What Does Post-Hiatus NBA Playoffs Look Like for Mavs?
After more than two months of the NBA season being put on hold due to COVID-19, and the hope of salvaging the 2019-2020 season fading by the day, it appears that there may actually be some light at the end of this seemingly endless tunnel after all - for league play, and for the playoff-hungry Dallas Mavericks as well.
In an NBA Board of Governors call on Tuesday, those in attendance left the meeting “feeling positive” about the league potentially resuming its 2019-2020 season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported. Woj also noted that commissioner Adam Silver used the term “campus environment” in reference to what kind of bubble-like atmosphere to expect if this potential return happens – including the absence of fans in the stands.
If this plan to resume the season eventually comes to fruition, it begs the question – how will this extended hiatus affect the Dallas Mavericks, a team that had 40 wins with 15 regular season games to go and was only 2.5 games back from having home-court advantage in the playoffs?
In all honestly, and from merely a basketball perspective, this break from basketball will probably end up being a good thing for the Mavs if play does resume, given how beaten up the roster has been over the course of the season.
Luka Doncic, who figures to be a lock for an All-NBA First Team spot at age 21, missed a combined 13 games before the hiatus due to a nagging ankle injury. Doncic was nearly averaging a triple-double (29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists per game) in his sophomore season, despite not being 100-percent healthy along the way, so the idea of having a fully-rested Doncic for the first Mavs playoff run in three years has to be encouraging to the franchise and the fan base alike.
Kristaps Porzingis, who was averaging 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks per game for the Mavs, missed 16 games this season due to knee soreness (10 games) and second night of back-to-back load management (six games). Although Porzingis’ more recent missed games were mainly just precautionary measures more than anything else, it’s still nice to know that, if the playoffs are going to begin in the near future, the Unicorn will undoubtedly be at full-power when that time comes.
The closer the NBA gets to an actual solution, we should find out more details about the resumed season, like where it will take place and if there will be any tweaks to the original schedule or playoff formatting.
For now, though, if everything stayed as-is, the Mavs would be in for a very exciting final stretch of the season, having a handful of games remaining against Western Conference playoff contenders in the Jazz, Rockets and Thunder (all of those teams and the Mavs are only separated by 1.5 games in the standings). We don't think it's too much of a stretch to envision a fully-healthy Mavs team making a run and ending up with home-court advantage.
When it comes to conditioning and potential rust upon return, we know nothing can really replicate live NBA action, but despite that, Mavs owner Mark Cuban isn’t worried about how the team will perform once play resumes.
“We don’t have any issues with any of our guys,” Cuban tells DallasBasketball.com, suggesting that everyone is healthy and has continued to stay in good shape. “We are good with their status.”
In a time that has mostly consisted of disappointment for basketball fans, there is now a sliver of optimism to feed on. The NBA is now optimistic that it will be able to avoid cancelling its season, Mark Cuban is optimistic that his team will be ready to hit the ground running once that time comes, and we at DallasBasketball.com are optimistic that the hiatus could potentially propel the Mavericks higher than they would’ve gone with a banged-up roster. For now, though, we must remain patient and attempt to hold on to our sanity just a little bit longer.
