in for the injured Jose Calderon (hamstring), and with Calderon expected to miss a couple more games, the team will get a good look at Mekel. The rookie put on a show in summer league, putting up eight assists in one half of action. Mekel is creative in getting his teammates the ball, but he still has a lot to develop to be a regular contributor for the Mavs.

Mavericks PG Gal Mekel has withdrawn from the Eurobasket tournament at the team's request.

Mark Cuban has never been eager to let under-contract players compete internationally, and Mekel's absence is a blow to Israel's national team. He enters training camp with a good chance to make the rotation as a backup PG, especially with Shane Larkin recovering from ankle surgery.

Gal Mekel had eight assists in the first half of Tuesday's game against the D-League, finishing with seven points, nine assists and three steals in 32 minutes.

He shot 3-of-4 in the first half, then missed his only two attempts in the second. Mekel was two different players in the two halves with eight of his dimes coming before halftime. He assesses the defense and is a little deliberate in his attack, so he'll likely run a bit of a slower tempo while he's on the floor. Of course, there isn't a big sample size on him just yet. Mekel buried on the depth chart and is a bit of an afterthought for a fantasy pick at this point.