More than a week after the controversial incident, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban now appears to be pulling back a bit with his team's protest on what they believe to have been a missed call during the dying moments of their defeat to the Atlanta Hawks in late February.
It was earlier reported that the Mavs were pushing for a replay of the final eight seconds of the game, which they obviously believe they could have won had it not been for the allegedly incorrect goaltending call. In a more recent update, though, Cuban himself claims that even in the event that the Mavs win the protest, they would opt not to go through with the replay, except if it was going to have a substantial effect on their playoff seeding.
Mark Cuban has said that even if Mavs win protest, they might not actually go through with the 8-second replay unless it potentially impacts playoff seeding. If that happens, likely scenario is league finds late-season Hawks home game and makes Hawks-Mavs part of “double-header.” https://t.co/44UGnPL0hp
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) March 1, 2020
Right now, the Mavs are 37-24 and are sitting at the seventh spot in the Western Conference. They have a comfortable seven and a half game advantage over the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, but it is worth noting that only four and a half games separate them from the second-placed Denver Nuggets. As it is, Dallas is at the very thick of a playoff positioning battle out West.
Perhaps this is Cuban trying to play down their protest under the impression that they probably won't win. Maybe he has some insider information on the league's upcoming decision, and that this is his way of softening the blow for his side.
Dallas was in action on Sunday, scoring a 111-91 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves. This was the first night of a back-to-back set, as they finish their four-game road trip on Monday with a matchup against the Chicago Bulls.
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