Mavs Donuts: Dallas ‘Playoff Optimism’; Luka Climbing MVP Ladder

DallasBasketball.com lists 12 of the biggest NBA storylines in addition to relevant Dallas Mavericks news and analysis.

There is some ‘dead time’ until the next Dallas Mavericks' game on Friday vs. the Utah Jazz following a history-filled weekend in Cleveland. Nonetheless, DallasBasketball.com doesn't stop. 

In light of Dallas' 18-6 record since the dawn of 2022, Tuesday's "Mavs Donuts" highlights the best moments since the new year.  

Donut 1: Playoff Optimism

DallasBasketball.com's Editor-In-Chief Dalton Trigg took advantage of the downtime by providing Mavs' fans some sound analysis with three reasons why Dallas can advance in the playoffs. For one of the points, Trigg acknowledged the absence of Kristaps Porzingis as a positive. 

Excerpt from Trigg's analysis: 

This year's team doesn't have to worry about whether or not Porzingis will turn into the second star next to Luka Doncic, and that could potentially be a burden lifted off of everyone's shoulders. There are more reasonable expectations with the current roster that can be more realistically attained.

Donut 2: ESPN Analyst Shows Luka "MVP" Love

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Las Vegas had Luka Doncic as the favorite to win MVP honors during the preseason. However, due to a slow start individually and from a team standpoint, No.77 found himself falling out of the way-too-early MVP discussion. With two 40+ point outings, in addition to his 51-point performance under his belt, and the Mavs only two games out from the four-seed, MVP talks yet again surround Doncic. 

ESPN Analyst and 2016 NBA champion Richard Jefferson recently advocated for Doncic as a deserving candidate. 

"He is playing at another level and if he continues playing like this, before we start saying 'Philly is number one in this they have the exact same record, so if they're both dominating in the same way, then I think maybe this race can get a little bit closer than what some people think."

Donut 3: Stomping Streaks

One of the latest "Mavs Stat of the Week" indicated a jump in the Mavs' legitimacy as a playoff contender. 

Per Mavs PR, Dallas is the only NBA team this season with five wins against teams with active winning streaks of five or more games - talk about getting up for a game.

Dallas' defense played a significant role in squashing the momentum of the listed teams. Four of the five games saw the Mavs’ opponent score under 100 points. While a hot team running into a trap game due to scheduling is normal, beating such a squad five times indicates something deeper than scheduling inconveniences. 

Donut 4: EXCLUSIVE 1-On-1 with Dallas Mavs GM Nico Harrison

On this very special edition of the Mavs Step Back Podcast, host Dalton Trigg is joined by Mavs GM Nico Harrison for an exclusive interview. Harrison dishes on why the Mavs ultimately decided to move on from Porzingis at the trade deadline, as well as how the team believes Dinwiddie and Bertans can help the team - not only on the court but as potentially more trade-able contracts going forward as well.

Donut 5: Why the Kristaps Porzingis Experience Didn't Work

DallasBasketball.com's fearless leader Mike Fisher provided his analysis on why the Kristaps Porzingis' era didn't work. 

The Mavericks held high hopes for Porzingis as a co-star alongside Luka Doncic when they sent Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, and two first-round picks to the New York Knicks to acquire him in part of that Feb. 1, 2019 deal.

Tim Hardaway Jr. (now out for the year with a foot ailment) is the final remaining part of the trade the Mavericks completed to acquire Porzingis from the Knicks. New York still holds the 2023 first-round pick Dallas had sent in the deal.

So in the end, the "Unicorn'' wasn't real. The plan never came to fruition. And the good idea never worked ... because Kristaps Porzingis too rarely worked.

Donut 6: Doncic Scores Career-High 51 Points in Win Over Clippers

On a very busy, eventful day that saw the Dallas Mavericks trade away Kristaps Porzingis to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans before the NBA trade deadline, the fireworks didn't stop there.

Believe it or not, there was still an actual basketball game to be played just hours after all of the madness, and the Mavs kept their positive momentum rolling with a 112-105 win over the shorthanded Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night. 

Doncic finished the night with a career-high 51 points on 17-of-26 shooting from the field and 7-of-14 from deep. 

Donut 7: On This Day

On February 22, 2011, the Denver Nuggets traded Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks. The Nuggets acquired the elite scoring threat in a three-team deal. Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, and a first-round draft pick went to the Nuggets.

Donut 8: "Connecting the Stars"

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While watching Dirk Nowitzki's jersey retirement ceremony following the Dallas Mavericks' game vs. the Golden State Warriors on January 5, a thought crossed my mind:

"Kobe Bryant would have been there."

Digging deep into both Bryant and Nowitzki's legendary careers, one could picture Bryant smiling in the crowd, giving his fellow one-team superstar the nod of respect, similar to when No. 41 scored a game-winning bucket on the Los Angeles Lakers in 2016.

I went on to compare Nowitzki and Bryant's competitive bond, among other differences in their approach to respecting the game of basketball. 

Donut 9: How Will Spencer Dinwiddie Fit With Dallas?

Film Room Specialist Grant Afseth contributed to DallasBasketball.com with grade-a analysis on Spencer Dinwiddie. 

Despite Dinwiddie's struggles in Washington, Afseth pointed to where the backup guard will contribute to the Mavs' offense. 

A common struggle for Mavs bench guards is their lack of versatility and being able to remain a factor when seeing multiple defensive coverages. Guards that lack an in-between game struggle against drop coverage, but Dinwiddie's ability to get to his floater offers a go-to option.

Donut 10: "Corner-Ball" Bertans 

In his Mavs' debut vs. the Miami Heat, Davis Bertans shredded some doubt if he'd contribute to the Mavs' offense. Trigg discussed why the former Washington Wizard will succeed in Dallas. 

Corner threes the shortest, and therefore theoretically the easiest, of all three-point shots. This is especially true for Bertans, who has only shot 32 percent from deep this season, but sees those percentages skyrocket when just looking at the corners. He hit 3-of-7 from deep overall against the Heat, but 2-of-3 from the corners.

Donut 11: Mark Cuban EXCLUSIVE

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In the aftermath of the Dallas Mavericks’ trade - which featured Porzingis being dealt to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans - owner Mark Cuban sat down with DallasBasketball.com to discuss the team’s thinking behind making this kind of move.

“We think they both will fit into [Jason] Kidd’s system well,” Cuban tells DallasBasketball.com in a post-trade deadline exclusive interview.

“Spencer [Dinwiddie] can create his own shot, which takes some of the pressure off of Luka [Doncic], [Jalen Brunson] and Trey [Burke] to do so much every game.”

Donut 12: What's Next for Mavs?

After an eight-day break, the Mavs face the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City. Aside from the game acting as a test for Dallas, it's also a chance to get a head start in a tie-breaking scenario, as the two teams are separated by only two losses.