One of the more underrated parts of the Dallas Mavericks' run to the Western Conference Finals last season was the nightly energy provided from their bench. Not their second unit in Jason Kidd's rotation ... the actual bench, led by the vibes captain himself, Theo Pinson. In addition to hyping up his teammates, Pinson also got into opponents' heads by talking trash to them when close to the Mavs' bench.
On the other hand, maybe the bench mob wasn't as underrated as we thought, given that the NBA added a new "celebration encroachment" rule in an attempt to keep bench players from stepping on the court standing up for long periods of time. Is this truly the "Theo Pinson Rule?" The league didn't come out and formally say that, but it's pretty obvious that Pinson's actions had some influence.
The Mavs didn't seem to care too much about the league fining them in excess of $100,000 throughout the playoffs for violating the "bench decor" rule, so how will they adapt to this new rule? Pinson offered his thoughts on Twitter after seeing the rule being implemented in a preseason game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.
Last season, Pinson only appeared in 19 games for the Mavs as a two-way contract player, averaging 2.5 points and 1.1 rebounds in just 7.8 minutes per game. Although he's mostly known for his bench activities, Pinson showed he's capable of producing on the court as well when given the opportunity. His best game came in he season finale against the San Antonio Spurs where he tallied 16 points on a perfect 5-5 from the field in the Mavs' 10-point win.
Since Pinson was no longer eligible for a two-way contract over the offseason, Dallas brought him back on a one-year veteran minimum deal. No one is expecting Pinson to have his number called by coach Kidd a lot this season, but his relentless efforts to energize and lift up his teammates makes his one-year contract worth it for the Mavs' front office.
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