[Chuck Cooperstein] I know many of you have already made up your mind about the Mavs HC. All I will say is he designed a defensive masterpiece in G2. In 44 yrs of Mavs basketball, I don’t think there’s ever been a team that defended w/the passion this team did tonight
I know many of you have already made up your mind about the Mavs HC. All I will say is he designed a defensive masterpiece in G2. In 44 yrs of Mavs basketball, I don't think there's ever been a team that defended w/the passion this team did tonight, & That includes the 11 season
— Chuck Cooperstein (@coopmavs) April 24, 2024
by IAmAFopMan
18 Comments
[deleted]
Chuck, keep that same energy when he reverts back. And let’s hope they keep that type of game plan and energy going forward.
Kidd coached a good game last night, but that is an extremely short sighted, ridiculous take.
I’d argue first game was also very good defensively. Harden just made tough shots in the first half and our offense was literal dogshit. Only thing we struggled with in the first game was containing Zubac in the paint and keeping him off the offensive glass, and that we adjusted perfectly, although Zubac is also just never going to average 20/15 for a series.
Ultimately, the defense is clearly not the issue for us or Kidd. That much is clear after the last 2 months. It’s going to be a massive asset for us. Kidd’s weaknesses are game management and in-game adjustments.
I’ll give him credit for the defense. He is a defensive coach after all when he knows how to use his players talent
The defensive fire from 2011 would like to have a word. Stopping Lillard, Kobe, Gasol, KD, Harden, Westbrook, Lebron, Wade, and Bosh is quite the list man.
I get what Coop is saying here (with one single game) but come on.
The team came out flat footed in game 1 but since then Kidd has them focused and playing together. He even made some really good timeout calls in game 2 that helped set up our runs.
The love-hate rollercoaster in this sub about Kidd is amazing…
I don’t disagree that he has got us playing defense. I just don’t think he has a clue how to manage a game and I am firm that he is not a championship caliber coach.
The defense was incredible. I think our offense was just good enough, our defense won us this game.
It was four quarters of excellent playoff defense. We can win these games now, we couldn’t a few months ago.
“WHY IS MAXI GETTING MINUTES OVER GAFFORD???!!? FIRE KIDDD ARGGHRGHH!”
I’d point out Kidd did a great job holding onto that coach’s challenge until which point it was highly impactful.
Kidd has some frustrating moments but you can’t argue that he’s a bad coach defensively. He’s been given average to below average defensive rosters who’ve over performed drastically.
The Stallone speech comes to mind from Rocky Balboa
“It Ain’t How Hard You Hit… It’s How Hard You Can Get Hit and Keep Moving Forward. It’s About How Much You Can Take And Keep Moving Forward!”
(Sorry for the boomer caps I’m on mobile)
Only bad thing I saw was the 2 mistakes on the out of bounds plays late in the 4th. One where harden got left wide open for 3 at right wing. Other was the kawhi back door cut where luckily the and-1 got over turned.
Not sure if it was a coaching error or miscommunication between the players but it hopefully gets cleaned up
I just wish he would call some timeouts to stem momentum and give the DPOY a breather so he can keep cooking on offense.
I do think it’s kind of weird that when we don’t win, Kidd has no impact, but when we do win a close game with defense, he’s always the reason why.
I’ve been harsh on Kidd because he’s just so laid back but I realize it’s because he has confidence in our guys, which I appreciate.
Props to Kidd for some good schemes and calls like keeping Maxi out but significantly limiting his offense because he was unpredictably solid against the Clippers bigs. Same with DJJ and Josh – less offense, but pestering defense will throw mid level guys off rhythm, and if we can hit shots its lights out.
Kidd also is much better with timeouts and challenges in the playoffs, when it matters more, and while it could have been better in G1 I think we needed a bit of an embarassment to really lock in.