Mavs Tuesday Donuts: Luka's Fight, Dak's Cowboys Tease and Whatever Happened to the Rockets?
DONUT 1: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE ROCKETS?
So, the Houston Rockets are suddenly inferior to the Dallas Mavericks?
As I often point out, it's a great challenge for a national media guy to be able to truly have insight into all 30 NBA teams. That's especially true if the national media guy has a job that also requires him to "be an expert on'' the NFL, college sports, hockey, baseball, golf, tennis, auto racing ...
It is therefore impossible to take seriously the rantings, ravings and ratings of most of that gang - as Colin Cowherd has just demonstrated.
No doubt, we get a charge of Mavs optimism when we see a national guy who likes our Mavs. We like seeing that the Mavs are mentioned here.
But then we notice that the Rockets are not mentioned here, that the existence of James Harden and Russell Westbrook have somehow been overlooked.
And then we change the channel.
DONUT 2: DELON'S DELIGHT
Delon Wright was the only Mavericks player to start all four preseason games, surely a purposeful effort from coach Rick Carlisle to get him tuned in on being a full-time starter for, really, the first time in his NBA career.
“We have great belief in his ability to be a high-level starter in this league,” Carlisle said. “That’s why we pursued him, signed him, traded draft picks to Memphis not to match and he’s gotten better each game.
“He’s gotten more familiar with our guys each game. ... He’s the kind of guy everybody loves to play with because he’s a great teammate, he’s a man of few words and he plays the game the right way and he plays to win.”
DONUT 3: FIGHT! FIGHT!
Dallas accomplished a great deal in its preseason finale, a win in Vancouver over the contending Clippers. Among those accomplishments? Luka Doncic standing up for himself. Check it out here: Mavs Pick Apart Clippers 102-87 in Eventful Preseason Curtain-Call.
DONUT 4: BOBAN BLOOPERS
I think coach Rick Carlisle is having more fun coaching that he has in a while, and some of the reasons -- like, you know, talent -- are obvious.
But the coach has talked so much about what fun it is to have Boban Marjanovic on the squad, and yeah ...
It might be a good idea for us to keep a camera trained on the 7-4 hoops comedian at all times.
DONUT 5: QUOTABLE
“They’re enjoying it, and I think that’s the big thing – that they enjoy it. If they’re having fun out there, that’s all that matters. I think they both know they’re good. And they both know they could be really good together. And they’re helping each other out and I like that.'' - J.J. Barea on the Luka Doncic/Kristaps Porzingis pairing.
DONUT 6: BY THE NUMBERS
You wanted Luka Doncic to add polish to his perimeter shooting? You got it. He finished the preseason shooting 42 percent from deep (some very, very deep) on eight 3-point attempts per game:
DONUT 7: HEY, BUDDY!
Buddy Hield is talking about “finding another home” if he and the Kings can’t reach an agreement on an extension by today’s deadline. Can you blame Dalton Trigg and the gang at DBcom Boards if their "Mavs potential trade'' senses are tingling a little bit? Click here for the Buddy discussion.
DONUT 8: KP DUTY
The other day, KP discussed all the ways in which - on a poor shooting night - he needs to make sure he's helping the team with his other dimensions. Let's flip back to Vancouver for a second ...
Yes, KP, yes. Exactly like that.
DONUT 9: LOSING ZION
Not that you ever root for the other guy to get hurt ... but the Mavs may be catching a huge Zion Williamson break here.
New Orleans has determined that the rookie sensation has a right knee problem that will cause him to "miss a period of weeks to start regular season.'' How does this impact the Mavs?
They are scheduled to play the Pelicans three times over the next six weeks, starting this Friday and then twice in four days in the first week of December.
The injury robs the NBA of some entertainment value ... but offers Dallas an opportunity.
DONUT 10: PRESEASON WRAP-UP
We've got the story, and the video, here as we wrap up "The Good, The Bad and The Luka'' from the Mavs' preseason work.
DONUT 11: CUBAN ON THE DYNAMOS
What does owner Mark Cuban think about Porzingis' return to NBA action, and what does he think is the future for Dallas' dynamic young duo? For exclusive answers, check out our Step Back podcast Ep. 40: Interview with Mavs owner Mark Cuban.
DONUT 12: THE FINAL WORD
“Now I feel bad for griping and bitching when they call the fouls for LeBron,'' Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott said (see my story here). "He has been getting fouled; He’s just strong.’’
Dak's point is about how he gets hit in the pocket, and about how his ability to absorb the hit overcomes any temptation to rely on theatrics.
“I gotta go see Harden,’’ Prescott said, jokingly suggesting a quick-but-informative trip down to Houston.
