The NBA preseason is great for a lot of reasons. You get to see rookies play against real NBA competition for the first time. You get to see big-name stars who have been traded in their brand new uniforms. You get to see unknown players battling with every ounce of their being for a final roster spot.

But then there's the other side of the preseason. The dark side. The side that the Bulls and Mavericks showed us on Wednesday night (be sure to turn the sound on ... it makes the video 100 times better).

So, if you're scoring at home:

  • Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr. tries a behind-the-back pass but has it stolen by Bulls guard Kris Dunn.
  • Dunn dribbles into the frontcourt, only to have the ball re-stolen by Smith.
  • Mavs guard Wesley Matthews has the ball stolen from him by Dunn and then turns to the ref to complain.
  • Dunn takes the ball the length of the court only to blow the layup.
  • Bulls guard Justin Holiday corrals the rebound but misses a WIDE OPEN tip-in attempt.
  • Dunn miraculously gets the ball back ... only to miss yet another layup.

Preseason basketball at its finest, ladies and gentlemen.

But hey, weird stuff happens in the preseason. Earlier in the night, Hornets center Dwight Howard took a rebound and went coast-to-coast for a poster dunk over 7-foot-3 Pistons center Boban Marjanovic.

Cue "Twilight Zone" music.

Luckily for all of us, the regular season starts in two weeks. But who knows what strange preseason hijinks we'll see in the meantime?