Game 9: Phoenix Suns (7-1) vs. Dallas Mavericks (5-3) | 6:30pm CST

[KillerLeft]

I am no Kidd defender, but it strikes me that many are missing what's right in front of them. Kidd dropped several F bombs in his presser the other day, and sure didn't seem like someone who hadn't just tried to win that Suns game. He sure seemed like he cared about that loss to me.

The guy who doesn't care about early season is Luka, not Kidd. Sure, Kidd is doing some experimenting, but he kind of has to, with injuries, and as a result of three of his guards (two of whom were supposed to be in the rotation) starting the season less than ideally. He's very clearly disappointed with ALL of Grimes, Hardy and Dinwiddie, and we should be, too (so far). But, Luka is the one who started the season not playing defense, taking bad shots and missing them. He's looking better with each game, but the Mavs are 5-4 because they're built around a superstar who isn't super starring. Their two best defenders being out isn't helping, either.

The good news is that there's no need to panic. Luka will get into shape and start playing, eventually. They'll get 1-2 of those guards playing well behind Luka/Kyrie, eventually. Marshall and Thompson are going to continue to figure out how they fit in with this team, and eventually, Lively will come back and be the force we all know he is.