Mavs Donuts: Doncic Embraces Giannis Matchup; Magic Reveals Finals Pick
With the NCAA Men's Tournament Championship taking place on Monday, there were no scheduled NBA games as a result. Much of the league will be playing on Tuesday, but the Dallas Mavericks do not return to action until Wednesday.
On today's Mavs Donuts, we dig deeper into Sunday's 118-112 road win over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the reigning NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks, Magic Johnson picking Dallas as an NBA Finals threat, and much, much more.
Donut 1: Giannis Praises Doncic After Matchup
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
John Fisher/Getty Images
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The Milwaukee Bucks had no answer for Dallas superstar Luka Doncic, who led the Mavericks to victory with a near triple-double performance of 32 points, 15 assists, and eight rebounds.
"He is just very talented," Giannis Antetokounmpo said recording 28 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. "He is a very good player. He's going to make the right pass. He's going to make the right decision. Sometimes you can do everything right, but people will still have a good night."
Donut 2: ‘Ass-Whooping’ Fuels Major Win Against Bucks
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Coming off a 135-103 loss to the Washington Wizards - one that coach Jason Kidd likened to an "ass-whooping" - the Dallas Mavericks pulled off a strong bounce-back performance against the reigning NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
“Sometimes games, they don’t go your way and you have to move forward,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said when speaking about responding to the blowout loss against the Wizards. “But I thought yesterday we had a great practice. I thought the spirit was in a good place. We were happy.
“This group is always happy. They have a lot of fun. I thought coming in against the champs we knew this was going to be a tough game, and we put ourselves in position to win.”
Donut 3: Doncic Dishes on Being Snubbed in MVP Talks
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Luka Doncic insists he tries to not pay attention to what's said about the MVP race. Instead, he’s more focused on making sure the Mavericks enter the first round of the playoffs with home-court advantage for the first time since 2011.
“I don’t know,” Doncic said. “The media talks about it. I try not to pay attention too much. I saw some, but it doesn’t matter. … We’re winning. That’s what I care [about]. Our goal is to get home advantage. We’re so close. We’ve got three games left, and that’s our goal right now.”
Donut 4: Magic Views Mavs As Finals Threat
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
Former NBA great Magic Johnson views the Dallas Mavericks along with the Memphis Grizzlies as his top picks to make it out of the Western Conference and appear in the 2022 NBA Finals.
"One or two teams are going to end up in the championship and I don't think it's going to be Golden State," Johnson said. "Watch out for Memphis or Dallas."
Donut 5: Luka Hunts Giannis in Win Over Bucks
During the fourth quarter of the Mavericks' win over the Bucks, Doncic, who has been a head-hunter all season, made it a point to draw Antetokounmpo on switches before attacking, as we broke down in the Mavs film room.
To begin the fourth quarter, the Mavericks' bench unit struggled with Doncic on the bench. They missed all four of their shot attempts and recorded a turnover. Doncic understood that taking over the game was needed—leading the Mavericks to an 11-2 run to ultimately seal the win.
"We did a solid job. (Doncic) is just very, very talented," Antetokounmpo said. "He's a very good player. He's gonna make the right pass, he's gonna make the pass to the roller, skip pass to the corner. He's gonna make good decisions.
"Sometimes you can do everything right and people will still have good nights. He's one of the most talented players in the league, one of the most talented players probably to ever play this game."
In the end, the Bucks couldn't rally back to overtake the lead after Doncic ultimately put the game away with the impressive run he led midway through the fourth quarter.
Donut 6: Holiday, Bucks Explain Doncic's Greatness
Jrue Holiday, widely considered as being one of the NBA's elite defenders, shared some insight into what goes into guarding Doncic. Packing the paint was the priority for the Bucks, followed by attempting to recover to the weak side when a pass was made.
"Luka can score at all three levels," Holiday said. "Whether it's one-on-one or screen-and-roll, so the first thing is try to stop the ball and keep him in front of you. The next thing is the guy that he is playing with, which is the screener. You got to try to be in there and show bodies. Make it crowded so that it doesn't make it look like he's open. Then you got the weak side.
"He's a good player. He sees everything. He makes good plays out of it."
Donut 7: Next NBA Blockbuster Trade to Watch?
There's no greater driving force leading to major changes in the NBA than the outcomes that come with the playoffs. It can be enough for a star to decide that enough is enough with their current team, whether by missing it outright or by an early exit. Who will be the next player to make that decision?
Russell Westbrook has been a name inserted in trade rumors for much of the season given how poorly the Los Angeles Lakers' season has gone. There's even been mention of Anthony Davis in speculation as a potential trade chip, too.
Over the last few years, Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal have been common trade candidates for trade requests as they fall in the "just say the word" category. With how their respective teams have made recent moves to re-tool, there are other emerging names to watch.
Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell are emerging as top stars to watch as the next blockbuster trade candidate. After consistent regular season success, the Utah Jazz has been unable to turn it into a Western Conference Finals appearance. Given their ongoing struggles, could they be headed for a shake-up?
The Mavericks have been mentioned often as a potential Gobert suitor with 'significant interest' in making a deal. It remains to be seen what a trade could look like, but regardless, the five-year, $205 million contract he's signed to could cause some pause for competitors in the trade market for a rim protector.
Donut 8: Magic Rips LeBron For DeMar Blunder
The Lakers were linked heavily to DeMar DeRozan in free agency at a few points. Magic Johnson even claimed that DeRozan's agent called him to discuss his client joining the team. In the end, it didn't work out. Instead, DeRozan is thriving with the Chicago Bulls.
Instead of acquiring DeRozan, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook "started talking" and pulled off the trade with the Washington Wizards. Granted, DeRozan was not playing at his current elite level last season, but regardless, there were valid questions about the Westbrook idea.
"When I think about it, the blame that he's gotta take is the fact that DeRozan ended up in Chicago and not with the Lakers," Johnson said on ESPN's Get Up on Monday morning. "DeRozan wanted to play for the Lakers, and when I got the call from his agent, I called the Lakers, said, 'Hey, he wants to come home.' And DeRozan could have been a Laker instead of a Bull.
"We could have made that deal, but when Russell and LeBron and them started talking, that's when they nixed that deal and went with Westbrook, and he became a Laker instead of DeRozan."
Westbrook's play has improved as the end of the season has progressed, but regardless, it's clear DeRozan along with having a less depleted supporting cast would have been a better outcome for the Lakers.
Donut 9: Kareem Criticizes LeBron Again
One of the more vocal former athletes when it comes to societal issues has been NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He's made it a habit to take jabs at LeBron James lately, whether for his conduct on or off the court.
Abdul-Jabbar wants James to be a louder advocate on certain issues instead of "standing on both sides of the fence." Additionally, it's been tough for Abdul-Jabbar to identify James' stances on certain issues.
"Some of the things he's done and said are really beneath him, as far as I can see," Abdul-Jabbar said. "Some of the great things that he's done, he's standing on both sides of the fence almost, you know? It makes it hard for me to accept that when he's committed himself to a different take on everything. It's hard to figure out where he's standing. You've got to check him out every time."
Earlier in the season, Abdul-Jabbar criticized James for his on-court conduct by celebrating a clutch 3 with the Sam Cassell "big balls" dance. The move was called "stupid" and "childish" by the former Lakers great.
"For me, winning is enough," Abdul-Jabbar said. "Why do you need to do a stupid, childish dance and disrespect the other team on the court? It doesn't make sense. GOATs don't dance."
Donut 10: Durant Sees Injury As Derailing to Nets
It's been quite the up-and-down season for the Brooklyn Nets. They entered the season with Kyrie Irving not even being involved with the team to then having a "Big 2.5" with him only having part-time status. Now, James Harden isn't even a member of the team.
Kevin Durant summed up the Nets' season by saying the MCL injury that caused him to miss over a month and a half "derailed" their season. Brooklyn was atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 27-15 record then went 5-17 with Durant sidelined.
"To be honest, I feel like our season was derailed by my injury," Durant said. "So I'm not looking at it like we're just not a good basketball team. It's like there wasn't a lot of continuity with me and Kyrie [Irving] out of the lineup, that's just what it is. When we're all on the floor together, I like what we got."
To add further complexity to the Nets' pursuit of a championship, Ben Simmons was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season along with the play-in tournament. It remains to be seen when he will be available to play next.
Donut 11: Embiid Sees Potential MVP Loss as "Hate"
With averages of 30.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, Joel Embiid has made a strong case to be named the 2022 NBA MVP. If it doesn't happen, he sees it as the voters "hate" him and holds him to a different standard.
"If it happens, great," Embiid said. "If it doesn't, I don't know what I have to do. I'll feel like they hate me. I feel like the standard for guys in Philly or for me is different than everyone else."
Sixers teammate James Harden, who has an MVP of his own, recently advocated for Embiid to be the recipient of the honor after spending time with him as teammates.
"I get to witness his greatness every night," Harden said. "Obviously, his offensive numbers tonight are self-explanatory. Defensively, he was very active blocking shots, changing shots, and clogging the paint up was key."
Donut 12 Anthony Davis Ponders What "Could Have Been"
The Lakers have been no strangers to criticism throughout the season. After entering the season opener as being heralded as NBA Finals contenders, they've since gone 31-47 and are two games out of the final play-in spot entering Tuesday's games.
There's been no shortage of injuries the Lakers have dealt with throughout the season. Some have been perplexing like Kendrick Nunn missing all 82 games due to a bone bruise in his knee. Between Davis and LeBron James, their stars have been in and out of the lineup often.
"I think the biggest thing that I think about personally is what we could have been, had we stayed healthy all year," Davis said. "What could we have been. ... Guys feel like, 'OK, what could we have been if I was healthy all year, [LeBron James] was healthy, [Kendrick] Nunn was healthy.' You think about those things. We put this team together and it looked good on paper, but we haven't had a chance to reach that potential with guys in and out of the lineup.
"So the most frustrating part of this season is not being sure of what we could have been."
Davis has been in the news cycle often lately. Between recently returning from injury and firing back at his critics for the "injury-prone" label, he's been visible. Frustrations have run high and now they appear primed to head back to the drawing board as their play-in chances are dwindling.
