Mavs Donuts: Dallas Could Clinch 50 Wins; Doncic Future MVP?
The Dallas Mavericks will take on the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, which will mark their final road game of the 2021-22 regular season. The playoffs are rapidly approaching and a win would go a long way in ensuring home-court advantage for at least the opening round.
On today's Mavs Donuts, we touch on the Mavericks nearing 50 wins on the season, Jason Kidd's view of Luka Doncic as a future multi-time MVP winner, potential Jalen Brunson free agency suitors, and much, much more.
Donut 1: Mavs Set to Face Pistons
Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Mavericks travel to Detroit for their final road game of the regular season in an early tipoff. With only three games remaining before Dallas finds out who their NBA playoff opponent will be, it's important for the Mavs to get a win vs. the Pistons.
Donut 2: Mavs Could Clinch 50-Win Season
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Mavericks (49-30) enter Wednesday's matchup against the Detroit Pistons (23-56) with 49 wins on the season. With three games remaining in the regular season, the Mavs have a chance to win 50 games for the first time since 2015.
“I don’t know if we’ve talked about 50 (games),” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “We’ve talked about trying to get the highest seed, and that means you have to win games.”
Donut 3: Kidd Reveals Thoughts on Luka for MVP
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
It's too late for Luka Doncic to overtake the main names that have not been mentioned as candidates in the 2022 NBA MVP race. Despite that fact, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd feels as though his superstar is well deserving.
“I think his stats speak for themselves. What he’s done, if you finish four or three (in the Western Conference as a team), that’s pretty special, too,” Kidd said.
“I think sometimes we get bored seeing someone do what Luka has done. Sometimes you take it for granted because that’s just the norm. And sometimes the norm is pretty special.”
Donut 4: Jalen Brunson Suitors to Watch
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
During a recent appearance on SB Nation's Liberty Ballers podcast, Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer was asked to make predictions ahead of the NBA offseason.
Fischer addressed smaller storylines to monitor and focused quickly on Brunson's upcoming free agency. The Detroit Pistons could be talked about "a lot more than people are expecting" and are a Brunson suitor to watch.
It's a well-documented storyline that Brunson has plenty of fans in the New York Knicks front office by now. Fischer also reported that Brunson is viewed as a player New York plans to "make a run at" this offseason.
Donut 5: Mavs Rank 12th in ESPN's Future Rankings
The NBA Insiders at ESPN recently ranked how each team around the league is currently positioned for long-term success. The Mavericks received the 12th spot on the latest list, which is an improvement by one ranking.
"The Mavericks moved up one spot from the last FPR, despite Luka Doncic signing a rookie max extension and a top-five roster in the West. A jump into the top 10 was certainly warranted, but Dallas failed to crack the top 10 in any of the five categories, including players. That does not mean the Mavericks are stuck with the current roster. Although they are a luxury-tax team next season, Dallas has roster flexibility as a result of no players outside of Doncic earning more than $20 million."
Donut 6: Maxi Kleber Remains Out
On the official NBA injury report, the Mavericks listed Maxi Kleber (right ankle soreness) as out for Wednesday's matchup against the Pistons. He was sidelined for Sunday's 118-112 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Donut 7: Luka Doncic Nears Historic Streak
Doncic has managed to reach the 30-point mark in each of his last five games. If he manages to score 30 points against the Pistons on Tuesday, he will tie Mark Aguirre for the longest streak of such performances in franchise-history.
Donut 8: Lakers Eliminated from Play-In Contention
After a disappointing season full of ups and downs, the Los Angeles Lakers already know their fate. They were officially eliminated from play-in contention as a result of Tuesday's 121-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
LeBron James was unable to play as he currently is managing an ankle injury. It remains to be seen if he will end up playing during the remainder of the Lakers' final few regular season season games given their elimination.
Donut 9: Does Kevin Love Envision LeBron's Return?
There's been speculation at times about the possibility of LeBron James finding his way back to the Cleveland Cavaliers at some point before his NBA career comes to an end. Kevin Love talked to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix about the possibility.
"After 2018, did [I] know he was going to the Lakers? I was like, eh, had some sort of an idea that it was a possibility, like a strong possibility I should say, but no, I don't see any," says Love. "He obviously loves our makeup. He loves our team, he has a special bond with Akron, the city of Cleveland, Ohio. But no, I don't really get a feel for that as of right now. But you know, with him, it could change.”
Donut 10: Zion's Stepfather Reveals Debut Chances
With the season rapidly coming to an end, there is increasing speculation about Zion Williamson potentially making his season-debut at some point. His stepfather, Lee Anderson, made comments on "The Jordy Culotta Show" that suggest Williamson's potentially playing soon.
"I expect him to play. If you were to ask Zion, I'm sure he would probably say the same thing," Anderson said. "But with just a couple of games left, with the magnitude of what's going on in New Orleans and the opportunity to qualify for the play-in game and possibly get into a seven-game series, that would be off the charts in the city of New Orleans. That would be a plus in New Orleans. That would be a plus for Zion with the way things are right now."
"Do I expect him to play? Certainly I do. That's on me, though. That's purely me. I don't think there's anything else that would hinder him from doing that right now."
Donut 11: Embiid Overtakes Scoring Leaderboard
With LeBron James currently dealing with an ankle injury, Joel Embiid has capitalized on the opportunity to overtake him on the NBA scoring leaderboard.
Embiid finished with 45 points and 13 rebounds against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday. He's now averaging 30.4 points per game after scoring a combined 89 points over each of his previous two performances.
Donut 12: Kyrie Speaks Out on Nets' Title Odds
The Brooklyn Nets are not in a comfortable position right now. They will need to get through the play-in tournament just to have the chance to overcome being a low-seeded team going against a top Eastern Conference threat.
Does Kyrie Irving still view his Nets team as having a legitimate chance to win the NBA Finals despite the circumstances? He's taking a "we'll see" approach.
“We’ll see,” Irving said. “We’ll see, man. You can’t predict the future as of right now. Any time I try to do that — God has a way of humbling me. I’m just going to take it one day at a time.”
