Missing the Mavericks: A personal account of the NBA’s suspension

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Dallas Mavericks and NBA basketball have been suspended for six weeks now. Here is a first-person account of how I am coping without sports.

The Dallas Mavericks were hosting the Denver Nuggets on national television on March 11. It seems like about 97,002 years ago now. Both teams were going back and forth in a potential postseason preview. As the prospect of playing without fans in the stands grew more and more, a certain dread was beginning to set in. Surely, the NBA is going to soldier on right? Right?

Well, Rudy Gobert, as he does so well, blocked that possibility. He tested positive for the novel coronavirus and sent me into a rather dark place as a sports fan.

Within minutes of the news of his test spreading, the NBA suspended play as the game in Dallas continued on. The Mavs ended up grabbing a 113-97 win behind a monster performance from Boban Marjanovic. It was their 40th victory of the season, their most since the 2015-2016 season.

More. 5 that may have played their last game with the Mavs

I bleed blue and white. Having watched every millisecond of all 67 games to this point, I miss this Mavericks team as much as I miss the wily, floppy-haired sniper from Wurtzburg. Wasn’t Maxi Kleber amazing?

Gone seemingly forever are Tim Hardaway Jr.’s gorgeous drives to the basket, Kristaps Porzingis’s punishing screens, and Seth Curry’s irresistibly sweet jumpers. Also absent are Justin Jackson’s turnstiles to the rim, Dwight Powell’s street clothes, and Luka Doncic’s European-laden swearing at the zebras not giving him calls.

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