Game 10: New Orleans Pelicans (4-6) vs. Dallas Mavericks (8-2) | 124-136 WINNNN!!

[SkenfromLMF]

The irony here is that Kidd has made the adjustment. I am much more of Rick apologist, and would have bet he was more capable of adapting than Kidd. The biggest complaint at times he should have committed to helping develop young talent - and that was probably overstated on occasion. By the same respect, Rick did not lose a lot of games by expanding rotations past his core players, Kidd did - especially early in the season over the last 2 years. This year it looks as if Kidd is much tighter with the rotations and as a result the Mavs have not given away much in the way of games we should win. Kudos for that "growth" as a coach. Kidd is better at getting those opportunities even this year with adjusting/tightening of his rotations - look no further than O-Max over the last 3 days: Mavs game, Legends Assignment, Mavs game. Not sure that would ever have been done on Rick's watch.

There are still certain things we miss with Rick who was phenomenal on out of bounds sets and using timeouts to interrupt a run by the opposing team. I also believe Rick was more nuanced in his use of defensive adjustments than just about any coach, but Kidd has once again pleasantly surprised this season and closed the gap on certain weak points the last two season exposed.

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

I would call it a balance between preserving stars long term and reaching a good point differential. Agree with you on the time-out. Not a good look if you are returning your stars after 15 minute rest because you didn't do anything with youngsters.

Ya I’m hoping this was truly the approach. Just felt a little like Kidd falling back on that excuse after letting the game get to the point where we actually had to send starters back out to secure it.

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The irony here is that Kidd has made the adjustment. I am much more of Rick apologist, and would have bet he was more capable of adapting than Kidd. The biggest complaint at times he should have committed to helping develop young talent - and that was probably overstated on occasion. By the same respect, Rick did not lose a lot of games by expanding rotations past his core players, Kidd did - especially early in the season over the last 2 years. This year it looks as if Kidd is much tighter with the rotations and as a result the Mavs have not given away much in the way of games we should win. Kudos for that "growth" as a coach. Kidd is better at getting those opportunities even this year with adjusting/tightening of his rotations - look no further than O-Max over the last 3 days: Mavs game, Legends Assignment, Mavs game. Not sure that would ever have been done on Rick's watch.

There are still certain things we miss with Rick who was phenomenal on out of bounds sets and using timeouts to interrupt a run by the opposing team.  I also believe Rick was more nuanced in his use of defensive adjustments than just about any coach, but Kidd has once again pleasantly surprised this season and closed the gap on certain weak points the last two season exposed.

Well said, I’ve come to recognize things Kidd is doing differently in a positive way. Just pointing out a small thing that was bugging me is all.

[HAguiar95]

One negative from last night was Lively's rebounding. 1 DRB in 26 minutes is borderline pathetic. Gotta grab at the very least 5-6 DREB.

Loved his defense/verticality though. Forcing turnovers/altering shots a bunch.

[SleepingHero]

One negative from last night was Lively's rebounding. 1 DRB in 26 minutes is borderline pathetic. Gotta grab at the very least 5-6 DREB.

Loved his defense/verticality though. Forcing turnovers/altering shots a bunch.

I don't know why, but the last 3-4 games every single rebound has slipped out of his hands or been bounced off. Hard to get rebounds when your hands are made of rubber.

[JamesConway912]

One negative from last night was Lively's rebounding. 1 DRB in 26 minutes is borderline pathetic. Gotta grab at the very least 5-6 DREB.

Loved his defense/verticality though. Forcing turnovers/altering shots a bunch.

I‘m not sure that the one rebound they credited him with actually happened either. Just one of those nights. It felt like he could have played two more hours without grabbing another board against Jonas/Zeller. Both really made life tough for him.

Jonas also had a rough scoring outburst in the 3rd including multiple threes that Lively needs to defend better.

All in all he still managed to stay on the court for 20+ minutes with a great plus minus. Pretty remarkable.

[SkenfromLMF]

Ya I’m hoping this was truly the approach. Just felt a little like Kidd falling back on that excuse after letting the game get to the point where we actually had to send starters back out to secure it.

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Well said, I’ve come to recognize things Kidd is doing differently in a positive way. Just pointing out a small thing that was bugging me is all.

Thanks... I guess there is also balance because the goal is for the young guys to play through the mistakes. One of the hardest things for young players on limited minutes to adjust to is the lack of flow during their in-game time. Calling timeouts is a flow-killer, and maybe Kidd wanted to see if they could correct. The truth is that the next time they are on the floor, he MIGHT NOT have any TO's at his disposal. All that to say I probably agree that he "appears" to have taken the 4th period off and I am hoping that there was some method to last night beyond we bagged this one.

ONE other possible explanation has to do with the In-Season Tournament: Dallas plays New Orleans again in a short turn around and that second game is an IST game. Kidd might not want to show any adjustments AT ALL knowing the level of heightened importance game 2 holds. I don't KNOW that for sure, but Kidd seems to be more taken with doing well in the Pool Games than some of the other coaches around the league.