Mavericks are learning the hard way just how costly tanking can be

Last night, both the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies lost their games, leaving the No. 6 spot in the lottery standings tied heading into game 82. Both teams play Sunday night, but with the tanking strategy that Memphis has implemented, it seems nearly impossible that they'll beat the Houston Rockets in their final game.

Mavericks fans were crossing their fingers that Memphis would find a way to beat the Utah Jazz or Houston, and the fact that they're having to root for other teams to win exposes that Dallas started their tank way too late. They didn't blatantly tank until less than a week ago, and them being so late to the party could end up costing valuable draft positioning.

Dallas waited way too long to wave the white flag

The Mavericks still have one game remaining tonight against the Chicago Bulls, and a loss would ensure they don't fall further than seventh in the pre-lottery standings. A Dallas loss combined with a Memphis loss would force them to do a tiebreaker on lottery night with a coin flip, but it didn't have to be like this.

They could've started tanking a few weeks earlier, dropped more games, and the sixth-place spot in the lottery standings would've been theirs for the taking. Unfortunately, they stumbled into a couple of victories that could cost them, and this was their only chance to tank.

The Mavericks don't fully control their own first-round pick after this year until 2031, and they desperately need to find a co-star for Cooper Flagg. Their tanking efforts should've been maximized the second that they were eliminated from playoff contention, or even after they traded Anthony Davis and shut down Kyrie Irving.

Each of those moves was strategically made to prioritize the future, but the product on the court didn't follow this blueprint. Flagg having some monster games and shaking up the Rookie of the Year race was definitely worth it, but they could've waved the white flag earlier and prioritized the development of the young players rather than giving veterans big minutes.

They should've taken some notes from Memphis.

The Grizzlies showed the Mavericks how to really tank

The Grizzlies put forth one of the wildest tanking strategies the league has ever seen on Friday night against the Jazz, only playing six players. Four of these guys were on 10-day contracts, while two of them were on two-way deals. They didn't play a single player on a standard contract, and they lost to Utah by 46 points.

The Grizzlies are doing whatever they can to make sure that the Mavericks don't pass them in the lottery standings, but this wasn't the case this time last week. Dallas held a one-game lead over Memphis, but a six-point home win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Easter changed things.

Now the Mavericks will be hoping to get lucky during the coin flip during the NBA Draft Lottery (assuming they lose to Chicago and Memphis loses to Houston), and this coin flip could be the difference in them landing the prospect they want most. If Dallas wins, they'll likely be in a coin flip with the New Orleans Pelicans for the seventh and eighth-best odds.

Losing has never been so important for the Mavericks.