NBA restart central: A full return-to-play schedule, the latest developments and Mavericks notes to remember

On March 11, the NBA suspended its season after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus.

Now, nearly three months later, the league has a plan to resume the 2020 season.

Here’s everything you need to know about the NBA’s mid-season restart.

Mavericks full regular-season restart schedule

July 31: Mavericks at Rockets, 8 p.m., The Arena (FSSW/ESPN)

Aug. 2: Mavericks at Suns, 8 p.m., VISA Athletic Center (FSSW)

Aug. 4: Mavericks at Kings, 1:30 p.m., HP Field House (FSSW)

Aug. 6: Mavericks at Clippers, 5:30 p.m., HP Field House (FSSW/TNT)

Aug. 8: Mavericks at Bucks, 7:30 p.m., The Arena (FSSW/ESPN)

Aug. 10: Mavericks at Jazz, 2 p.m., The Arena (FSSW/NBA TV)

Aug. 11: Mavericks at Trail Blazers, 4 p.m., The Arena (FSSW)

Aug. 13: Mavericks at Suns, TBD, (FSSW)

The details

Here are the conditions of the NBA’s return:

The NBA will bring 22 teams to Orlando to start its season on July 31. Teams will play eight regular-season games with the possibility of also participating in a play-in tournament for the final spot in each conference’s playoffs. A traditional 16-team postseason will follow.

The league still needs to finalize a deal with Disney to host the games at the Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla.

SportsDay’s Brad Townsend wrote about how the NBA’s plan to restart is the optimal scenario for the Mavericks.

NBA’s tentative schedule, from quarantine to 2020-21 opening night

SportsDay’s Callie Caplan broke down the full return-to-play schedule and what it means for the Mavericks.

July 31: 2019-2020 season resumes

The Mavericks are currently seventh in the Western Conference standings at 40-27. They’re seven games ahead of eighth-place Memphis and 1.5 games behind No. 5 Oklahoma City and No. 6 Houston with eight regular-season contests remaining.

Aug. 15-16: Play-in tourney

The Mavericks will likely not face a play-in scenario as the No. 8 seed — unless they lose all eight of their regular-season games and the Grizzlies win out.

Aug. 17: First round of the playoffs starts

The Mavericks are currently slated to face the second-seeded Clippers, who have beaten Dallas twice in two games this season.

Aug. 25: NBA draft lottery

The Mavericks will likely not participate for the first time since 2016.

Sept. 1: Second round of the playoffs starts

The Mavericks haven’t won a playoff series since their 2011 championship run.

Sept. 15: Conference finals start

Sept. 30: Game 1 of the NBA Finals

Oct. 13: Game 7 of the NBA Finals (if necessary)

Oct. 15: NBA draft

The Mavericks hold a first-round pick for the first time since 2018 and will not have another until 2022.

Oct. 18: Start of free agency

J.J. Barea, Courtney Lee and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will be unrestricted free agents entering the 2020-21 season. Tim Hardaway Jr. (about $19 million) and Willie Cauley-Stein (about $2.3 million) both have player options for the final year of their contracts.

Nov. 10: 2020-21 training camp begins

Dec. 1: 2020-21 season opening night

Mavericks news

— Mavericks ‘played their butts off’, but late-game woes continued in a tough loss vs. Houston

— 3 thoughts from Mavs’ loss vs. Rockets in NBA restart opener: Dallas can’t talk about the playoffs just yet

— Mavericks and Rockets kneel during national anthem, protesting racial injustice, before NBA restart opener

— 5 things we learned from the Mavericks’ scrimmages in NBA bubble ahead of restart opener vs. Rockets

— Teams’ displays of unity before NBA’s reopening take center stage

— How the Dallas Mavericks have become ‘a model’ in the fight against racial injustice and inequality

— All indications suggest NBA, NHL have hit on the right idea for playing games. Other sports are on the bubble

— Expert predictions for Mavs’ restart and NBA playoffs: Dallas’ first-round opponent, Finals matchups and more

— CEO Cynthia Marshall defends Mavs’ investigation into allegations of sexual assault by team executive

— Does latest sexual assault allegation against Mavs reveal a lingering culture problem or a convenient target?

— Read the Mavericks’ full statement in response to SI’s report alleging sexual assault by a team executive

— Luka Doncic’s evasion of an ‘evil camera,’ Kristaps Porzingis’ return to form make Mavs’ final scrimmage a success

— While the Mavericks don’t have a gaping wound, Kristaps Porzingis’ absence exposed their Achilles heel

— Experts predict the Mavs to be ‘pretty scary’ in NBA playoffs, compare Luka Doncic to two Hall of Famers

— Mavs missed Kristaps Porzingis in loss to Pacers, but his bubble blunder was minor compared to others around the league

— Kristaps Porzingis misses a coronavirus test; forced to skip scrimmage vs. Indiana

— Scenes from Brad Townsend’s first week in the bubble: A look at the Disney World setup, the Mavs’ return to action and more

— Seth Curry’s career sample size has reached validity status: Quite an addition for Mavericks

— How Mavericks players and staff are parenting from the NBA bubble, from bedtime stories over FaceTime to white lies

— A whole new game, indeed: NBA’s ‘next-level’ bubble arena a compelling blend of technology, COVID-19 safety

— Mavericks release TV schedule for NBA restart scrimmage games

— Life in the NBA bubble: The Dallas Morning News’ Brad Townsend gives a peek of complex on first day out of quarantine

10 Mavericks notes to remember

Caplan broke down 10 Mavs notes to remember before the NBA’s restart.

1. Luka Doncic will be healthy

In the weeks before the NBA’s suspension, Doncic’s injury list read like a novel. A sprained ankle kept him out seven games before the All-Star break. He also played through wrist and thumb injuries and dealt with an illness.

Coach Rick Carlisle tried to get his 21-year-old star rest while in the midst of a playoff push with different rotation patterns and load management days. An even better solution for Doncic’s healing: four months to rehab and recover before leading the Mavericks toward their first playoff series since 2016.

2. And he knows how to find a quick rhythm

Concerns about players readjusting to live action after an abrupt pause are legitimate.

But all 22 NBA teams that are part of the restart will have a few weeks to train before games, and Doncic has shown he can capitalize early.

In the first month of this season — 16 games — Doncic averaged 30.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. That included seven triple-doubles and propelled Doncic into the MVP conversation.

3. The starting five will finally be (mostly) intact

The caveat is Dwight Powell, a starter through the first half of the season who won’t be on the court for the restart as he continues to rehab his surgically repaired Achilles tendon.

But the Mavericks’ typical starters in Powell’s absence — Doncic, Seth Curry, Tim Hardaway Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith and Kristaps Porzingis — should all return in good health.

That was a rarity in the seven weeks before the suspension, as the five combined to miss 23 games to injury and illness since Jan. 23, Dallas’ first game without Powell.

4. Can Kristaps Porzingis regain his All-Star form?

Of all Mavericks, Porzingis might’ve been most hampered by the hiatus.

In nine games during February, Porzingis averaged 25.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. Porzingis missed only the second games of four back-to-backs for load management since returning in January from a right knee injury.

Porzingis exuded confidence throughout February — both on the court and during introspective interviews — and dazzled alongside Doncic in several games before the stoppage.

5. Seth Curry became a potential playoff X-factor

The Mavericks had another dominant contributor in February: Curry, who shot 59.1% on 3-pointers in 10 games.

Curry’s burst especially benefited the Mavericks in Carlisle’s flow offense, which relies on frequent 3-point looks and production.

Should Curry have recovered well from his nagging back and ankle injuries, his accuracy and rhythm could be one of the factors critical to the Mavericks clinching a playoff berth and aiming for their first playoff series win since 2011.

6. Statistical history may not be legitimate, but don’t forget the Mavs’ offense

Dallas led the NBA in offensive rating with 115.8 points per 100 possessions before the hiatus, more than two points higher than second-place Houston (113.4) and on pace to be the highest in league history.

The four-month pause, shortening of the regular season and condensing of participants for the restart mark unprecedented logistics for the NBA. That probably means statistics from the 2019-20 season, especially during the restart, will be viewed with asterisks in the future.

The Mavericks probably won’t mind skewed comparisons if their production translates to playoff success this summer.

7. Clutch performance will be magnified

Another statistic that helps explains Dallas’ 40-27 record this season: clutch rating.

The Mavericks entered the suspension with a 6-16 record in games decided by five points or fewer, including 3-8 against teams with records below .500. Dallas was 14-21 in games within five points in the last five minutes.

Dallas offered few excuses for its struggles, which cost the Mavericks leverage in the Western Conference. Their push to improve their standing during the restart’s eight regular-season games will further magnify any late miscues.

8. Ended on a positive note

So many aspects of the Mavericks’ March 11 win over the Nuggets were weird:

The NBA announced its suspension during the third quarter. Three starters — Porzingis, Curry and Finney-Smith — were inactive. Boban Marjanovic tallied a career-best 31 points and 17 rebounds. The Mavericks beat the West’s No. 3 seed by 16 points.

That sent the Mavericks into the suspension with one of their best wins of the year and helped position them to gain traction in the West this summer. Dallas (40-27) is tied with No. 5 Oklahoma City and No. 6 Houston at 40 wins and is three losses behind the two.

No. 4 Utah (41-23) is one win and four losses ahead, meaning home-court advantage — whatever that looks like in a centralized playoffs — isn’t out of Dallas’ reach yet.

9. A winning record against remaining opponents

The NBA hasn’t announced regular-season matchups for this summer, but the league intends to pull from games remaining on the original schedule.

In that format, the Mavericks could have 10 possible opponents for their eight games: the Clippers, Suns, Kings, Trail Blazers, Rockets, Jazz, Bucks, Grizzlies, Nuggets and Oklahoma City.

Dallas is a combined 12-11 against those teams: 0-2 vs. the Clippers and Jazz; 1-1 vs. the Suns, Rockets and Thunder; 2-1 against the Nuggets, Trail Blazers, Kings and Grizzlies; and 1-0 vs. the Bucks.

10. Have mid-season additions adjusted?

Perhaps the only thing more hectic than an unexpected four-month suspension of NBA games? Enduring the stoppage weeks after joining a new team.

The Mavericks acquired Willie Cauley-Stein in late January to boost frontcourt depth after Powell’s injury, but Cauley-Stein played in just 12 games while missing eight of the last 11 for personal reasons.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist signed with Dallas once he negotiated a buyout with Charlotte after the early February trade deadline, but the small forward, who Dallas hoped would provide a defensive spark, averaged about eight minutes in nine appearances.

Contributions from players off the bench are often crucial to a postseason run. The Mavericks had hoped to acclimate Cauley-Stein and Kidd-Gilchrist to bolster reserve depth alongside Maxi Kleber, Delon Wright, J.J. Barea and Justin Jackson.

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