03-28-2024, 04:35 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-28-2024, 04:36 PM by Scott41theMavs.)
(03-28-2024, 03:20 PM)SleepingHero Wrote: If we're gonna dog the coach when the team looks absolutely hopeless and riot for a change, then we should give the coach props for making them look the most polished they've been in 365 days.
This year has taught me a lot about Jason Kidd. The dude is absolutely fine with failure/losing. In fact I think he advocates for it during the regular season, as he thinks it builds his team up. He's partly right. A team built through adversity is a strong one. On the other hand he is a dolt because it's the riskiest game to play and truthfully why should a coach be ok with losing? If there is a lesson that his players can teach himself, I think Kidd will let the team fail to learn it (*if they even do).
If a game is going poorly because his guys aren't motivated, there is a 0.1% chance that Kidd will save them. As he said, he's just watching like us. But!!!!!! If Kidd believes in a team AND if they have bought into his system, then he really does know how to win a game. I think that's why Kidd has always had pretty above average playoff success as a HC.
But again those 2 events that appear to be rare as hell, because out of the 5 editions of Mav teams Kidd has coach (KP Mavs, WCF team, Wood Hell, Post Kyrie trade, Current team), only 2 versions have worked. It's hard to get rid of him because of how ingratiated he is with Luka and Kyrie, but thankfully this version of the Mavs are all under contract for a while. So maybe keeping Kidd isn't terrible.
(But maybe we'd be even better under a real coach like Budenholzer....?)
I think you're on target with everything.
I think that Kidd's downfall in the playoffs with this Perfect Lakeresque Kidd Team that Nico has assembled is that he's going to continue to play the rotation in the playoffs as if it were the regular season, Gafford/Lively will get played off the floor (less because of defense than because of being zero outside scoring threat), and he won't be able to adjust - he'll either continue to play them and the other team will feast, or struggle with the personnel because he can't play two of his six best players. I think this could lead to a much quicker out than we will expect coming off how the regular season ends. We could go 10-0 over the next ten games and still lose quixotically in the first round due to these problems. Unless he miraculously adjusts. Or Lively and/or Gafford are so good that they're able to adjust without his hands-off guidance.