Mavs 'Game 82 Day' Donuts - And They Rank As A Top-10 NBA Team

Dallas Mavericks 'What Should've Been Game 82 Day' Donuts - And They Rank As A Top-10 NBA Team

DALLAS - Dallas Mavericks 'What Should've Been Game 82 Day' Donuts - And They Rank As A Top-10 NBA Team ...

DONUT 1: GAME 82 What a Thursday this was to be. The Dallas Mavericks vs. The Oklahoma City Thunder would've finished playing a few hours ago. ...

DONUT 2: RED RIVER RIVALRY! Dallas vs. OKC. Rivals of a sort, probably jousting for better playoff position, participating in Game 82 of the 2019-20 NBA regular season ... and then vaulting into the thrilling unknown of the postseason.

And maybe the "joust'' would've been a playoff preview of Round 1. After all, OKC, last time we checked, has chalked up 40 wins to sit in fifth place in the West. The Rockets' 40 wins were good for sixth. Dallas' 40 wins were good for seventh.

And the fourth-place team, Utah, had just one more win that that bunch.

DONUT 3: 'ABOUT LAST NIGHT' We might in this spot be discussing, right now, how the Mavs have a very real chance of winning their first-round series. We'd have discussed it at the AAC, Matt Galatzan and Bri Amaranthus and yours truly representing "The 75-Member Staff'' ... and we'd have discussed it with so many of you, 20,000 of you in the building "last night'' and then here at DBcom and on social media as well.

And because it was OKC? My son-in-law, an Oklahoma native who along with Marcia's daughter is raising our two little grandsons to be Thunder fans (boo!) would be texting me in basketball conversation, inviting me to come up and stay in Edmond for the Mavs road games against his home team.

DONUT 4: LUKA AS MVP And the central argument point for the MFFL who saw the postseason optimistically? As a building block to the future, sure, but maybe also a change to accomplish incredible things now?

Luka Doncic.

We'd be trying to add up his MVP votes. How far behind LeBron and Giannis, exactly, is the 20-year-old WonderBoy going to finish? How many years before he doesn't finish behind at all?

DONUT 5: BUT ... Alas, the COVID-19 crisis has robbed us of all of that, and so many other major storylines, too. Doncic's contention for MVP votes, all of them, all replaced by, in various hours and in voluminous bundles, pain and worry ... bonding and charity (and Mavs owner Mark Cuban teaming up with President Trump) ... and right-minded-but-awful attempts to amuse us. (Read: That H-O-R-S-E competition, which cannot compare to watching Jason Terry on continuous reel.)

DONUT 6: THIS HURTS We are left on this day, "The Day After Game 82'' which has become "April 74th or Whatever,'' with some Mavs memories from 2019-20 and with some Mavs dreams.

I say that, obviously, working on the theory that we're not going to "do basketball'' any time soon in any way resembling "normal.'' Again, just the working thesis here ...

So get a load of this, Dallas Dreamers ...

DONUT 7: THE SI NBA FINAL RANKINGS From The Crossover at SI: "So if the 2019-20 season is canceled, what are our major takeaways? And more importantly, how can each team project its future heading into the next decade? We ... decided to work through our canceled-season power rankings, assessing one key question for all 30 teams ...''

So the gang at The Crossover has taken three big bites here.

DONUT 8: THAT MAJOR QUESTION SI does this for every team, and you can read the whole project here. I'll stay Mavs-centric, of course.

So, what is that major question?

Can Dallas acquire a third star?

The Crossover offers its answer:  

Perhaps Luka Doncic alone is enough to power a playoff team, and Kristaps Porzingis’ 2019-20 provided further confidence for a winning future. But Mark Cuban isn’t expecting just a strong 2020-21. He believes Dallas can compete for the West title for the next decade. For that to happen, another impact player will have to come aboard. The candidate isn’t evidently clear, but when one appears, don’t expect Cuban to hesitate on pulling the trigger for a blockbuster deal.

That's really Bites 1 and 2 right there. It's about what Dallas is ... and what Dallas needs to be going forward.

DONUT 9: BIGGEST BITE OK, but for now, you ask, "Where does SI rank us?

Tenth. Sports Illustrated's basketball experts think your Dallas Mavericks sit here on this wobbly planet right now as a top-10 NBA team.

DONUT 10: QUOTABLE "If and when we continue, the start-up will be a challenge, too. I think we all just gotta try to keep our eye on the ball and understand the big picture for what's best for the world, the country, society. And sports will take care of itself.'' - Mavs coach Rick Carlisle.

That was such a joyous and calming visit with Rick. I urge you to click the link and give it a read and a listen. It was - is - truly something for us (Mavs fans, Americans, humans) to cling to.

It's almost as joyous and calming as the realization that suddenly the Dallas Mavericks are a top-10 NBA team.

DONUT 11: OUR TAKE? The DallasBasketball.com view of The Crossover's review? We spent a large part of the preseason and season lamenting that "lack of a third star'' thing, too, before, over time, Tim Hardaway Jr. shut us up. Nevertheless, obviously Dallas is an even better team if Luka and Kristaps Porzingis are the Nos. 1 and 2 option ... and Hardaway is nudged down the totem pole by a superior No. 3 option.

Or, if we really wish to get dreamy, if Dallas someday acquires a star who is so brilliant that KP and/or even Luka gets shoved down the totem pole.

DONUT 12: THE FINAL WORD But for now ... Tenth? Tenth! At a time when everything else in the world seems to be creeping along so slowly ... Man, the Dallas Mavericks becoming this good happened pretty fast.