Since teams with few positive COVIDs lead the NBA ranking, it’s no mystery why the Mavericks are under 0.500

Has anyone else noticed the strange coincidence? The unfortunate symmetry, well, at least from the Mavericks’ perspective?

On the same night that they received three of their players infected with the coronavirus, the Mavericks were mistreated by Utah center Rudy Gobert, the zero patient of the NBA’s COVID-19.

It has been 10 hellishly long months since Gobert’s positive test on March 11 forced the NBA to abruptly halt the 2019-20 season, although, unfortunately, not the global devastation of COVID.

To date, there have been at least 145 positive coronavirus tests among nearly 500 NBA players, although it is possible that some players have contracted the virus twice.

What is indisputable is that the randomness of the COVID-19 attacks generated an uneven playing field among the 30 NBA teams. Better to be Utah, whose stars Gobert and Donovan Mitchell contracted the virus last spring; than Dallas, whose list was destroyed in the past three weeks.

“We are not going to make excuses about the COVID protocols,” said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle on Thursday. “These things are there, but this is just a period that we have to fight for as a team.”

As the Mavericks (8-10) learned during Wednesday night’s loss in Salt Lake City, there is no quick antidote for former COVID patients Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Richardson and Dwight Powell to return to rotation.

If it wasn’t humiliating enough to see Gobert kick off with 29 points and 20 rebounds on Wednesday, guess what? The Mavericks win Gobert’s Dose II and the NBA’s best 14-4 Jazz at Vivint Arena on Friday night.

This convergence of two-game COVID in Salt Lake City comes just days after Michael Porter Jr. of Denver, on his third exit after losing 10 games due to the coronavirus, set Dallas on fire by 30 points.

The post-Christmas virus scare in Denver was apparently contained by Porter. This coming after center-star Nikola Jokic was fortunate, if you can call it that, to contract the virus in June, giving him plenty of time to recover before this season.

“It seems that everyone’s weakness and the best defense is the virus right now,” said Mavericks swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. “If it affects your team, it shows. We are a perfect example of this. “

Along with Richardson, Finney-Smith and Powell, the Mavericks three weeks ago lost Maxi Kleber to a positive COVID test (he can finally return this weekend) and lost guard Jalen Brunson for four games due to contact tracking and quarantine.

Looking at the NBA rankings, it is not difficult to identify the teams that, like the Mavericks, were hit hardest by the coronavirus.

NBA finalist Miami scored 6-11 at home on Thursday night against the Clippers, which also marked the debut of the COVID sniffer dogs at AmericanAirlines Arena entrances, as the Heat allowed a limited number of fans for the first time this season.

Heat Bam players Adebayo, Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro signed COVID in the spring and last summer. But it was the latest positive tests from Jimmy Butler and Avery Bradley and the resulting contact tracking that decimated the Miami squad and made coach Erik Spoelstra use 12 different starting formations.

Then there is Washington, with an NBA 3-11 worst record that would be worse if it weren’t for six game postponements due to six Wizards players signing COVID-19.

“It’s just a set of unfortunate circumstances,” said Washington general manager Tommy Sheppard in mid-January, when the Wizards were just beginning a 13-day no-game stretch.

“If you go our way really back to when we played in Chicago [two games in late December], almost every team we play, one player tested positive. The next day, the next day, several players in some places. It was inevitable. “

Said Wizards coach Scott Brooks, when his team finally returned to the games this week: “I just hope we never have to deal with it again.”

This week, San Antonio became the 24th team to have at least one postponement, while Memphis drew with Washington for the most postponements.

In a sense, the Mavericks were lucky that they did not have a major outbreak. As of Friday, when Kleber will lose his 10th game, the Mavericks will have five players lost in 40 combined games due to health and safety protocols.

But, on the other hand, the Mavericks were unlucky to still have enough players available to play while they had too many insufficient players, with just one postponement, January 11 against New Orleans.

That was the day that Powell learned of his positive COVID-19 test. He would end up not playing for 18 days.

“I am grateful to have fully recovered,” said Powell on Thursday. “Obviously I watched the games and watched some movies, but I was just getting away from other people and I stayed at home, waiting to be back with the guys.

Although 145 positive tests for coronavirus out of 500 players are very large, it is important to note that some of these positive tests date back to March, when Gobert and Mitchell were the first to contract the virus. And 48 of the positive cases occurred during the first round of testing in early December, when players came to the training grounds.

It was on the first day of camp that Luka Doncic shrewdly predicted for this season: “Some players can stay with the corona, get sick, cannot be with the team for 10 days. I think it will be a big part: Which team will not have positive people? “

Since the start of the season, at least 75 different players have been listed in the league’s injury report for reasons of health and safety protocol.

And most teams are barely a quarter of the way through their 72-game seasons.

The Mavericks have been one of the teams most affected and infected by COVID, but they understand that this is just the reality of this season.

In the ranking, asterisks are not being placed by the teams with most games lost to the coronavirus. There is no separate virus division. No consolation banner or COVID-19 trophy will be delivered.

That’s one of the reasons Carlisle scoffed on Wednesday night, when he was told that it might take time for the Mavericks to find their offensive pace while reinstating long-lost teammates.

“You don’t need rhythm to play defense,” Carlisle said. “And have a strong disposition. And to communicate. And that kind of thing. “

Another clash against Patient Zero Jazz and NBA COVID-19 awaits. Mavericks do not have time to feel sorry for themselves, no matter how steep the playing field is, that is, against them.

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