Dallas Basketball

Mavs Preseason Profile: Will New NBA Rule Affect Theo Pinson's Good Vibes?

Theo Pinson was the leader of the Dallas Mavericks' sideline last season, whether it was hyping up his teammates or getting into opponents' heads with trash talk. The NBA's new bench decor rule could change some things ... at least so we think.

Dalton Trigg

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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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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

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