Mavs Christmas Gifts? Holiday Wishes for Luka Doncic & Struggling Dallas

Pro Bowl disrespect, Luka's lousy spell and crappy Christmas commercials, all in this week's DFW sports notebook ...

 WHITT’S END: 12.24.21

Whether you’re at the end of your coffee, your day, your week or even your rope, welcome to Whitt’s End …

*Remember when Luka Doncic was considered a favorite for NBA MVP? Suddenly his season has snowballed South. 

First, he admitted to being out of shape. Then there were knee and ankle injuries, forcing him to miss nine of the team’s last 17 games. And now he’s been moved to the COVID list. 

He’ll likely miss the Christmas night marquee game against the Utah Jazz and won’t be back in basketball shape until … here’s hoping his start of 2022 is better than his end of 2021.

And the Luka Christmas wish? It's that it doesn't become a New Year's resolution ... and then a Valentine's hope .. and then an Easter surprise ...

*Mike McCarthy’s job just got a whole lot easier. The Dallas Cowboys have been disrespected and for the coach it’s the perfect motivational carrot to lead this team into January. On a 10-4 team that has at times flashed both the NFL’s best offense and defense, only five players – Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and punter Bryan Anger – were voted to the Pro Bowl. The 8-6 Colts are sending seven; the 8-6 Chargers six. Last year, of course, the Cowboys had no players selected for the first time since 1989. Personal snubs make for zesty fuel.

*Biggest surprise left out of the Pro Bowl for the Cowboys might be Dak Prescott who, before injuring his calf on Oct. 17, was considered a favorite for MVP. But, in reality, the biggest snub is tight end Dalton Schultz. Confirming that the NFL falls prey to style over substance, Schultz was skipped over for Falcons’ ballyhooed rookie Kyle Pitts. But, why? Schultz has clearly done more with less. Less physical attributes. Less draft hype (he was a fourth-rounder; Pitts went No. 4 overall). And on 13 fewer targets, he’s produced more catches (61-58) and touchdowns (5-1). Granted, Schultz is below average as a blocker. But Pitts has been sub-par as a player. The highest tight end ever drafted, he was supposed to be Atlanta’s unstoppable Red Zone weapon. When Falcons’ No. 1 receiver Calvin Ridley left the team for mental health issues, Pitts’ role should have increased even more. But … one touchdown? While Schultz is one of the most pleasant surprises in a successful Cowboys’ season, Pitts is one of the NFL’s most underwhelming high draft picks. Building a team for the future? Pitts. Rewarding a player for performance in 2021? Schultz.

*I can’t be the only one enthusiastically impressed by the Mavericks’ victory over the Timberwolves this week using guys seemingly signed from the pick-up game down at the local YMCA. Somebody named Theo Pinson, who was signed the day before the game, produced seven points, four rebounds, three assists, one block and four steals in only 22 minutes. Moral to the story: Just play. These days we get so caught up in analytics and tendencies and scouting reports and … just play. As Cowboys’ offensive lineman Blaine Nye famously said of rookie quarterback Clint Longley’s sudden success on Thanksgiving in 1974: “Call it the triumph of an uncluttered mind.”

*Wait, it’s going to be 84 friggin’ degrees on Christmas? Sunscreen in your stocking, anyone? According to this site, Texas ranks seventh in the U.S. in the very subjective area of “holiday spirit.” But sweating to “Sleigh Ride” ain’t gonna help that cause.

*Not if – but when – Connor McGovern catches a touchdown pass this season, you heard it here first. The Cowboys’ offensive lineman was out on a route and wide open in the end zone last week when Prescott hit Schultz. McGovern won’t be the first read, but he’ll be an option.

*Allow me to get my Scrooge on for a moment? K, thanks. The creative advertising team at GMC makes horrible TV commercials. Insultingly horrible. There’s the one where the woman bogarts a black pickup that the husband apparently bought for himself. And the worst one of all, where an impossibly gorgeous couple meandering in the middle of snow-covered terrain trades whistles and … out pops a puppy, followed by a truck. So many questions: When he jumps in her arms, why isn’t the dog covered in snow? Who was holding the dog out of sight and over the hill? How did the dog-handler hear the whistle with a truck running nearby? How did the truck driver hear a whistle with his windows rolled up? And – most importantly – where have the classic Christmas commercials gone … like this one?!

*Hot.

*Not.

*Backup-turned-starting quarterbacks this season: Cooper Rush 1-0; Garrett Gilbert 0-1. Guess the Cowboys got it right.

*From the Department of Redundancy Dept.: You don’t have a “hot water heater” any more than you breathe “air oxygen.” It’s just a water heater. C’mon people, let’s be smarter in 2022, shall we?

*For you old-school Mavericks fans that remember Jamal Mashburn – one of the 1990s’ “Three Js” along with Jason Kidd and Jim Jackson – prepare to feel even older. Jamal Mashburn Jr. averages 18 points per game as a sophomore guard for New Mexico.

*Yes, there is such a thing as an award for NFL Assistant Coach of the Year. And, yes, Cowboys’ defensive coordinator Dan Quinn should win it, hands down. Without him in 2020 Dallas’ defense was historically horrible, the worst in franchise history. With him in 2021, two players made the Pro Bowl, the defense leads the league in interceptions and this team has a chance to lead the NFL in turnover margin for the first time in 62 seasons of Cowboys football.

*Are we completely out of ideas? Once upon a time, every sports stadium in America did the “Wave.” Now, we all chant the same opening to the same song, the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” and every athlete in seemingly every sport celebrates with the same “Griddy” dance. Don’t know you about you, but I prefer my teams, my fans and my players to be a lot less homogenized.

*Jerry Jones said this week he’d consider giving up a home game at AT&T Stadium to play in Mexico City. Yeah, but how’s that gonna play with Texas’ “close the border!” crowd?

*South Oak Cliff High School last weekend won Dallas Independent School District’s first football state championship since 1950. Unless, that is, you acknowledge the greatness – and tainted title – of Carter in 1988. And, yes, thanks for asking, my Duncanville Panthers lost in the championship game for the third time in four years – all to Galena Park North Shore.

*The Cowboys’ blueprint of producing four takeaways per game is entertaining, but is it sustainable? Unlikely. More like Fool’s Gold. The better the opponent – come playoff time – the more it will protect the ball. And, besides, isn’t it a tad alarming that the Cowboys’ defense has forced four turnovers against teams led by Taysom Hill, Taylor Heinicke and Mike Glennon and yet the offense has only managed to score 20, 20 and 21 points? Yes, yes it is. In its last 85 drives, the Cowboys’ offense has produced only 15 touchdowns. That won’t cut it in January.

*Good news: The Winter Solstice was this week, marking the longest day of the year. So each day from here on out we get more and more daylight. 

*Bad news: We don’t get to spring the clocks forward to Daylight Savings Time until March 13.

*I will definitely see the new Matrix movie. But I feel like I’ve already seen it, disguised as the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day loss to Las Vegas. Consider: In their three games before playing Dallas, the Raiders scored 16-14-13 points. In their three games after playing Dallas, the Raiders scored 15-9-16 points. Against Dallas, they erupted for 36. That’s what we call that a glitch in the Matrix.

*I know he had the calf injury, but Prescott’s maneuvering in the pocket and mobility outside the pocket have nosedived in recent weeks. He started the season resembling Lamar Jackson but is ending it looking like Tom Brady. All well and good, but defenses no longer have to fear his legs on RPOs.

*Christmas shoutout to my ol’ buddy Wally Lynn. Living in San Marcos and dabbling as a writer in the local newspaper. Warms my heart that he has his life straightened out.

*This Weekend? Saturday is for seeing what Santa left us under the tree, duh. Sunday night is for Cowboys-Washington Football Team. Merry Christmas. As always, don’t be a stranger.