The Dallas Mavericks slumped to their third straight defeat on Tuesday night, losing 137-120 to the Indiana Pacers. It was also their fifth defeat in the last six games, but head coach Jason Kidd says it is not all doom and gloom.
“There’s a lot of positive things happening here,” Kidd said. “As I said earlier, Rome wasn’t built in a day. 2011 wasn’t built in a day. Right? And so, there’s only a few of us in that locker room who have won at the highest level. And so it’s for us to help these young men get through this tough time.”
(starts at 23:35 mark):
Kidd also felt this rough stretch was a great test for the team, as it only gets harder in April, May, and June. He believes they have the personnel to get back on track and have a strong end to the campaign.
If things don’t go according to how Kidd is envisioning, however, I think this season might be his last in Dallas. Sure, Rome wasn’t built in a day, but this is his third season as head coach of the Mavericks. They missed the playoffs in 2022-23 and a repeat of that here won’t be an acceptable outcome.
The Mavericks are currently eighth in the Western Conference with a 34-28 record. Unless Kidd steadies the ship quickly, they will be in the Play-In Tournament and potentially as the ninth or tenth seed, as both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors are breathing down their necks.
Why Have The Mavericks Struggled So Much?
When you look at the Mavericks post the All-Star break there is one glaring issue that stands out above all, their defense. Dallas’ defensive rating of 126.0 is the worst in the league since the break.
They have allowed their opponents to shoot 42.1% from beyond the arc, which again leaves them at the bottom of the pile. It is certainly a surprise just how bad the Mavericks have been, as they were supposed to be better defensively after acquiring P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford at the trade deadline.
They have done well on the other end, with an offensive rating of 118.4, which ranks fourth. It is not enough to compensate for that woeful defense, though, and Kidd needs to sort that out. He was asked about their defense postgame as you might imagine and had an interesting response. (starts at 24:47 mark in the above video):
“Our offense is our defense,” Kidd said. “Have I not said that? Okay, so when we score, we will play defense and I’m half joking, but I’m being also serious. When we put the ball in the basket, we are really good on both ends. The next step, and it’s a small step is when we don’t score, can we play defense? It’s really simple, right?”
Kidd says the team stopped playing defense when the shots weren’t going in.
“To answer your question without the joke or being sarcastic, it’s just a matter of being able to be unselfish and sacrifice,” Kidd continued. “And once we get to that point, we’re gonna be really good.”
Well, Kidd better hope that message gets across sooner rather than later. The Mavericks will be facing the red-hot Miami Heat next on Thursday night and they’ll have to execute at a high level on both ends if they are to avoid a fourth straight defeat.
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