Mavs Donuts: Dallas Flexes Muscles in Milwaukee; Where’s MVP Love for Luka?

DallasBasketball.com lists 12 of the biggest Dallas Mavericks storylines and other revenant NBA news and analysis.

The Dallas Mavericks have just three games remaining in what has been a thrilling regular season. Then, the real fun begins in the NBA playoffs, as the Mavs will have their best opportunity to get past the first round in over a decade.

On today's Mavs Donuts, we touch on Dallas' impressive road win in Milwaukee on Sunday, Luka Doncic's lack of MVP hype in the national media, Hall of Fame inductions, playoff scenarios and much, much more. 

Donut 1: Mavs Bounce Back vs. Bucks

Behind the Milwaukee Bucks and the Dallas Mavericks? Blowout losses. Ahead of both powerful squads? The NBA Playoffs.

And in between? A Sunday matinee in Milwaukee that resulted in an impressively physical 118-112 Dallas win that serves as encouragement as the Mavs approach their postseason path.

Donut 2: Where’s the Luka MVP Love?

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Luka Doncic is the only player in the NBA with averages of at least 28 points, nine rebounds and nine assists per game. The Mavs (49-30) are 33-12 since New Year's Eve and currently have a better record than Nikola Jokic's Denver Nuggets (47-32), Joel Embiid's Philadelphia 76ers (48-30) and Giannis Antetokounmpo's Bucks (48-30).

Doncic is also 4-2 in head-to-head matchups against those three players above who are the consensus top-3 in pretty much everyone's MVP rankings. So is Doncic having trouble just cracking the top-5? Does a slow start really warrant ignoring the pure mastery that has taken place in Dallas this year?

Wake up, national media!

Donut 3: Stephen A. Smith Loves Mavs

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Speaking of national media... When it comes to giving out strong opinions on sports topics, not many analysts are as polarizing as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.

Smith had some lengthy praise for the Mavs after watching them go toe-to-toe with the reigning NBA champions.

“I think they’re something special to behold,” said Smith of the Mavs. “I think Jason Kidd should be a candidate for Coach of the Year.”

Donut 4: Who Should Mavs Prefer as Playoffs Opponent?

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The NBA playoffs are right around the corner, and the Dallas Mavericks are closing in on home-court advantage in the first round for the first time since 2011, as well as their first 50-win season since 2015.

Although there is a slight chance that the Mavs could end up facing either the Golden State Warriors or Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round, the current Western Conference standings tell us that their opponent will likely either be the Utah Jazz or Denver Nuggets.

Our roundtable participants gathered to discuss which of those teams is the most favorable matchups for Dallas... or if it even really matters with Doncic playing at such a high level.

Donut 5: No Kleber, No Problem?

Going into the Mavs' game against the Bucks, it was announced that versatile big man Maxi Kleber was going to be sidelined due to right ankle soreness. Many thought Kleber's defense would be sorely missed against Antetokounmpo, but Dallas did well by containing him to 28 points on 12-22 shooting. Those numbers are still good, but they're much more tamed than what was expected.

Dwight Powell, despite his limitations, had a fantastic game on both ends of the floor, finishing with 22 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 8-10 from the field.

Perhaps Kleber, who has shot just 34 percent from the field and 22 percent from 3-point range over his last 20 games, should sit out another game or two and rest up for the postseason. The Mavs could really benefit from him rediscovering his stroke.

Donut 6: Tim Hardaway Sr. Gets His Flowers

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The 2022 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class features 13 new inductees, including former Dallas Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Sr.

Hardaway played 54 games for the Mavericks after the prime of his career. In 2001, he averaged 9.6 points, 1.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists for Dallas before being traded midseason to the Denver Nuggets for a package headlined by Nick Van Exel and Raef LaFrentz

"Now he can relax and breathe and be happy," current Mavs shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. told the Dallas Morning News. "I think this is one of the accomplishments that he really wanted, really bad."

Donut 7: Spurs' Ginobli Also Makes Hall of Fame: Nowitzki Next?

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Manu Ginobili spent his entire career with San Antonio Spurs, a longtime fierce rival of the Mavericks in the 2000s. Ginobili starred for the Spurs and for his native Argentina, and now, he'll be immortalized in the Hall of Fame.

“It’s one in tens of millions,” Ginobili said. “The odds are very, very slim and it just happened to me. I don’t know what happened, but I was the one.

There are a lot of household names eligible to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame beginning in 2023, including Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade.

Given the incredible career Nowitzki had, there is no doubt he will be a first-ballot inductee. The greatest player in Dallas franchise history already received a jersey retirement and a statue.

Donut 8: Dinwiddie’s Validation

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Leading up to the Dallas Mavericks' 135-103 loss to the Washington Wizards, much of the attention was placed on Kristaps Porzingis facing off against his former team for the first time since being traded.

Like Porzingis, Spencer Dinwiddie was also playing against his former team. Although the end result for him was far from the statement game he probably wanted, Dinwiddie is happy to be heading to the postseason, unlike the Wizards.

"We've had 20 games or so since the All-Star break and a sixth of their play and comments has validated everything that I've said,” said Dinwiddie. “The same way that our play has validated what I've said with one game being an anomaly. It just is what it is man."

Donut 9: Scoreboard Watching

Although Jason Kidd claims the Mavs won't be watching the scoreboards around the league, we sure are.

Unfortunately for the Mavs though, no other teams decided to help them out any on Sunday, as the Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 129-118, and the Golden State Warriors defeated The Sacramento Kings, 109-90.

The Warriors remain one game ahead of the Mavs for third place in the West with three games to go, while the Nuggets remain two games behind Dallas. The Mavs own the tiebreakers with both the Warriors and Nuggets.

Donut 10: North Carolina vs. Kansas

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There is no NBA action on Monday, but there is a huge college basketball championship awaiting us.

Just one night after South Carolina upended UConn in the woman’s NCAA national championship, the men’s title game features a battle of storied programs North Carolina and Kansas.

First-year UNC head coach Hubert Davis has led his squad to the championship game despite being just an eighth seed. The run featured a thrilling win over Duke in the Final Four on Saturday that send legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski into retirement.

Needless to say, a couple of former Tar Heel players who are now Mavericks will be rooting hard for UNC in this one.

Donut 11: Next Up For Dallas

The Mavs take on the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, which is the first of their final three games of the season against opponents with records well under .500. Dallas doesn’t need to take Detroit lightly, though, as it has won three games in a row, including a shocker over the 76ers.

Donut 12: The Final Word

“We kind of [had] to bounce back, since the game in Washington [was so bad],” said Doncic. “I always go game by game, but when you play against superstars, you always have motivation. [Giannis is a] champion and two-time MVP."