It’s been said that NBA players make their money in the regular season and owners make theirs in the playoffs.
In this era, with so much revenue coming from television rights and other streams, it’s not quite that way.
But it’s still a bonus for owners when they get extra home games when fans are at their rowdiest, proudest, loudest, hungriest and thirstiest.
And the playoffs are good financially for the players, too.
The NBA released its playoff pool earlier this week and it’s already given the Mavericks a little bonus for their success in the regular season.
The total NBA playoff pool is $17,317,334. Players on teams that finish higher in their conference and go deeper in the playoffs are rewarded for their efforts.
For instance, the team with the best record in each conference gets $437,078 to split among its players.
So how does this impact the Mavericks?
By finishing with the fourth-best record in the Western Conference, that put $213,867 into their playoff bank. They also have earned $258,449 for participating in the first round of the playoffs.
So, as it stands now, they have $472,316 to divvy up among players.
Since the Mavericks have 17 players (including two-way contracts), that comes to $27,783 per player.
That’s not much, compared to their regular-season salary. But it could rise if they can move along in the playoffs.
Should they make it to the conference semifinals, they would put another $307,520 into their account.
Making the conference finals would mean another $508,174.
The losing team in the NBA finals pockets slightly over $2-million and the winning team gets just over $3-million.
Again, it’s not a huge addition to their salary, but it’s enough to pay for a few vacations for the family once the playoff run is done.
Players usually vote at the end of a season to decide who gets a playoff share. Sometimes, ballboys or other support staffers are fortunate enough to get partial shares.
BIG ADJUSTMENT: With Luka Dončić getting closer to a return, it will change the way the Mavericks look, but not necessarily the way they attack the Jazz.
Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie have had success in the first two games getting into the paint and either finishing or, more often, finding 3-point shooters on the perimeter.
“As we get healthy here, hopefully, that gives us the edge,” coach Jason Kidd said. “If we continue to attack the paint and make them play defense, we truly believe we’re going to get an open shot if we’re patient.”
Rest assured that the Jazz are working on adjustments that give them a better chance to contest the 3-point line. The Mavericks had 17 uncontested 3-pointers in Game 2 Monday.
“We can’t have Brunson have the night he had and also be able to kick the ball out for those looks,” Utah coach Quin Snyder said. “And when those passes are kicked out, I thought we weren’t as sharp mentally in our ability to rotate, and that’s something that we’ve done before. It’s obviously a challenge.
“Those things – staying in front, being able to protect the rim, and then getting back out to shooters – there’s a chain reaction there.”
DORIAN’S DEFENSE: Through two games, Utah’s Donovan Mitchell has averaged 33 points, but his efficiency has been mediocre. He’s needed 59 shots to get those 66 points, shooting 39 percent.
Dorian Finney-Smith has been charged as the main defender on Mitchell, a three-time all-star who averaged 25.9 points in the regular season.
Mitchell was asked what it is that makes Finney-Smith such an effective defender.
“He’s tall, he’s lanky and he’s also strong. Typically, guys give up one of those (things),” Mitchell said. “But he has all those things and he’s athletic. Not a lot of defenders have the strength, the quickness, the size and the athleticism. He has all of those.”
WAITING TO GET OFF THE LIST: Marquese Chriss has played 292 NBA games, but he’s never been in the playoffs. He is eighth on the list of active players who have played the most games without a playoff appearance.
He started this playoff run 10th on the list. But since Zach LaVine and Brandon Ingram both have played in this year’s postseason, Chriss moved up.
Chriss is patiently waiting his chance to contribute in the first-round series.
“I’ve been on teams with people who have won championships and they’ve told me about it – about the environment really being different and you feel the energy in the arena, so I’m looking forward to it,” Chriss said.
“At the end of the day, I look at it as basketball. I’m not going to do anything different. Going into that environment, it just makes you play that much harder and my role is bringing that energy and rebounding and playing as hard as I can.”
Here’s the list of active players who have the most regular-season games played with no playoff appearances:
Buddy Hield, 468; Brandon Knight, 451; Nik Stauskas, 343; De’Aaron Fox, 322; Malik Monk, 309; Willy Hernangomez, 306; Josh Hart, 296; Marquese Chriss, 292.
WATCH PARTY: The Mavericks have several watch parties set for both games from Utah.
For Game 3, Echo Lounge will be the place to be for a free watch party with lots of Mavericks’ supporters on hand. Echo Lounge is at 1323 Stemmons and the party gets going at 7:30 p.m. with tipoff at 8 p.m.
Numerous other establishments will have Mavericks-affiliated events.
On Saturday, the AT&T Plaza in downtown Dallas will begin hosting fans for the 3:30 p.m. Game 4.
Twitter: @ESefko
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