Mavs Donuts: Dinwiddie Dominates, Hot Streak Continues
Monday Mavs Donuts always have the best content-filled ingredients. Plenty of things happened over the weekend, including a 36-point performance from Spencer Dinwiddie, Mavs Ball and much more.
Get your fresh batch!
Donut 1: Mavs Win Without Luka Doncic
Saturday afternoon, the Dallas Mavericks played the Sacramento Kings at the American Airlines Center without Luka Doncic (sprained toe).
Without its superstar, Dallas struggled. Down double digits for the majority of the game until a stirring fourth-quarter comeback, the Mavs earned a tough 114-113 win.
Donut 2: Spencer Dinwiddie Scored 36 Points
© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
"The Wizards want to move Dinwiddie because he looks like a shell of his former self and his teammates don’t want him there.”
That quote came from a report from The Ringer in January. Washington couldn't wait to unload the veteran guard, but it seems the Wizards gave up prematurely.
Without Doncic in the lineup, someone needed to step up. Thankfully, Dinwiddie answered the call with enthusiasm. Recording 36 points and seven assists, Dinwiddie continues to impress in Dallas.
Donut 3: Dinwiddie "Hurt" by Wizards
During his 44 games with the Wizards, Dinwiddie averaged 12.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists, while shooting just 37.6 percent from the floor and 31.0 percent from 3-point range. His production was underwhelming, but again, it was early in the rehab process.
Dallasbasketball.com covered the rumors surrounding Dinwiddie before the trade deadline. Dinwiddie has since broken the silence with his reaction to the rumors.
"I think that's what hurt the most," Dinwiddie told ESPN. "I've never bashed Washington. I've never said an ill thing about the team. In fact, I thank the owner or chairman Ted [Leonsis], I thank Tommy Sheppard the GM and I thank [Bradley Beal] for those three kind of collectively deciding to give me my contract. They didn't have to pay somebody coming off an ACL."
Donut 4: Josh Green Doing Dirty Work
Kevin Jairaj/USA Today Sports
Although not a featured player in the offense, Josh Green finds ways to contribute to winning basketball.
Green is still raw on the offensive end, but he’s shown flashes of how his game can continue to develop. For now, though, Green earns his minutes strictly because of how hard he plays, as shown by his tenacious defense and career-high six offensive boards Saturday.
In addition to his constant effort, Green's shot-making is still progressing.
Slowly but surely, Green’s 3-point shot is developing to the point where teams now have to at least respect him. Last season as a rookie, Green only shot 4-25 (16 percent) from deep in 39 games. This season, Green is shooting 15-43 (34.9 percent) from beyond the arc in 49 games.
Donut 5: Dorian Finney-Smith Dagger
© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
© Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
“I told them it was game,” Dorian Finney-Smith said as he celebrated yet another Mavs comeback victory (114-113) that pushed the team to a season-high 14 games over .500. “I said it was game. Dangerous. Dangerous.”
"Dangerous" is definitely the word that should be seen next to Finney-Smith’s name on the opposing team’s scouting reports lately, as he’s shooting a blistering 50.9 percent from 3-point range over his last 10 games.
Donut 6: Mavs Ball
The Mavericks on Friday strutted across the blue carpet in their sharpest duds for the seventh annual Mavs Ball, the premier fundraising event for the Mavs Foundation. The star-studded night included coach Jason Kidd bidding $90,000 to win a five-day trip to Luka Doncic's home country of Slovenia, along with a bottle of wine from the oldest vineyard in the world.
In total, $1.5 million was raised for the Mavs Foundation.
You can't have a grand Mavs even without Doncic, although he said he wasn't "fit" for the evening.
Donut 7: On This Day
Remember when the Bad Boys Detroit Pistons used to torment Michael Jordan? Well, that didn't happen so much in the '90s. On March 7, 1998, Jordan erupted for 53 points over the Pistons.
Donut 8: Kristaps Porzingis Makes Unique Apology to Bettor
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
A missed layup by former Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis cost a betting man more than $76,000 on a parlay in a brutal betting loss. The bet was for which NBA players would make the first basket. The bettor, Joe Schaeffer, correctly picked Jaylen Brown, Devin Booker and Rudy Gobert.
It came down to the late-night tip between the Mavs and Sacramento Kings on Dec. 29. If Porzingis made the first basket, a $100 bet would turn into $76,220.
Porzingis signed a game-worn Mavs jersey with the inscription: "Joe, sorry about blowing the layup and costing you $76K." The jersey was delivered on Schaeffer's birthday.
Donut 9: Proposed Mavs-Raptors Trade Revisited
On The Lowe Post podcast, ESPN's Tim MacMahon mentioned the Mavericks' attempt to trade Porzingis to the Toronto Raptors and how much they were asking for.
"(The Mavericks) moved on, and they tried to trade (Kristaps Porzingis) to Toronto. My understanding is the discussions there were (Goran Dragic) and (Gary Trent Jr.). Toronto understandably said, 'We're not giving up Gary Trent Jr.'"
Understandably, Toronto opted not to move Trent.
Donut 10: All Grown Up
The Mavericks could have easily melted down when officials blew an obvious shot-clock error that helped fuel Golden State’s fourth-quarter push. Dallas coach Jason Kidd admitted as much Thursday night.
“We’ve had, in the past, maybe melted mentally,” Kidd said after the Mavs beat the Warriors 122-113 at American Airlines Center. “The ball hit the rim – there was no call – and then they came down I think and made two 3s. It just shows growth. Those baskets were great, but I was more looking at how we were going to respond with the no-call. And it happens, right?”
Donut 11: Second Round or Bust
In an interview with The Athletic, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd explained the goal for the 2021-22 season is to "get out of the first round."
"There were no bold predictions about this season, but Kidd talked matter-of-factly about the responsibility he feels to help Luka Doncic eventually reach the NBA’s mountaintop," Sam Amick wrote. "The immediate goal for Dallas’ transcendent star, of course, is to get out of the first round for the first time after falling in each of the past two postseasons."
Donut 12: What's Next for Mavs?
The Dallas Mavericks host the Utah Jazz in a Monday night showdown that has major implications on the Western Conference standings. With only 17 games remaining Dallas is chasing Utah, just 1.5 games behind the fourth-seeded Jazz.
The Mavs haven't beaten Utah yet this season (0-2), but have two more meetings to go in what could be a NBA playoffs first round preview.
