Morning Coffee: Doncic, LeBron lead surging Lakers

Potential is a promise that often turns out to be a lie.

When Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison told us all that he believed his team had a better chance to win an NBA championship in the near future with Anthony Davis on the roster instead of Luka Doncic, I’m not sure anybody other than him actually accepted it.

31 days later, not even Harrison can believe it anymore.

Kyrie Irving will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee.

Davis, who hasn’t played since his Mavericks debut on February 8th due to a thigh injury, is reportedly closer to shutting it down for the remainder of the year than returning to the lineup.

Daniel Gafford, Derek Lively, P.J. Washington, Dante Exum, and Jaden Hardy are all sidelined with injuries.

Suddenly, Dallas is closer to entering the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes than contending for a championship.

Back in the summer, the Mavericks were a top five choice to win the NBA title at +900 at FanDuel.

Fast-forward nine months later, their chances to win in the short term and the long term have been devastated.

Dallas is +25000 to win the NBA championship.

Additionally, there’s no guarantee that we’ll ever see Irving and Davis compete together at an elite level again.

Over the last 25 seasons, only four teams have missed the playoffs in the season after reaching the NBA Finals.

None of them has collapsed as suddenly as the Mavericks.

That’s what happens when you grasp at shadows.

That’s what happens when you overvalue a potential short-term fix over a proven generational talent.

There’s no precedent for what’s gone down in Dallas.

In his first media conference post-trade, Harrison told reporters that, “we definitely understand the magnitude of what just transpired. It’s not lost on us.”

31 days later, I’m still not sure that’s even possible.

Unfortunately for Mavericks fans, there’s a very good chance that it gets worse before it gets better.

This is the Morning Coffee for Wednesday March 5th, 2025.

Doncic, LeBron Lead Surging Lakers

While Mavericks fans struggle to find the answers to what went wrong, Los Angeles Lakers fans are riding a wave of optimism since Doncic arrived.

The Lakers have won six in a row with Doncic in the lineup and are now a half-game up on the Denver Nuggets for the second-best record in the Western Conference.

Last night, Doncic went off with 30 points, 15 assists, and eight rebounds in a 136-115 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

LeBron James had a game-high 34 points with eight rebounds and six assists in the 21-point victory, becoming the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 points.

Doncic and LeBron combined to score or assist on 100 of the team’s 136 points.

They also became the first duo in Lakers history to both record 30 or more points and five three-pointers in the same game.

The Lakers are down to +1500 as the fifth choice to win the NBA championship at FanDuel this morning.

Only the Boston Celtics (+180), Oklahoma City Thunder (+190), Cleveland Cavaliers (+600), and the Nuggets (+1400) have shorter odds to win the title. 

Los Angeles won’t catch Oklahoma City for the best record in the Western Conference.

However, the Lakers still have a chance to win 50 games, finish with the second-best record in the West, and clinch home-court advantage for a potential second-round series against the Nuggets.

That’s the Doncic effect.

Speaking of Doncic and the Lakers, it was a lot of fun to get back to work with this traditional two-team parlay that cashed in Tuesday’s column.

Turning the page this morning, I’m shifting from a bet on the Lakers to fading the Mavericks for my FanDuel Best Bet.

As I highlighted off the top, Dallas has been devastated by injuries in recent weeks.

Now the Mavericks must travel to Milwaukee for a tough test against a legitimate contender in the Bucks.

The spread for tonight’s game has already ticked up from Bucks -9.5 to -10 at FanDuel.

I’m going to lock in a builder Same Game Parlay with Brook Lopez to score 10+ points with the Bucks first-half, full-time moneyline winner at -106 odds.

Hopefully, we can make it two in a row in the NBA.

Have a great day, everyone!