Dallas Basketball

Mavs Donuts: Luka Doncic's COVID; Did Lakers' LeBron James Changing Teams 'Ruin Basketball'?

Here's a look at 12 of the NBA's biggest storylines for today, including what's going on with the Dallas Mavericks.

Jeremy Brener

Here's a look at 12 of the NBA's biggest storylines for today, including what's going on with the Dallas Mavericks.

DONUT 1: LUKA CATCHES COVID

The Mavericks' COVID woes took another hit yesterday after Luka Doncic tested positive. 

“Everything is changing by the hour,” Jason Kidd said. “Things just change. You just have to adjust.''

It could be argued that COVID is "ruining basketball.'' Interestingly, as our Dalton Trigg writes here, Mavs owner Mark Cuban seems invigorated by the "fun'' of watching new guys play and succeed under this challenging setup, and suggests Dallas might have to make positive "tough'' roster changes as a result.

Oh, and speaking of "ruining basketball'' ...

In an appearance on the Bootleg Kev podcast, former NBA guard Iman Shumpert talks about stars switching "loyalties.'' And Shumpert zeroes in on Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James as the guy that "ruined" the game.

"It wasn’t KD. It was LeBron first going to Miami,'' Shump said. "(LeBron) knows he ruined basketball. He thought he was making it better. I get it. Me personally, I love the NBA for the loyalty that I thought was there. He basically knocked the fourth wall down.''

DONUT 2: TREY TESTS POSITIVE, TOO

Trey Burke joined Luka, Reggie Bullock, Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Maxi Kleber in COVID protocols. You can find a league-wide COVID tracker here.

This adds more importance for Jalen Brunson and some of the new Mavs signees...

DONUT 3: MAVS SIGN VETERAN BRANDON KNIGHT

Brandon Knight is one of the more notable 10-day hardship signees. Knight, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2011 Draft, last played for the Detroit Pistons in 2020 and was the sixth pick in this past year's G-League Draft by the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

DONUT 4: MAVS CALL UP CARLIK

In the team's second hardship signing, the Mavs signed Carlik Jones from the Texas Legends in the G-League. Jones, who played last season collegiately at Louisville, has been with the Mavs' organization since Summer League.

In 10 games this season, the six-foot Jones averaged 20.2 points per game, 5.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists.

Here's a look at some highlights from his last game Monday:

DONUT 5: COVID RECAP

Out: Reggie Bullock, Trey Burke, Luka Doncic, Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber

In: Charlie Brown Jr., Marquese Chriss, Carlik Jones, George King, Brandon Knight

DONUT 6: A LEGENDARY LOSS

The Legends took their worst loss of the season to the College Park Skyhawks.

DONUT 7: ON THIS DAY, 1997

Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson won his 500th victory as an NBA coach after 682 games. He becomes the fastest coach to win 500 games in NBA history.

DONUT 8: TACKO WEDNESDAY

Cleveland Cavaliers center (and 7'5" semi-cult hero) Tacko Fall started his first NBA game, facing the Boston Celtics, his former team. Fall finished with four points and 10 rebounds in a 111-101 loss.

DONUT 9: THUNDERING BACK

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in a 108-94 win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.

DONUT 10: ISO (CUP O' JOE) 

Former 7-time All-Star Joe Johnson is back in the NBA, signing a 10-day hardship deal with the Boston Celtics. Johnson last played in 2018 with the Houston Rockets, and returns after his 3.5-year absence.

DONUT 11: LANCE IS BACK,TOO

Former Indiana Pacers guard Lance Stephenson has also made his comeback to the NBA, signing a 10-day deal with the Atlanta Hawks. He scored one point, but dished out five assists and grabbed eight rebounds in 23 minutes against the Orlando Magic. The Magic won 104-98.

DONUT 12: WHAT'S NEXT

The Mavs host the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks Thursday, who will be playing in the second half of a back-to-back after hosting the Houston Rockets at home Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT.

“We’re going to need that from here on out because you just don’t know who’s going to test positive and who’s out, so we’ll see.” - Coach Jason Kidd on contributions from newcomers.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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