Before your Spectacular reaction in Game 3 of the West semifinals against the Phoenix Suns, the Mavericks were fined $25,000 by the NBA. The reason? The violation of the rules of “decorum” of the Texans team benchwith “several players and a member of the coaching staff too far from their bench and on or almost on the court” during the second game of the series, in Phoenix.
Little more than an anecdote that has its share of a wake-up call, because the Mavs’ bench was the protagonist of a video of Points Of Educationin which The NBA remembered some basic rules for the playoffs with explanations from Monty McCutchen, vice president for referee development and preparation. Jason Kidd reacted to the fine without biting his tongue, as he usually does: “The NBA is worrying about what it shouldn’t. They are millionaires cheering on other millionaires. It’s something you won’t see in society. And within the enthusiasm of a game, it is something special to see a player cheering on his teammates”.
Interestingly, journalist Tim MacMahon of ESPNjust published an article about the Dallas Mavericks bench, which He has become famous in the NBA circle for being the loudest, the most intense… and the most annoying for the rivals of the entire League. So much so that it has become a hallmark of the Texan team, which has had its best balance of victories (63%) since the 2010-11 season, when it won the only ring in its history. And the last year so far in which he had reached the conference semifinals.
This behavior of the bench includes players who are not on court, those who are inactive due to injury or cannot play due to contractual issues and even part of the coaching staff. Theo Pinson, ineligible for the playoffs, explains it like this in ESPN: “It is something that has more to do with trash talking than with giving technical orders. We try to help our team and be a problem for the rival, it’s a mental thing. I don’t see any other team doing what we do”. The injured Tim Hardaway Jr say that his mission is to be “the power supply” of those who are on track.
So from the Mavs bench there is taunts for rivals, lots of noise and shouts of encouragement for his team. Defensive adjustments are also sung and any detail that escapes on the track. And Luka Doncic loves it: “It is a sample of the chemistry of this team, which has increased during the season. It’s what was needed in Dallas “.