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The Spurs have turned Jason Kidd into an offensive liability by closing out of him hard when he tries to set up behind the arc. Since he refuses to shoot anything other than a 3-pointer when his feet are completely set, it has gummed up our half-court offense when he's had to put the ball on the floor and they've stayed home on everybody else. That's why they're getting away with letting Dirk "get his" because they've cut the head of the snake (Kidd) and the body ends up dying. Butler is not getting space to create his shot, Marion is not getting set up for easy baskets when he can't create his own shot, etc.
The Mavs need to take a real, long hard look at what they want to do with the PG position in this offseason. I know Kidd had a great year, but once the Mavs get into the playoffs, every elite team will defend him this way. I think it makes more sense to perhaps cut his minutes to 30 mpg next year and pair him up with an Aaron Brooks type who can slash to the rim and create his own shot. I assume the Mavs will target a legit 2-guard with the Damp contract and expand Roddy's role to 25-30 mpg next year. Perhaps the addition of an Andre Iguodala and more minutes for Roddy will make the Mavs harder to guard next year. Because right now when the Mavs roll out their starting lineup of Kidd/Butler/Marion/Dirk/Damp, you have only two guys that can create their own shot, and only one of whom that can do it efficiently. Kidd adding the 3-pt shot to his arsenal this year made the Mavs much more difficult to guard in half-court sets, but the Spurs have taken that 3-pt shot away. And thus the Mavs are easier to guard and are shooting only 42% for the series.
