Summer league is a magical time in which NBA players and NBA hopefuls get their sea legs in preparation for the season.
The result is some basketball that is less than pristine but still remarkably entertaining.
Mavericks center Marcus Bingham Jr. is among the players vying for a roster spot this summer, but on Friday night, he was part of an unfortunate moment in which the officials failed to maintain their footing.
With Dallas up 104-78 late in the fourth quarter against the Pacers, Bingham received a pass from guard Nike Sibande and ran away from the Pacers' defensive set in front of him.
As Bingham drove for a dunk and the Pacers protested, the play was whistled dead. That stopped him from scoring and capped a brutal moment.
MORE: Results, standings from Day 8 of Las Vegas Summer League
Mavericks summer league coach Jared Dudley asked the only question one could when something like this happens: "What are you doing?"
Jared Dudley: “What are you doing?”
— Sporting News NBA (@sn_nba) July 15, 2023
The Mavs were going the wrong way on the court 🤣
🎥: @ScottAgnesspic.twitter.com/VBFymSSI2H
It's a fun case of "Schrodinger's Backcourt." Sibande, it appeared, should have been called for a backcourt violation when he started "advancing" the offense. The play was going in the wrong direction, toward Dallas' basket. Bingham took off in the right direction.
But it turns out the officials had given the wrong team the ball. Indiana should have maintained possession after a personal foul was called on Dallas' Olivier-Maxence Prosper. The Mavs made a 5-for-5 substitution and the Pacers subbed in two players during a dead ball following the foul call.
Mavs-Warriors officiating controversy
This isn't the first time the Mavericks have misunderstood (or been misled about) which way they were supposed to go. It also happened last March against the Warriors.
Mavs defend the wrong basket, Warriors get a free bucket 😅 pic.twitter.com/XaxKxI3dpG
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 23, 2023
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban filed a protest over that play, which came in an eventual close Dallas loss. The NBA denied the appeal.
In both instances, the mistake occurred late in a quarter, so the referees couldn't claim that they were confused about a change of sides.
Bingham, a Michigan State product who was waived by the Mavs last October, played the final 3:49 Friday and finished with no points in his second summer league game.
The Mavs rolled to a 112-91 victory and moved to 3-1 in summer league, although they failed to advance to the playoffs because their margin of victory was too small and they lost a tiebreaker as a result.
