Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd made waves after Dallas’ fourth straight loss on Saturday night, ending his postgame conference with a profanity-laced diatribe against the officials and the criticism Kidd’s received from the national media.
On both of those topics, the conversation revolved around Mavs dynamic rookie Cooper Flagg.
And on both of those topics, Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban appears to have his head coach’s back.
Cuban took to social media on Sunday to post his thoughts on the Mavericks’ loss, the calls (or lack thereof) that go against Flagg and the skepticism Kidd has received after playing the rookie out of position at point guard for much of the season.
Mavericks
Cuban backed Kidd’s decision to play Flagg at point guard, saying that Kidd “did the exact right thing playing Coop at PG.” He even cited texts from before the season started that he sent to Kidd saying, “Point guard, point guard, point guard… let him bring the ball up.”
He had even more to say on the officiating from Saturday.
The main point of contention came with 25 seconds left in Saturday’s game, when Flagg attempted a game-tying layup and appeared to get bumped on the drive before missing the shot and falling to the floor. No foul was called, and the Mavs went on to lose by four points.
Kidd said after the game that he saw a foul on the play and that the missed call was “unacceptable.”
“JKidd nailed it on the refs,” Cuban wrote. “Particularly how they are officiating Coop.
“It’s insane. When every touch was a foul, last month, he didn’t get any calls. Then the crew chiefs made the decision there should be more physicality, changing how they call the games mid-season, like they did a couple years ago, so that not only does Coop still not get any calls, he gets HAMMERED more often.”
Cuban ended the post by putting out a call for “Mavs Nation” to post missed calls online and to tag the NBA referees’ official social media account.
Kidd went so far as to name-drop the officials in his postgame tirade and could face a fine from the NBA for his comments. Going off Cuban’s words it wouldn’t be too surprising if the former longtime Mavericks owner picked up Kidd’s tab.
Watch: Cooper Flagg’s 49-point game draws quip on SNL’s ‘Weekend Update’
It beats the last time the Dallas Mavericks drew a mention on “Saturday Night Live.”
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The selection of Flagg altered Dallas’ fortunes, providing a desperately needed change given the turbulent months following the Doncic trade.
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