- Mavericks star Luka Doncic underwent an MRI on his left ankle today, tweets Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News. Doncic, who is being held out of tonight’s game, has been dealing with discomfort since suffering a sprain November 15. “He’s been sore. It’s just been a busy stretch of games,” coach Jason Kidd said.
- Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas has been improving his three-point shot in recent years, but he’s never had a night like Monday when he went 7-for-7 from beyond the arc in the first half, notes Andrew Lopez of ESPN. Some of his teammates started calling him “Dirk Valanciunas” in honor of former Mavericks sharpshooter Dirk Nowitzki. “Everybody wants to be (Dirk). He’s one of the greatest big guys in the game,” said Valanciunas. “But I still gotta work a lot to be like him. I’m just taking what’s out there. If I have an open shot, I’ll take it. If I’m making it, I’ll keep taking it. It’s as simple as that.”
- Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic (left ankle soreness) will miss Saturday’s contest against the Grizzlies, the team announced on social media (Twitter link). Joining him will be Kristaps Porzingis (left knee contusion) and Willie Cauley-Stein (personal reasons). Dallas is just 4-6 in its last 10 games.
- Karl-Anthony Towns missed Friday’s game for the Timberwolves with a tailbone contusion, the team announced (Twitter link). Towns had a hard fall late Wednesday night. He did warm up for the game, which is a good sign that it should be a short-term injury.
- Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis was also sidelined for Friday’s game, per a team public relations announcement (via Twitter). He has a knee contusion. It’s unclear how long he might be out.
- New Mavericks GM Nico Harrison says he’s not concerned about rival executives trying to take advantage of his inexperience and fleece him in a trade, as he told Dwain Price of the team’s website. “I would imagine that if people can take advantage of me, they will, for sure. But I always tell people this is not the Nico Harrison Show,” he said. “There’s a team of people that’s surrounding me. There’s (Michael) Finley, obviously (owner) Mark (Cuban). There’s Jason Kidd. There are so many people around the team that are going to influence what we do, so it’s not just Nico making decisions.”
Mavericks fans have been clamoring for Moses Brown to get a longer look at center, but head coach Jason Kidd appears in no rush to insert the 22-year-old into the rotation, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.
Dwight Powell and Willie Cauley-Stein remain ahead of Brown on the depth chart, Boban Marjanovic is still in the mix, and Kidd also sounds interested in experimenting more with Maxi Kleber in the starting lineup, shifting Kristaps Porzingis to the five. As a result, the Mavericks’ head coach isn’t making any promises to the fans who want to see more of Brown.
“He could get a chance,” Kidd said, per Townsend. “I think for fans, or for anybody, if they look at our roster we have quite a few centers. So there’s a committee of centers. And at some point, maybe he [Brown] has an opportunity to play.”
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal takes a look at what’s next for the Grizzlies with Ja Morant sidelined due to a sprained knee. Morant has the league’s third-highest usage rate among point guards, so Memphis will try to replace him using a committee, with Tyus Jones, Desmond Bane, De’Anthony Melton, and Kyle Anderson all taking on added ball-handling responsibilities.
- Jaxson Hayes opened the season as the Pelicans‘ primary backup center, but Willy Hernangomez has taken over that role in New Orleans’ last four games. Scott Kushner of NOLA.com writes that Hayes was handed his minutes, while Hernangomez – who re-signed with the team over the summer – has fought to earn his.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic is confused about why John Wall and the Rockets are at an impasse over whether or not he starts. Hollinger thinks Houston should be open to putting Wall in the starting lineup, where he could make life easier for Jalen Green, but also believes Wall shouldn’t be too hung up on starting, since potential suitors aren’t going to view him any differently if he’s coming off the bench.
Mavericks officials continue to express confidence behind the scenes about the team’s ability to lock up guard Jalen Brunson beyond the 2021/22 season, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack report.
Brunson was the 33rd overall pick in the 2018 draft, selected 30 spots after Dallas drafted Luka Doncic. He obviously hasn’t followed Doncic’s path to superstardom, but Brunson is viewed as one of the NBA’s best second-round picks of the last few years. In 17 games (29.2 MPG) so far this season, the fourth-year point guard is averaging 15.1 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 4.4 RPG, all of which would be career highs.
Unlike most second-rounders who sign four-year contracts, Brunson didn’t get a team option on the final year of his deal, which means Dallas didn’t have the ability to make him a restricted free agent following his third season. Instead, the former Villanova standout is on track to reach unrestricted free agency in 2022.
Brunson is extension-eligible, so the Mavs could theoretically sign him to a new contract before he becomes a free agent. However, restrictions on veteran extensions will limit Dallas to a maximum offer of approximately $55.6MM over four years. If Brunson continues to play at his current level, that could be a below-market offer. The team would be able to go beyond that limit in free agency using the 25-year-old’s Bird rights.
According to Stein, Brunson is “quietly regarded as Dallas’ most effective and forceful locker-room leader,” so his value to the team extends beyond what he provides on the court. If he does reach the open market next summer, it’s safe to assume Brunson will receive interest from other suitors looking to pry him away from the Mavs.
In shorter-term news, Brunson – who left Tuesday’s game with a left foot injury – went through portions of Friday’s practice, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be cleared to play on Saturday, but it sounds like his foot injury isn’t a significant one.
Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis missed five games earlier this season due to lower back stiffness, raising concerns that 2021/22 might be another injury-plagued year for the former Knick. However, in nine games since returning to the lineup, Porzingis has averaged 23.9 PPG and 8.9 RPG on .510/.377/.932 shooting.
Before putting up 30 points in a Tuesday win over the Clippers, Porzingis told Mark Medina of NBA.com that he’s not currently dealing with any health issues.
“I feel great,” Porzingis said. “My body is feeling the best that it’s felt in a long time.”
Prior to last season’s trade deadline, reports surfaced indicating that the Mavs had been gauging the potential market for Porzingis. Team owner Mark Cuban denied those rumors at the time and, speaking to Medina, continued to dispute that Dallas ever shopped the former lottery pick.
“That’s not true. Why would I do that at all?” Cuban said. “Trades like that, you always end up further behind. When you trade a superstar, you never get the best end of it.”
The Mavs’ owner added that Porzingis is playing at an All-Star level and is “doing more and more unicorn things” this season.
“I’ve always believed that KP hasn’t played his best basketball yet. Now you’re seeing why we didn’t trade him,” Cuban said. “He’s a great player. He’s a good dude. All of my experiences with him have been positive. So why would we do that? But that’s NBA Twitter and that’s Mavs Twitter. That’s what they do. They’re probably trying to trade Luka (Doncic) right now.”
Here are a few more items of interest from Medina’s feature on Porzingis:
- Porzingis didn’t share details on what sort of offseason workouts he completed, but said he spent the summer devoted to “a lot of physical work” and believes it’s paying off this season, per Medina. “I feel like my body has matured,” he said. “I feel strong on the court. It’s translating into my game.”
- Porzingis acknowledged that he didn’t always feel comfortable with his role under former Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle and said he has noticed a difference since Jason Kidd‘s arrival: “My teammates have been trusting me. The coaching staff is trusting me and putting me in my most comfortable situations.”
- There have been whispers in recent years that Porzingis and Doncic haven’t exactly built the strongest relationship, but KP says the Mavs’ two stars are “communicating more” this year and that he believes they can become one of the NBA’s best duos. “It’s all in the communication,” he said. “It’s as simple as that. Problems arise when you don’t communicate about things, and you don’t talk about it. So, we’re learning those things.”
Mavericks star Luka Dončić will return to action tonight against the Clippers, the team announced (Twitter link). He’s missed the last three games with left knee and ankle sprains.
We noted earlier today that Dončić appeared to aggravate the injury during Monday’s practice, but evidently another day of rest and recovery has enabled him to feel healthy enough to play.
In 13 games, Luka is averaging a fantastic 24.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists (34.8 MPG), but his shooting line of .434/.308/.679 is below his normal standard. He signed a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension over the summer that starts next season.
The Mavs face the Clippers at 9:30 PM CT.
The Clippers canceled today’s morning shootaround due to precautionary concerns related to COVID-19, but tonight’s game against the Mavericks shouldn’t be affected, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register.
The team’s training center was quiet this morning, Swanson adds, and a formal announcement from the organization was made at 9:15 Pacific Time, citing issues involving the league’s health and safety protocols.
Veteran swingman Nicolas Batum entered the protocols on Sunday after being a late scratch for that night’s game. No one has stated whether Batum tested positive for the virus, but he is projected to miss at least 10 days. That timeline suggests a positive test.
“I’m not sure the days, but I expect him to be out for (a while),” coach Tyronn Lue said. “I’m not sure the timetable, though.”
Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, who has missed three games since spraining his left knee and ankle last week, appeared to be on the verge of a return to the court as he went through practice on Monday. However, as Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News writes, the team hasn’t provided an update since Doncic shouted in pain and came off the court holding his knee near the end of Monday’s practice.
Doncic may have just suffered a brief scare that won’t affect his ability to return to action as soon as tonight — he’s still listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game vs. the Clippers. However, it’s also possible that the Mavericks will decide to hold him out for another game or two after he seemingly aggravated his injury on Monday.