Mavs’ bench mayhem might be a non-stop party, but Warriors and NBA not

When the $100,000 fine was announced Sunday, Cuban probably asked league commissioner Adam Silver, “Got change for a million-dollar bill?”

The Mavs’ rowdy bench had its Hall of Fame moment in Game 2 on Friday night at Chase Center, when Stephen Curry threw a pass to what he thought was a teammate. It turned out to be inactive Mavs’ player Theo Pinson, who was standing on the sideline wearing a white shirt, the same color as the Warriors’ uniforms that night, and waving for the ball.

It was a trick Pinson might have borrowed from the late Super Dave Osborne, who once revealed that he became a table tennis champion by gluing ping-pong balls all over his shirt to distract his opponents.

This column, it should be noted, has always come down on the side of the fun-seekers in all sports debates about what behavior is acceptable and what crosses the line. Bat flips, touchdown celebrations, Curry giving opponents the “nighty-night” sign — all part of the fun! But there are limits.

Also worth noting: The Warriors have long been in the forefront of enthusiastic bench celebrations. Head coach Steve Kerr knows that, and it was wise of him to avoid criticizing the Mavs’ bench.

Before Sunday’s game, Mavs’ coach Jason Kidd blamed the whole problem on the media.

“We’re not a complaining organization,” Kidd said. “You haven’t heard us complain about when we lose. . .If you want to talk about the bench, you can talk about the bench. That’s on you. We don’t talk about the bench. You guys did the article on the bench and that’s how we started getting fined, because you brought light to it. So you guys should be paying the fines. . .So the media is at fault here.”

Also before the game, Kerr commented, “I’ve got no problem with (the bench activity) as long as it doesn’t interfere with the game. I love the energy of those guys. You can feel their togetherness. So all that’s good as long as there’s no interference with the action that’s happening.

“For us, I think for most teams, guys these days, modern NBA, seem to be more engaged on the bench and there’s more theatrics and more dancing, and I think all in all, it’s pretty good stuff.”

Kerr said he’s cool as long as the Mavs don’t pull the old white-shirt decoy trick again. During Sunday’s pregame warmups, ref Mark Davis approached Pinson and asked him to change out of his white shirt. Pinson did not, he wore the white shirt and stood most of the game.

Pinson, it turns out, is carving out an NBA career as a cheerleader and public nuisance. He stuck with the Mavs this season on a two-way contract and is inactive for the playoffs, but Kidd recently said, “He’s our MVP.”

So the standing seems fine with everyone except the league office. More potentially problematic is the tendency for Cuban’s conga line to veer onto the playing surface, which can be distracting and dangerous.