Getty Image
The Dallas Mavericks have had an average start to the 2022-23 NBA season. They are 13-13 and currently sit in 10th place in the Western Conference.
Dallas got blown out on Saturday by the Bulls (144-115) a day after falling to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks by just 1 point on Friday. That game stung.
After the game, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban would reveal that he’s been snitching in Giannis Antetokounmpo to the NBA’s front office. Dallas is now 0-2 against Giannis this season and people are pointing fingers.
If the Mavs would figure out how to make a free throw they’d (likely) have a better record. But in the eyes of Mark Cuban, Dallas would benefit from Giannis learning to shoot free throws faster:
Also, Cuban says Mavs called NBA about Giannis taking more than allowed 10 seconds to shoot FTs in teams’ 1st meeting 2 weeks ago. NBA told Mavs it would be called but in Friday’s rematch Giannis took up to 12 seconds. “I have no idea why they didn’t do that in a 1-point game.” https://t.co/MKSbTH23TK
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) December 12, 2022
Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks currently ranks 29th out of 30 NBA teams in free throw shooting percentage this season. The Mavs are shooting just 72.3% from the line. The Boston Celtics rank 1st overall, shooting over 11% better than the Mavs with a 83.9% shooting percentage.
Dallas Morning News writer Brad Townsend writes about how this is an unprecedented position for the Mavericsk to be in. Free throw coach Gary Boren joined the Dallas Mavericks in 1997 and in the 20 years he was on the Dallas staff the Mavs ranked in the NBA’s top 5 free throw shooting percentage 14 times and they ranked 1st or 2nd in 10 of Boren’s 20 years with Dallas. Boren has been in his Dallas role for 26 seasons but something is off…
Instead of pointing the finger at his own staff, Mark Cuban implied that Giannis Antetokounmpo is simply taking too long to shoot free throws. Players are only allowed 10 seconds but Giannis is taking more time than that and Mark Cuban snitched on him to the league, who did nothing.
Meanwhile, Giannis went 7-for-10 from the line on Friday with the alleged extra time.
Mark Cuban could/should suggest an easy fix to the NBA
The easiest possible fix to this ‘problem’, if you see it that way, is to start using the shot clock for players shooting free throws. If there is already a ‘clock’ on the amount of time players have to show FT’s there’s no reason the league shouldn’t use the shot clock. Rolling out the shot clock would cause a drop FT % across the league but who would really care?
Giannis is certainly dragging his team’s free throw shooting percentage down this season. He shoots just 62.7% from the line while the Milwaukee Bucks are shooting 73.6% from the line this season compared to 77.0% in the 2021-22 NBA season.
Dallas Mavericks fans took issue with Mark Cuban’s comments:
Rings awfully hollow after going 10/24 on the line yourselves..
— Tyler Edsel (@tyleredsel76) December 12, 2022
He shouldn’t be worried about those refs. He needs to look at his team on that court… they need to focus and seek what needs to be done in order for their team to achieve.
— ✭StarCity81✭ (@StarCity81) December 12, 2022
At the risk of revealing myself as a Dallas Mavericks fan, I’ll echo this sentiment:
Stop complaining about the refs and either hold your players accountable or get players that can step up and make FTs when it matters.
— Social Media Therapy (@MavsVsCowboys) December 12, 2022
Another issue for the Dallas Mavericks is spending. They rank 30th in the NBA over the past 5 years in spending, almost a quarter of a billion dollars behind the Golden State Warriors.