Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd isn’t pleased with the team’s effort on defense, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who notes that Dallas’ defensive rating, seventh in the NBA last season, has plummeted to 25th in 2022/23.
Two solid defenders, Dorian Finney-Smith and Josh Green, returned to action on Wednesday following injury absences, but it was still the third consecutive game in which the Mavericks gave up at least 130 points.
“It’s attention to detail and focus,” Finney-Smith said. “It’s everything. I tried to come out here with some energy, but we still end up doing the same thing. It’s everybody. It ain’t just one person. We all gotta take the challenge and start guarding. Gotta be about the care factor. We’ve got to care about stopping somebody. You should get mad if they keep scoring.”
The Mavericks’ offense, which ranked 14th last season, is up to fifth so far in ’22/23, but Kidd told reporters on Wednesday that he doesn’t want his club to get in the habit of trying to outscore its opponents in shootouts.
“Tonight, we gave up 130 points and a team shot 57 percent,” Kidd said after the loss to Atlanta. “It’s a shootaround. In this league, if you do that, no matter if you have Luka or Kareem or LeBron, you’re going to lose. It doesn’t matter how many points you score, you’re always going to be short.”
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Echoing Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Luka Doncic denied a report that suggested he has “strongly indicated” he wants the team to make roster upgrades by the February 9 trade deadline, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. “Obviously, I know, the people who are next to me, who I talk to, they know that’s not true,” Doncic said. “I didn’t say nothing about that. I talk to (president of basketball operations) Nico (Harrison). I talk to Fin (assistant GM Michael Finley) more than I used to. But that’s just not the way I talk to them. We have great communication and that just stays between us.”
- Grizzlies guard Ja Morant isn’t just advocating for one of his teammates to win Defensive Player of the Year — he thinks two of them should share the award. As Evan Barnes of The Commercial Appeal writes, Morant believes Jaren Jackson Jr. and Dillon Brooks both deserve DPOY honors, jokingly suggesting that voters (who can pick just one winner) write in “Jaren Brooks.”
- Responding to John Wall‘s criticism of the Rockets and their culture, head coach Stephen Silas said he understood the veteran’s frustration about how his time in Houston played out, but pushed back against the notion that the team let its young prospects get away with too much, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. “As far as holding them accountable, some of it is learning from mistakes, learning through adversity, and learning from film sessions,” Silas said. “It’s important for me to lay out what the expectations are. But to expect young kids not to make mistakes is unrealistic.”
Dallas got a offensive minded group out there vast majority of the time. They need to play Wood more at the 4 & play Green more in general. Dallas gotta get Luka his Worthy/DWade type running mate on the wing like Magic/Bron had. Easier said than done tho
Maybe Miles Bridges makes his way to Dallas. Cowboys already signed guys like Greg Hardy & Zeke Elliott after domestic violence troubles
The Cowboys are a football team, not a basketball team sir.
I agree. I’d love to see OG with the Mavs. Do you think if DAL offered THJ, Hardy and an unprotected ‘25 first that would be enough?
That would be enough for me if I’m Toronto
Change the words “strong indicated” to “imply”
I trust some degree of what reporters said
I got what Mark said
To paraphrase the greatest globalist president in US history, sometimes (the inmates run the prison). Thank you Joe
Dallas should acquire Daniel Gafford
I tend to believe Wall’s assessment of the Rockets under Silas. There is too much talent there to be by far the worst team in the L. Not saying they should be a playoff, or even play-in team, but they should be more competitive on a nightly basis.
They’ve been one of the healthiest teams this year, and have a couple of kids that can fill up the net. At this point, they should be the young team that’s losing close games because of inexperience, not getting blown out by 10+ every night.
They’re built to lose. They have no interior defense & are 1 of the worst rebounding teams in the league. Their alphas are obv talented but still young/learning/inconsistent. They are 1 of the few teams that was never trying to compete at all this season. They replaced their best player (Wood) with a rookie (Jabari). That should let you know everything right there
Rockets have scorers. Just no defense. At this rate, 2030 might be a winning season
Hopefully Dallas can find a partner for Luka. Levert may come cheap.
This happened with the Bucks when Kidd was there as well. They went from 17th, to 20th, to 26th and then improved immediately after firing him. The reason for his defense failing? Easy lanes to the basket. Just like the Mavs this year.
Dallas will always be a move away from contention…
Mark from Cuba is just too cheap to build a contender…