The NBA season has careened past the one-third mark.
That first trimester did very little to sort anything out.
About the only thing we know for sure is that an old, legend-driven team in Los Angeles is on its last legs and the top two (maybe three) teams in the Eastern Conference look a lot stouter than anybody near the top of the Western Conference.
Beyond that, there are far more questions than answers. And we’ve got a few of those questions below.
What’s interesting, though, is that on Nov. 11, Utah was 10-3. Now, the Jazz is 16-14. Brooklyn was 5-7 and now is 17-12.
Things change. But some haven’t changed much. The Mavericks were 6-5 on Nov. 11. Now, a bit more than a month later, they still are .500 at 14-14.
And, again, we’re past the one-third point of the season. It’s no longer early. There’s still time to make moves (both up and down), but the clock will start clicking louder on teams that let the season continue to slip away without showing upward mobility.
So with that, we’ll hit a few questions that we got this week.
Question: Which Mavs’ team is for real? The one that can’t hit a free throw or the one that lights it up against Denver? Vince W.
Big Ed: If I 100 percent knew the answer to that one, I’d be lounging by the pool in Vegas. What I will say is that this team is feeling the loss of Jalen Brunson more than most people expected. The Knicks knew what they were doing when they were scouting the Mavericks-Jazz first-round playoff series. They zeroed in on Brunson and made him a priority and while the Knicks’ 15-13 record isn’t all that much better than the Mavericks right now, Brunson’s 20.4 points and 6.3 assists certainly would look good alongside Luka Dončić right about now. The Mavericks are the poster kids right now for parity in the Western Conference. New Orleans is leading the West. That tells you right there that the conference is wide-open. Spots one through 11 are separated by 5½ games. One big losing streak can put you out of the playoffs or at least into the play-in tournament. One winning streak and you’re in line for a home-court advantage in the playoffs. It’s going to be fascinating to watch how it plays out. And as for which Mavericks’ team you’re getting. It’s all going to depend on what night you show up to watch. They are good enough to beat anybody. Inconsistent enough to lose to anybody, as we’ve seen too often so far this season.
Question: Where is Kemba in the discussion on Luka’s minutes? I know we know nothing at this point, but we will soon and decisions on minutes will be difficult, I’ll bet. Brett T.
Big Ed: You are right that decisions will be tough. Feelings will be hurt. Players will have to swallow their egos. They can’t pout. Not if the Mavericks want to be a factor in the second half of the season. I’m not sure if Kemba Walker is the long-term answer as a backup ballhandler. As a respected member of the media told me recently, he may help you win a few games this year. But Jaden Hardy might help you win a few games for the next eight or 10 years. Do you want to put the ball in the rookie’s hands more often and live with the mistakes that accompany that decision? Or do we try to maximize this season, which right now doesn’t look like it’s going to reach anything close to last year’s success. But then again, the Mavericks were under .500 until Jan. 1 last season. So things can change.
Question: If Luka played the entire game without looking or talking to the refs, do you think he would average more free throws, more points and have more energy in the fourth quarter? Ari M.
Big Ed: I’m not sure about the free throws or points. The refs don’t have any agendas (most of the time). Once in a while, if a player harps on the refs to the media or publicly, you’ll see some officials look the other way for a play or two when the offending player is getting some physical play against him. I mean, they’re human. And by the way, coaches and players send messages the hard way to each other all the time. No reason why refs can’t do the same. But by and large, I think the refs do a pretty good job and certainly they are trying to be as perfect as they can. But the part of your question that makes sense is the part about more energy. Luka doesn’t do much that isn’t awesome, but two things he does have trouble with are getting back defensively instead of a whining about a call and wasting emotional or physical energy by chasing after a referee or dancing around and twirling a finger in the air for a challenge. It doesn’t matter what you do. Refs aren’t going to change a call (unless it gets challenged).
Twitter: @ESefko
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