Don’t you just hate it when reality throws a salad into your otherwise perfectly balanced diet of chicken wings, pizza and beer?
The Mavericks were getting fat and happy through the first 13 games with a 9-4 record and even the skeptics were starting to feed from the trough.
Then, we got word that Luka Dončić would miss at least Wednesday’s game at Phoenix with sprains to his left ankle and knee.
In this era when we have been conditioned to worry constantly about COVID-19 intruding on our life, an actual injury is threatening to halt the early season good times.
Sometimes, you just got to shake your head and figure out how to plow through the tough times.
And that’s what we’ll do with our Mavericks Mailbag. As always, thanks for your questions and I promise I didn’t have to make up any of these.
From A.B.: I hear Josh Green and Moses Brown played a game for the Texas Legends. How’d they do?
SEFKO: I can report that I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that both of them passed the G-eye test. That’s the G-League eye test for those of you who are unaware. Brown cut loose with 23 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots. Green had 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. This is what NBA players who take a quick assignment to the G-League are supposed to do – dominate. It goes back to the days of J.J. Barea, who went down to the Fort Worth Flyers for two games in his rookie season and proceeded to average 40 points in the two games. That cemented him as NBA material and he never played another game in the developmental league.
The bad news is that no matter how well the pair did in Frisco for the Legends, it may not translate into more playing time with the Mavericks. The rotation is looking more and more solid, especially among the big men. Kristaps Porzingis, Dwight Powell, Boban Marjanović, Willie Cauley-Stein and, when he returns from an oblique muscle strain, Maxi Kleber, all are ahead of Brown on the depth chart. The same can be said of Tim Hardaway Jr., Jalen Brunson, Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown at the wing spots that Green is best suited for. We all know how long this season is. They’ll get chances to contribute with the Mavericks. It just may take awhile. And by the way, one of the most impressive parts of the duo’s appearance at Frisco was the fact that Maverick teammates Kristaps Porzingis, Luka Dončić, Dwight Powell and others all showed up to show support for Brown and Green.
From: WOKE UP FEELING DANGEROUS: I have a question for an upcoming concern. Is Mark Cuban willing to go into the luxury tax to retain Jalen Brunson (and Dorian Finney-Smith) next summer? Doing so would probably vault us into the top five in the league in total salary.
SEFKO: It’s always real easy to spend Mark’s money. But let’s start with some facts. The salary cap for 2022-23 is likely to be around $119 million. The luxury tax would kick in at about $145 million. As their payroll stands now, the Mavericks have about $136 million spoken for, although Maxi Kleber’s $9 million, Frank Ntilikina’s $2 million and Moses Brown’s $1.8 million are not guaranteed. Brunson is going to get a massive pay hike from the $1.8 million he’s making this season. Finney-Smith also will get a bump up from his $4 million. Can they keep both players without going into tax territory? Probably not. But we all have seen how creative NBA front office personnel can get. What they can’t afford is to allow Brunson to leave. He’s too valuable on the court and in the locker room and guys that have won championships before tend to know how to win them again. Plus he and Dončić have grown close since coming into the league in the same draft. I lean toward the Mavericks finding a way to keep both of them, simply because they feel like this group has huge potential. And if it goes slightly into the luxury tax, I have a hard time believing Cuban wouldn’t swallow hard and go for it. But obviously, the goal is to stay below (or as close as possible) to that $145-million threshold.
From MICHAEL: They need to trade Brunson for another 3-and-D guy who doesn’t shoot well and is mediocre at playing defense. Can’t have enough of those.
SEFKO: This is an LOL moment for all of us. Just thought we could all use a little sarcasm. But it’s also a chance for me to stand up for guys like Reggie Bullock, Sterling Brown and Dorian Finney-Smith. All three of them have started with subpar 3-point shooting in the first month of the season. So has just about everybody else. But Finney-Smith is shooting 42.3 percent from 3-point range in the last six games. The Mavericks are 5-1. Sometimes, you just can’t change the mind of a glass-half-empty fan. And believe me, as the Mavericks’ coaches will attest, I’m slow to hand out bouquets. But this team is 9-4. Do we really want to nitpick right now?
From JESS T.: What do you think is going to happen on this four-game road trip? It’s a weird one with four games against just two teams.
SEFKO: I’m no crystal ball, but with Luka Dončić starting the trip on the shelf because of left knee and ankle sprains, it’s going to be harder than it would have been. And it was going to be rough regardless. The Suns are rolling and we all know how the Clippers usually treat the Mavericks. My guess is that the Mavericks will play really hard and have a fighting chance in the opener on Wednesday night (remember, this is being written Wednesday afternoon). But if they come out of this trip 2-2, it’s going to be a rousing success.
That’s all we got for this week.
Twitter: @ESefko
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