- Demond Dawkins
Kidd is Being A Kid
Don’t look now, but the Dallas Mavericks are in the midst of troubled waters and on the verge of not making the NBA playoffs.
At this moment they are a “play-in” team, needing to qualify for the playoffs, and are even with the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder while one game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves. There are only 13 regular season games left to right the ship, but it appears the captain is not equipped to steer this team back to the NBA conference finals.
After blowing a 27-point lead against the Lakers on February 26, here are the words of “THE CAPTAIN,” Jason Kidd:
“I’m not the savior here……I’m not playing. I’m watching, just like you guys. As a team, we’ve got to mature … We’ve got to grow up.”
Monday night after attending the game in which the Mavericks led after halftime only to see them miss their first 9 shots of the second half, and lose in a blowout to the Memphis Grizzlies, Coach Kidd had this to say when asked about the team’s health.
“Understand, we're getting better – it's just a matter of can we be healthy in time to make a stretch run?" Kidd asked. "If not, that's just the season. No one is dying."
Are you KIDDING me!!!! Someone needs to remind Jason Kidd that the NBA stands for “Nothing But Adults” and he needs to stop being a kid!!!! We need our coach to not be a spectator; but a participator, better yet a motivator, and lead our team. If you want to watch the game, buy a ticket, and take a seat in the stands with 20,000 other fans. Kids love watching the Mavericks. If Kidd continues to be a kid he should smile and hope to high-five Mavs Man or Champ, or maybe even have an opportunity to catch a free T-shirt from his seat in the arena. The team needs to mature, but "The Kidd" has a lot of maturing to do himself. He stated Monday night, “no one is dying” which is true, but if I were Mark Cuban and Nico Harrison, I would promptly show him the “death” of his paycheck.
Here are the facts. This team has lost several close games decided by 3 points or less. In several of those games, they did not even get a shot off. Maybe we are spoiled because former Coach Rick Carlisle was excellent at drawing up plays after the time out and end-of-game situations. I’d like to see if there is a 48-pack of Crayola crayons on the bench used to draw up some of these plays, we’re witnessing. Speaking of timeouts, I want to personally share this with Coach Kidd. It’s okay to take a timeout to stop another team’s momentum or to refocus your own team. Too many times the team is allowed to play on in hopes they will figure it out. This is what you were hired for, to help them figure it out!!
There are some holes in this roster, but Kidd does not maximize the talent available. Just an observation, Jalen Brunson in last year’s playoffs would not have played the minutes he did "IF" Luka wasn’t injured to start that Utah series. Two days ago, Kidd stated Dwight Powell was the best big man on this team. Monday night, Powell played 17 minutes and had 2 points and 5 rebounds. The other big, Maxi Kleber, in 25 minutes had 1 point and 3 rebounds. The Dallas Stars outscored the two Maverick centers Monday night in their win over the Seattle Kraken 5-2!! Let that sink in. On the other hand, when Christian Wood is your starting center, he is averaging 20.4 points and 9.3 rebounds. Kidd stop playing around and play this man!!!
Here is hoping that Luka and Kyrie can get healthy and carry this team on a playoff run. If not, there will be plenty of time for recess and soon.
