Mavs’ Jason Kidd Speaks After Win vs. Wizards: Feb. 12, 2024

Mavs’ Jason Kidd Speaks After Win vs. Wizards: Feb. 12, 2024

Jason what was the difference in the fourth quarter um good question I think just the energy uh picked up I thought Hardy was great for us he gave us a spark um by get into the basket and knock him down a three I think um we didn’t shoot

The three well tonight but um it just shows the versatility of this group is that we can get to the paint um we dominated the paint and then again we we uh had rebounds second opportunity um when you look at what Gord did for us tonight we’re going to need that as we

Go forward it seemed like the defense responded better with with cl out and Maxi and and switching what what about that you know finally allowed you guys to get some STS yeah I think we talked about that earlier didn’t we about how good Maxi is you know and I I think

Again um a lot of his stuff doesn’t show up on the stat sheet but just his talk his willing to help uh his teammates when they get beat at The Rim the verticality it was U he put on a um a great demonstration of verticality tonight um and then he knocked down a

Big three um and then he showed his ability to put it on the floor and finish but he’s just playing at a high level right now and we’re going to need that as we go forward but again they’re not this wasn’t pretty but we found a

Way to win uh it wasn’t our best um but the guys stayed together and uh that group out there found a way to put the ball in the basket and get stops Jason what the G be tonight just not just on defense but on offense yeah again the

Seven offensive rebounds being able to give us second or third opportunities I thought he was great tonight I thought uh for Gafford and PJ to start without a practice um it just shows uh their versatility their pros and then I thought they both played well I thought

PJ did a great job of cutting offensively and then on the defensive end I thought he did a great job on the ball anything else coaches okay he’s dealing with the chin in the with an elbow is he okay yeah he he’ll be fine I think uh the stitches um stitches in the

In the nose he’s he’s he’s rolling with the face right now um and so um I don’t know if he’s going to wear a mask U but we’re a physical team the Mavs that’s who we’re physical now all the cuts and broken noses that we have um you should

See the other guys uh but you know the physicality um Luc is right now taking a couple hits um he got stitches but he’ll be fine what does it say about his toughness to come back into the game do what he did get the team to a victory

Gets like a lot of uh I think backlash sometimes but this his toughness what do say he’s not soft that’s for sure um he’s he’s one of the toughest kids that I’ve had the opportunity to uh coach um and he’s not scared of of a fight so um

But you look at his toughness he’s playing with a broken nose um never complains loves the competition and found a way after getting the stitches to to help the team win tonight I’m curious besides the informal meet and greet with Patrick before the game was there any

Interaction I I didn’t get a chance to he’s still here so hopefully we’ll get a chance to say um that he’s undefeated in person and uh we’ll see him tomorrow okay have you had discussions with luuka about uh the mask I have not had discussion but our

Team has everyone’s been fitted for a mask for whatever reason they’re black so um again our team is tough you know when you look at the uh the live Maxi and and uh Luca you know everyone has a mask um and then we have goggles

Um so he has glasses so we got all the accessories that we need um and hopefully we can get rid of them um going into the second half yeah Jason you look Jason when you look at these past few games um well just overall in the winning streak what what stands out

To you most um with Jaden Hardy yeah I think uh just the trust that everyone has with one another is uh someone uh you know different each night um and when you look at the depth of our team we we have to we got to understand that

It’s going to be someone different every night it’s going to be Hardy could be DP it could be Josh it could be um you know anybody by PJ Gafford Timmy you know who can help us and so that’s the beauty of our team it’s not you know we always

Count on Kai Kai played a little bit you know we put R his minutes up a little bit tonight but Kai Luka you know they’re going to get double teamed and someone else is going to have to step up and I thought Hardy did a great job um

Understanding his ability to score and his patience but not just offensively he was great defensively tonight too did you ever get serated by the whole arena with happy birthday yeah that was pretty cool um the 94 reunion I don’t know if the one wasn’t probably a lot of people there um

Two um we probably were on the road so that was pretty cool for D live um our next step is to get them on the court so they can cheer them on the court coach in particular what do you think of PJ’s defense on Kyle kman yeah I I thought PJ

Was great on both ends I thought again um I think he said at his press conference um that he can play both ways he can play defense and offense and I again I thought he sat down in the Oklahoma game and I thought he sat down

Tonight um and took the challenge and uh we’re going to need that you know as a big Wing um I know we can play him at the five but um being able to guard the bigger Wings in this league that that that helps us and I think PJ is one of

Those guys that can do it thank

Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd spoke to reporters after the victory over the Washington Wizards on Feb. 12, 2024.

X: https://twitter.com/GrantAfseth
Facebook: https://facebook.com/GrantGAfseth
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/GrantAfseth
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/grantafseth

Check out my full Dallas Mavericks coverage on https://DallasBasketball.com for daily updates, analysis, and exclusive interviews. Check out my NBA work at https://NBAAnalysis.net.