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  • Jason Kidd must quickly correct his Klay Thompson mistake and make key change


    The Dallas Mavericks were able to edge away a 137-136 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night, as the Mavericks were able to score at a very high volume despite New Orleans testing Dallas’ defense on the other side of the ball all night long. Dallas finally got some help from the injury department as Naji Marshall returned to the lineup after missing four games due to illness, and Marshall chipped in five points against his former team despite being on a minutes restriction.

    Dallas still isn’t fully healthy by any stretch of the imagination, but they are getting closer to that territory with each passing game and have survived this Doncic-less stretch respectably, even if they have dropped one too many clutch contests. Ever since Doncic went down on Christmas Day versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dallas has gone 7-12, and they could easily be around .500 over this stretch if they didn’t drop so many close games as aforementioned.

    The Mavericks still have the opportunity to be an elite team in the postseason this year, but they have to build up so momentum once the All-Star break comes to a close, and they could certainly use some more depth at the backup wing or big man position. Something else that can help the Mavericks maximize their lineup ahead of the playoffs would be to get Klay Thompson more involved offensively.

    Kidd must keep running actions to unlock Thompson’s offense

    Dallas was trending toward making Thompson more of a focal point in their offense back in December, but Thompson hasn’t been allotted the same level of spacing or looks with Doncic out of the lineup due to injury. In Dallas’ last two contests, though, Thompson has attempted 15 field goals each, and it has revolutionized Dallas’ offense. Kidd emphasizing getting Thompson more touches has been game-changing for the Mavs’ offense, but it wasn’t always this way.

    Prior to Dallas’ last two games, Thompson had only attempted 15 or more field goals twice in the entire month of January, which simply isn’t enough for a movement shooter of his pedigree, even if buckets were harder to come by with Doncic sidelined. The Mavericks and their coaching staff were adamant about getting Thompson more involved offensively earlier in the season, but it seems like that notion shifted until very recently.

    Dallas has gotten more creative with their off-ball actions to get Thompson open recently, as they are using a variety of pin-down, back screens, and cross screens to feed Thompson open looks on the perimeter and as a cutter. These actions tend to be more fruitful with Doncic in the game, but the Mavericks should’ve been trying to get Thompson more involved offensively all throughout January, as it could’ve been the perfect time to let Thompson get more comfortable as a secondary ball handler.

    Dallas’ offense is best maximized when Thompson is hitting on all cylinders, and while they don’t need to force the ball down his throat when he’s having an off shooting night, they could definitely look at him as a source of offense in pivotal scenarios more often. On the contrary, when Thompson is on a heater like he was during the first quarter of Dallas’ Monday night victory over the Washington Wizards, the Mavericks need to do anything they can to keep getting him the ball, as Thompson made seven 3-pointers in the first quarter of that game.

    Thompson getting going from beyond the arc like that pays huge dividends for Dallas’ offense, as it gives Thompson the ability to use his pump fake and playmaking abilities more successfully when the defense is pressed to contain his outside shooting. Kidd even referenced this after Dallas’ win over Washington on Monday.

    “We set screens, we ran stuff for him,” Kidd said. “He responded in a positive way. Klay is very unselfish…[his teammates] made a conscious effort to get Klay going early and he responded in a positive way and just made the game easier for everybody else.”

    Kidd has done a phenomenal job at encouraging his team to find Thompson over the last few games, and this level of urgency must continue moving forward to fully unlock his game.





    Jason Kidd, the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, made a critical mistake in the game against the Golden State Warriors by leaving Klay Thompson open for multiple three-point shots. Thompson, known for his sharpshooting ability, capitalized on the defensive lapse and helped the Warriors secure a crucial win.

    In order to prevent similar mistakes in the future, Kidd must quickly correct his error and make a key change in the team’s defensive strategy. This may include assigning a more tenacious defender on Thompson or implementing tighter rotations to prevent open looks from beyond the arc.

    It is imperative that Kidd addresses this issue promptly and ensures that his team is better prepared to defend against elite shooters like Thompson. Making this key change could make a significant difference in the Mavericks’ performance and help them secure more victories in the future.

    Tags:

    Jason Kidd, Klay Thompson, NBA, coaching, mistakes, corrections, basketball, Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, player development, coaching strategies.

    #Jason #Kidd #quickly #correct #Klay #Thompson #mistake #key #change

  • Mavericks’ Jason Kidd says referees were ‘scared to death’ to call goaltending on Pelicans’ game-winning block


    The Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans were in the midst of an entertaining matchup Wednesday night, but instead of the story being about the standout performances of Trey Murphy III, Dejounte Murray, Daniel Gafford and Jaden Hardy, the game is gaining attention because of a blatant missed call by officials which significantly impacted the outcome of the game.

    I’m typically not of the belief that one play dictates the outcome of a whole game, especially when the Mavericks fumbled multiple opportunities to win this game against a team that had nine wins coming into this contest. But this was one of those eyebrow-raising moments that gives even more credence to the belief that referees should be fined for missed calls or poor judgment.

    New Orleans had the ball with around 15 seconds on the clock and a one-point lead. In every scenario like this, the team defending will try and go for a steal first, and if that doesn’t work, they’ll foul, giving the team with the lead even more chance to win the game. All New Orleans had to do was take care of the ball and hold for a foul. But the Mavericks pulled off the rare steal, allowing them to take the lead and potentially win. Here’s what happened next:

    Did you catch it? No? Here’s a slower replay of it:

    Yep, that’s a blatant goaltend by Murphy on Spencer Dinwiddie’s layup that the referees completely missed. What’s worse is crew chief Gediminas Petraitis was standing at the baseline underneath the basket with a clear view of the goaltend and didn’t call it. Dinwiddie immediately signaled that it was a goaltend, but to no avail, and because it was a no-call, it was not reviewable. Jason Kidd was seen walking the sideline mouthing, “I don’t have a timeout to challenge it,” but even if he did, per the NBA rulebook, that’s not something a coach’s challenge can be used on as there was no call on the floor.

    After the game, when asked if he got any explanation from the officials about the blatant missed call, Kidd, in his typical stonewalled demeanor, said, “Yeah, they didn’t see it. That’s the explanation.”

    Kidd then went further to criticize the officials for not seeing the goaltending on that last play.

    “It’s tough, I get it, that’s their job, they didn’t do their job tonight,” Kidd said. “…The referees have a tough job, they clearly did not get that one right. It cost us maybe the game. We can learn from that, and hopefully, the referees can be better in close games.”

    While the play happened in the last two minutes of the game, and because there was no call on the floor, it wasn’t reviewable by the officials. But had a goaltend been called, the officials would’ve been able to review it to confirm, something Kidd thinks they should’ve done.

    “I think the review is to protect the officials, the review is to try to get it right,” Kidd said. “That’s what the review or challenge is for. In the last two minutes, if they thought something [happened], they should’ve blown the whistle to get it right. I think they all three were scared to death to do anything, so they did nothing and they let it go.”

    Dinwiddie, whose shot was at the center of the controversial no-call, gave a detailed explanation of how he set it up for a goaltend to be called.

    “Naji [Marshall]’s already throwing me the ball, there’s no room for me to go up and dunk it,” Dinwiddie said. “I see them coming, and it’s just like a scoop layup, I tell you all the time. If you watch throughout my career, if I beat the big or whatever, and I hold it out right here, I put it directly on the glass for two reasons: 1. I’m tall and long and extended so they would have to jump over me to block it. If you do happen to block it, it’s already hit the glass. I’m scoring because either it’s a layup or you’re goaltending. I’ve made a bunch of money doing the same type of move…You saw me do it to [Yves] Missi three, four times in the game.”

    PJ Washington echoed the same sentiment after the game: “It was definitely a goaltend.” Even the official NBA account on X (formerly known as Twitter) first tweeted out the highlight of Murphy’s game-winning block, only to delete it after a community note was added to correct the post to say it was a goaltend per the league’s rulebook.

    The Last Two Minute report has since confirmed what the Mavericks and many fans watching the game already knew: “Murphy blocks the shot attempt after the ball makes contact with the backboard and has a chance to score.” Had that been called a goaltend, it would have given Dallas a one-point lead with about five seconds left in the game.

    Dallas isn’t expected to file a formal protest about the game’s outcome, per Marc Stein, which was to be expected because it’s rare for any team to go that route. While the L2M report vindicated them, at the end of the day, the Mavericks will have to eat this loss and, perhaps next time, not put themselves in a position for the last play of the game to matter that much. There were several instances where Dallas could’ve pulled away with a win, especially after building up a seven-point lead with six minutes left, and at every turn, they squandered it.

    Despite being without Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II, there was no reason for the game to be that close against a New Orleans team that sits last in the Western Conference. The officiating was bad on that last play, but it never should’ve come to that. 





    In a recent post-game interview, Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd expressed frustration with the referees for not calling a goaltending violation on the game-winning block by the New Orleans Pelicans. Kidd claimed that the referees were “scared to death” to make the call, despite the obvious interference with the ball on its way down.

    The controversial play occurred in the final seconds of the game, with the Mavericks trailing by one point. As Luka Doncic attempted a game-winning layup, Pelicans’ center Jaxson Hayes swatted the ball away just before it reached the basket. Replays showed that Hayes’ hand made contact with the ball while it was still on its way up, a clear violation of the rules.

    Kidd’s comments have sparked debate among basketball fans, with some agreeing that the referees missed a crucial call, while others argue that it was a judgment call in a high-pressure situation. Regardless of the outcome, the Mavericks will have to regroup and focus on their next game, as they continue to chase a playoff spot in the competitive Western Conference.

    Tags:

    1. Jason Kidd
    2. Mavericks
    3. Referees
    4. Goaltending
    5. Pelicans
    6. Game-winning block
    7. NBA
    8. Basketball
    9. Controversy
    10. Officiating

    #Mavericks #Jason #Kidd #referees #scared #death #call #goaltending #Pelicans #gamewinning #block