Mark Cuban has already been fined for talking about his intentions to tank, but that does not seem to have stopped the Mavericks from embracing the process.
Late in Dallas’ game against the Lakers in Los Angeles on Wednesday, the Mavs went with, shall we say, an inexperienced lineup.
Mavs rolling with all-undrafted lineup — including four dudes who got a lot of G-League time this season — down the stretch against the Lakers.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) March 29, 2018
Over the final five minutes, the players on the floor for Dallas included the likes of Maximilian Kleber, Johnathan Motley, Aaron Harrison, Kyle Collinsworth and Jalen Jones. Not one of those five players were drafted. Regulars like Harrison Barnes, Dennis Smith Jr. and Dirk Nowitzki were not in the game late to make a push. Barnes only played 24 minutes in the contest total.
When the Mavs were down 92-86 with 5:18 left, Doug McDermott and Yogi Ferrell were subbed out for Harrison and Jones. Motley had subbed in for Nerlens Noel a few minutes earlier.
We’re not saying that the players on the floor for Dallas were not trying to win the game, but what we are saying is they didn’t necessarily put their best players on the floor late, seemingly on purpose.
At least this is something Cuban should be able to avoid a fine for.
