Dallas Basketball

Mavs Moratorium Donuts: NBA 'Hiatus' Notes, Quotes and Links

The Dallas Mavericks head into an indefinite break on a high note (on the court) but the entire NBA season is now in doubt. Our Notebook, Donuts-Style

Steven Kilpatrick

The Dallas Mavericks head into an indefinite break on a high note (on the court) but the entire NBA season is now in doubt. Our notebook, Donuts-style ... starting with actual basketball ...

DONUT 1: Mavericks 113, Nuggets 97

I hope you really enjoyed this game because it was literally the last NBA game you’ll see for a while. The two Western Conference playoff-bound teams (if there are any playoffs this year) had a tight game for three quarters. The Mavericks led by seven at the half and then Denver took the lead going into the fourth quarter.

For a change, we had nothing to worry about; the fourth quarter belonged to Dallas. Maybe the Nuggets were too shell-shocked by the in-game news of the NBA cancellations to bring their best. Maybe Boban is just too much for anyone to overcome (more on that later). All I know for sure is that the Nuggets had a chance to go into the moratorium tied with the Clippers for second in the West - but the Mavericks outscored them 29-12 in the fourth quarter for the 40th Mavs win of this strange campaign.

(Catch up on the game story here.)

If the Mavericks don’t play again this season, it was at least a decent note to end on.

DONUT 2: NBA Season Put On Hold

The timeline moved fast for the NBA and COVID-19. The NBA announced distancing rules that kept reporters out of locker rooms and they floated the idea of playing games in empty stadiums - which some thought was an outlandish idea.

We’ll never know because before they could try it, Utah's Rudy Gobert ignored safety issues and touched a bunch of microphones like a 12-year-old who was told not to touch a bunch of microphones. Soon after, he tested positive for the coronavirus (quite possibly then giving it to at least one teammate).

After that, it didn’t take long for the NBA to take the lead as the first major sports league to suspend their season. (And, in a very real way, for Mavs owner Mark Cuban to take the lead as well.) Almost every other major league (including the NCAA) has slowly capitulated.

And, in ways bigger than sports, this may just be the start of the shutdown.

DONUT 3: Playoff Implications?

The Nuggets enter this indefinite break at third in the West with a 43-22 record. The Clippers are second in the West at 44-20. The two teams are 1-1 head-to-head, but the Nuggets are currently leading their division. If Denver had beaten the Mavericks, they’d be 44-21. Technically still half-a-game behind the Clippers for the second seed ... but we don’t know how the NBA will apply seeding to teams with fewer games played than teams above them.

If the NBA decides that Denver would’ve gotten the tie-breaker thanks to their division lead and their game-in-hand on LA, then Dallas may have made their lives harder by beating the Nuggets. For now, the seventh-seeded Mavericks are on a collision course with the Clippers (a team that’s had their number this season) instead of Denver (a team that they’ve played pretty well).

DONUT 4: Mavs Supporting Local Businesses

DONUT 5: Mavericks 150, Suns 136 (What?)

The Phoenix Suns have decided that tanking doesn’t have to stop just because the league is on lock-down. They’ve decided to play out the rest of the regular season on Twitch via NBA 2K20.

Their first post-suspension matchup was against the Dallas Mavericks and you’ll be happy to know that virtual Luka Doncic had a career game in a convincing victory for the Mavericks. In fact, the only question in the final few minutes is whether or not Luka would finish the game with 50 points.

Doncic hit a three with 39.5 seconds left in the game, which moved him to 48 points on the night. The Mavs got the ball back with 34 seconds to go, but Luka couldn’t knock down an open mid-range jumper on the possession. The Mavericks played matador defense on the next possession, giving up an easy bucket to the Suns, which gave Luka one final chance at a 50-point night. Luka shed his defender, then got around another to get into the lane and put it in with a nice 6.9 seconds to go.

DONUT 6: Watch the Entire Game Here

DONUT 7: Shortened Bench

The Mavericks bench leaned hard on their starters against Denver, which might be as close as we get to a preview of how coach Rick Carlisle’s playoff rotations might look. Yes, the Mavericks will likely have Kristaps Porzingis available for any playoff series, which nudges the depth chart quite a bit - but that might just make the bench even shorter.

Against Denver, Maverick starters played 168 minutes while the bench only logged 72. The entire bench shot 7-of-16 for a total of 18 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals, and two blocks. For perspective: Luka had 28 points, nine assists, six rebounds, and two steals in 40 minutes.

DONUT 8: Boban’s Big Game

Kristaps Porzingis sat out against Denver, which moved Boban Marjanovic into the starting lineup for a night. He made the most of it. He shot 12-of-20 from the floor for 31 points, 17 rebounds, one assist, and two steals. My favorite stat: his nine offensive rebounds.

If not for the coronavirus this might have been known as “The Boban Game.”

DONUT 9: Jalen Brunson’s Surgery

In case you missed it, Jalen Brunson took advantage of the hiatus to get his shoulder repaired.

Fish has more about that here.

Other guys are having fun on social media, or, in Dirk Nowitzki's case, having fun in the mud.

DONUT 10: Getting Healthy

I know that the entire point of the NBA’s hiatus is to be mindful of the health and safety of players, fans, employees, and the society that surrounds them all. That’s big-picture and it’s important.

Smaller picture: The Mavericks have a lot of guys who could really use some time to heal from nagging injuries. Brunson’s shoulder surgery probably should’ve happened sooner but the “just in case” nature of some injuries means he was holding out in hopes that he could manage the pain and play (the same way guys gut out free throws before heading to the locker room for x-rays).

Likewise, Luka probably shouldn’t have been playing 30-40 minutes a night with a sore ankle and a sprained thumb, but even at 80 percent (or whatever) the Mavericks needed his production.

This suspension of play is, both small and large, a chance for the league to temporarily protect players and teams from themselves. If the season resumes in a month, the product might actually be better off for the time away.

DONUT 11: What’s on Tap?

"What's on Tap?'' as Donut 11 is a long-time DBcom tradition. 

But this time? Who knows? 

This might be the last time I write about the NBA - about basketball, anyway - for weeks or months. Maybe the league will resume and finish off the full regular season. Maybe the NBA will move directly into the playoffs (treating this season the way they might a lockout year). Maybe we’re done with basketball for 2019-2020. I’m not sure that anyone knows the answer. (A bunch of "maybes'' are covered and updated here and here, with our TJ Macias' elegant look at a life without sports.

In the moment, even Mark Cuban was shocked to hear that games were being canceled indefinitely - so anyone who tells you they know what’s happening next is counting on educated guesses and short memories. Still, there are some early rumblings that this NBA season might not resume until late-June ... and possibly not at all.

DONUT 12: The Final Word

“It’s not about basketball or money. If this thing is just exploding to the point where players and others have it, you have to think about your family and make sure you are doing this the right way.” -Mark Cuban on the NBA’s response to COVID-19

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Steven Kilpatrick
STEVEN KILPATRICK

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