5 Dallas Maverick Players Sat In Critical Game And The Team Was Then Eliminated From The Playoffs

The Dallas Mavericks have no shame.

With the season on the line Friday night and facing a must-win game in order to continue their playoff contention, five Dallas Mavericks players sat out.

The result? The Mavs lost and are now out of the playoffs.

Luka Doncic was benched after the the first quarter in a must-win Mavs game. Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)

MARK CUBAN MADE THE MAVS TANK, SAT TOP PLAYERS

Load management? Nope, the Mavs clearly had no intention of making a postseason run.

Kyrie Irving (of course) as well as four other regulars all sat as the Bulls defeated the Mavs 115-112, effectively knocking Dallas out of a potential playoff spot.

Irving was ruled out with a right foot injury recovery. Meanwhile Maxi Kleber was out for a right hamstring recovery, Tim Hardaway Jr. had ankle soreness, and Josh Green and Christian Wood sat because they "needed rest." Ya know, because the entire offseason isn't enough time to recover, let's just have them get a head start on on it by sabotaging the team to not make the playoffs.

The Mavs were so egregious with wanting to lose, that when they were leading by double digits at halftime thanks to Markieff Morris scoring 13 points in the second quarter alone and Jaden Hardy hitting a half-court buzzer beater, both players were then benched the rest of the game.

Prior to the game, head coach Jason Kidd said that it was an "organizational decision" to limit Luka Doncic to play the first quarter only. In other words, Mark Cuban and company ordered the full tank.

This went against what Luka thought was going to happen. Earlier this week he told reporters he would play as long as the team was still in playoff contention.

I'm not sure, but I don't think pissing off your star player is a good way to boost team morale.

TANKING FOR A LOTTERY PICK

Oh, not to mention that the Mavs also have the headcase that is Kyrie Irving. Probably shouldn't want to mess with him and put any negative thoughts in his mind. He doesn't have the greatest track record with teams he loses interest in.

(The Mavs went 9-17 since trading for Kyrie by the way).

Despite so many stars being benched however, the rest of the backups - many whom barely saw any playing time at all this year took full advantage of the opportunity. Their loyalty wasn't to the Mavericks - it's to their own playing careers and rightfully so. It nearly worked - with the team only losing by three in the end.

The Mavs loss guaranteed that they wouldn't be in the playoffs, just a year after making it to the Western Conference Finals. Oklahoma City will now be the tenth and final seed in the West.

THE MAVS MISSED THE PLAYOFFS A YEAR AFTER A FANTASTIC RUN

If the Mavericks have a top 10 pick in the draft in June, they get to keep it. If the pick is 11th or lower, it goes to the New York Knicks stemming from Dallas' trade to bring in Kristaps Porzinging in 2019. By not making the playoff, the Mavs have a better chance of being in the top 10.

Honestly, I am now rooting for the ultimate karma and for the Mavs to somehow get screwed out of the draft and have to forfeit the pick to the Knicks. Would be completely fitting for what they pulled last night to the Mavs fans.

UPDATE: The NBA has announced that they are investigating the Dallas Mavericks for the alleged tanking-like situation. "The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks' roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night's Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions," NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said Saturday afternoon.