DALLAS _ Mark Cuban noticed the backlash. How could he not? Fans and even some reporters went apoplectic on Twitter about the Mavericks' offseason moves, or, rather, a perceived lack thereof.
Instead of utilizing its $30 million of salary cap space to land a star free agent, the franchise appeared mostly to make peripheral moves.
Contract extensions for Dwight Powell, Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber? Bring back ex-Maverick Seth Curry? The same-old, same-old, coming off seasons of 33-49, 24-58 and 33-49?
"When you're a bad team like we've been the last couple of years, people just downplay your second unit automatically: 'They must be bad because they're the second unit on a bad team,'" Cuban said.
"They weren't bad. We just didn't have all the pieces we needed. That's why we kept everybody together. We knew our second unit was pretty darn good and with just a piece here or there we could be a whole lot better."
Easy to say now, but the proof is in Dallas' 15-6 record and its nine victories in the last 10 games. The proof is in the fact that the Mavericks lead the NBA in bench-scoring differential, 6.2 points per game.
Strong bench play has been a hallmark of coach Rick Carlisle's 12 Mavericks teams, at least the good ones.
Carlisle's first eight Mavericks teams finished among the NBA's top 12 in bench scoring, with the 2008-09, 2010-11 and 2012-13 teams posting NBA-leading averages of, respectively, 37.9, 40.4 and 41.5.
This season's Mavericks average 43.6 bench points, but unlike past teams with quality depth, there isn't a Jason Terry or Vince Carter bell cow sixth man.
During Dallas' current four-game winning streak, different bench players have leaped forward. Curry, Kleber and Jalen Brunson scored nine points apiece at Phoenix. In the road victory over the Lakers, Delon Wright had 17 points and nine assists, while Justin Jackson scored 15 points.
In New Orleans, Curry scored 19 points and posted a team-leading plus-minus of 32. And in Wednesday's comeback home victory over Minnesota, all five starters had plus-minus negatives while five bench players had plus-11s or better. Brunson scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter.
"We have so many pieces," Brunson said. "The best part about it (is) I feel like a lot of us are really starting to gel together and our chemistry's becoming really special. Whoever's out there, we have full trust and faith in them."
The plan when the season began was for Tim Hardaway Jr. to be "Lou Williams for the second unit," Cuban said, alluding to the Clippers' three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
But Curry, who started nine of the first 13 games, including five in a row, became ill and was unable to play in the Nov. 20 and 22 games against Golden State and Cleveland. With Hardaway stepping in as starter, the Mavericks won those games by a combined 90 points.
Hardaway has started the last eight games. Dallas won seven of those games, five of them by double-digit margins, and by an average of 21.8 points.
"He's got the quickest catch and shoot in the league and Luka (Doncic) is one of the best at getting it to him on-time and on-target," Cuban said. "So it kind of evolved from him being (sixth man) to him helping spread the court (for the starters)."
