Luka Doncic

Traded from the Nets to the Pacers in 1977 then from the Pacers back to the Nets less than a year later, John Williamson returned to Indiana for a game in 1978 asking whether anyone had ever scored 50 in that arena. Told no, he pledged he would – then delivered, dropping 50 on his old team.

That is the record for most points in a game against a team a player played for earlier that season and the last time someone scored even 40 in such a game…

Until Luka Doncic scored 45 points to lead the Lakers over the Mavericks in Dallas last night.

Most points in a game against a team a player played for earlier that season:

Nate and Danny covered Doncic's performance and the game in greater depth on the pod.

Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic's eyes welling up as he watched his tribute video last night was a pretty powerful scene. Doncic even said he thought while watching, "There's no way I'm playing this game." Thankfully, he pulled himself together for a memorable performance.

Luka Doncic

To answer Nate's question on the pod – "Would anyone have been like, 'Oh, they're such assholes for not even honoring him'?" – yes. Absolutely, yes.

Tribute videos have become so standard around the league. From superstars to role players, everyone gets one now. It's notable when anyone doesn't.

The shirts were a step beyond, but Doncic meant far more to Dallas than other players facing their former team.

The biggest issue: Dallas fans are mad about the trade. Unable to undo the trade, they're lashing out at whatever they can. If the team didn't honor Doncic, they'd criticize that. With how the team honored Doncic, they criticized that. The Mavericks are in a no-win position (in fairness, created by their own blunder).

Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd on the Luka Doncic trade:

"Trades happen. This won't be the last trade. Someone compared it to Babe Ruth, which is kind of cool. But when you look at just the business of sports, change happens."

Kidd sometimes deadpans jokes in the middle of his press conferences without pausing for laughter. I fully acknowledge Kidd's humor here might be over my head.

But in case this isn't a joke: What?! The Boston Red Sox were plagued by the Curse of the Bambino for 86 years after selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees.

Calvin Booth-Michael Malone

With key Nuggets players – including Nikola Jokic – tired of Michael Malone's fiery style, Calvin Booth decided Monday to fire Malone, according to Sam Amick and Tony Jones of The Athletic.

The catch: Booth would have to wait until after the postseason. On an expiring contract, he'd need Denver to do well enough to earn him a new deal before he had the power to fire Malone. However, if the Nuggets advanced far enough, maybe Malone would save his job. It was a narrow needle to thread.

The other catch, of course: Denver axed both Malone and Booth on Tuesday.

If only Booth realized sooner Malone didn't work as his coach.

Grizzlies-Nuggets

Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke and executive Josh Kroenke were influenced by the Grizzlies' firing Taylor Jenkins, according to Sam Amick and Tony Jones of The Athletic.

The Nuggets should have made the best move for themselves, regardless. But it's scary to take the bold step of firing a coach so close to the postseason. There's comfort in crowds. Memphis normalized the move, and Denver followed.

Michael Malone

Brian Windhorst of ESPN said he got a call shortly after the Michael Malone firing from someone very close to Malone pointing out how disrespectful the move was.

It's interesting if that conveys how Malone feels. Granted, Windhorst's source could be advocating for Malone, even if Malone himself is more at peace with the decision. On the other hand, the source could be representing Malone or even be Malone himself. Earlier in the podcast, Windhorst mentioned he has known Malone for 20 years and that they had a long off-the-record conversation earlier this season.

Denver firing Malone now was disrespectful.

He guided the Nuggets to their only championship, fewer than two years ago. He's the franchise's wins leader (471). The only championship coach whose tenure ended with an in-season firing since 1982 was Tyronn Lue, and the Cavaliers were obviously in a new phase post-LeBron by then. The only coaches ever to win so many games on a job then get fired at all were John MacLeod with the Suns and Phil Jackson with the Bulls.*

*Though Jackson's contract expired in 1998, he was not welcome back. I usually count coaching changes as a binary – decided by the team or decided by the coach. So, I count Jackson's end in Chicago as a firing.

There's a reasonable case Denver, after all Malone accomplished there, owed it to him to let him see through the postseason.

That said, he reportedly had plans to leave on his own volition this offseason. The Nuggets also owed it to their players to maximize their odds of advancing deep in the playoffs. A shakeup might have been the best way to accomplish that.

So, I ultimately hold two beliefs:

Firing Malone was disrespectful.

It might have been the right move, anyway.

Jamal Murray

Jamal Murray will likely return for Nuggets-Grizzlies tomorrow, according to Sam Amick and Tony Jones of The Athletic.

If healthy, Denver's roster is good enough to do major damage in the playoffs. That was the whole point of firing Michael Malone now, to break the Nuggets from their funk. It is not too late to end the season on a high note.

Ja Morant

Ja Morant made one gun gesture during the Grizzlies' win over the Heat that went viral. The NBA cited two when fining him.

But Morant made "so many" gun gestures, including following his walk-off interview, according to The Dan Le Batard Show's Dominique Foxworth, who attended the game.

For Morant to do that right after the NBA warned him about the gesture is wild.

Most Improved Player

On the awards pod, Nate expressed a common reluctance to voting second-year players for Most Improved Players His concern: If you treat second-year players equally for the award, you'd always vote for second-year players.

Well, I have absolutely zero qualms about voting for second-year players. To me, if you improve, you improve. Experience level is not at all part of my criteria.

For what it's worth, I would've selected just three second-year players in the 11 years I've been making award picks:

• 2020: Luka Doncic over actual-winner Brandon Ingram (who was in his fourth season)
• 2019: De'Aaron Fox over actual-winner Pascal Siakam (who was in his third season)
• 2014: Terrence Jones over actual-winner Goran Dragic (who was in his sixth season)

Maybe that's still too many second-year players for you. But it's far from an every-year occurrence.

For posterity, the only other year my pick differed from the actual winner was last year, when I had sixth-year Jalen Brunson over Tyrese Maxey, who was in his fourth season.

-Dan Feldman