Kidd likes the Mavericks’ changes
Mike Monroe - Express-News
DALLAS — Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd offered some advice for Spurs point guard Tony Parker during the preseason.
Sending a visitor from San Antonio off with a greeting for former Nets teammate Richard Jefferson, he added a postscript: “Tell Tony he can throw those lob passes a little higher than he thinks.”
Kidd’s best days in the NBA were in New Jersey, when he twice led the Nets to the NBA Finals. Runner-up to Tim Duncan in voting for the 2001-02 MVP, Kidd and Jefferson became one of the league’s most dangerous fast-break combos, with Jefferson punctuating breaks with thunderous dunks off Kidd’s lobs, often arced higher than it seemed possible for Jefferson to reach.
Last summer, Kidd became a free agent, but opted to stay with the Dallas Mavericks, the team to which the Nets traded him during All-Star weekend in 2008. He remains one of the NBA’s best passers, especially on the run, and continues to be one of the key players for a Mavs team that reloaded nicely during the offseason, adding veterans Shawn Marion, Quinton Ross, Kris Humphries and Drew Gooden.
For Kidd, the roster improvements were a welcome development. At age 36, he is at the point in his career when the ability to compete for a le — he remains one of the best of all active players without a championship ring — is vitally important.
“What you want is just to compete,” Kidd said. “When you go against the best players in the league, that’s fun. To have the opportunity to be on a good team, and one that’s going to compete on a nightly basis, that definitely helps.
“Right now, everyone’s goal is to win a championship, and I think we have a realistic goal there. Everybody is excited, not only with our additions, but just the opportunity to win and compete at a high level. Our owner, (Mark) Cuban, and our coach have gone out and got some pieces to enable us to do that.”
Marion was the Mavericks’ most prominent offseason acquisition, an athletic big man who thrived in the running game in Phoenix. He believes he and Kidd are capable of developing the same sort of fast-break chemistry he once had with Suns two-time MVP point guard Steve Nash.
“J. Kidd’s one of the guys who really gets the ball up the floor and loves the advantage,” Marion said. “When you’ve got guys like that who are willing to throw the ball up the floor and advance it, you’ve got to take advantage of it and make it effective. I can’t wait to see how our break develops with J. Kidd.”
How far the Mavericks go in the playoffs may depend on how much is in Kidd’s tank. He has played 1,222 games, regular season and playoffs, and nearly 46,000 minutes in 15 seasons.
He insists he feels fresher heading into this season than he has for the past several.
“I feel great, he said. “I felt great last season, too, even after the Olympics. But this was the first summer I’ve really gotten some rest. It was something new to me and my body, but I invited it and welcomed it and did get that rest this summer.
“Until I can’t be compe ive, or help, I’m going to continue (playing). I love the compe ion. I still feel I can help a team win. It might not be by scoring 20 points a night. It might not be by having 15 assists a night, but just my will and my smarts and my experience can help us get some victories down the road.”
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Mavericks’ five Burning Questions
1. How much is left in Jason Kidd’s tank?
Kidd is 36, but insists he feels as good as at any time in his career. The starting point guard for 2008 Olympic champion Team USA never has gotten by with athleticism, and shot 40.6 percent from 3-point range last season. Kidd is proof that basketball IQ is unaffected to age.?
2. Can anyone “D” up?
Rick Carlisle tells everyone the Mavericks relied too much on shooting last season. They were 7-27 in games in which they shot under 45 percent. On nights like that, they must defend better.?
3. Will Marion keep smiling?
Shawn Marion is happy he landed in Dallas. One of the league’s most versatile defenders and a relentless rebounder, he’s also acutely aware of how often he touches the basketball. Even when Steve Nash was helping him pad his stats with some of the league’s best passes, Marion sometimes pouted. He’s no higher than this team’s third option. Some feelings could get hurt.?
4. Is Gooden plenty?
The Spurs had Drew Gooden for the final weeks of the 2008-09 season, and by the end of the playoffs, he was out of the playing rotation. Now it appears the Mavs are counting on him to be a reliable big man. Will he give them more than he gave the Spurs??
5. What’s with the hair, dude?
Dirk Nowitzki showed up for training camp after a summer away from basketball looking a lot like Ridgemont High’s super surfer, Jeff oli. He swore he’d cut it before the start of the regular season, but the Mavs are still waiting for his visit to the clippers. After his bizarre relationship with Cristal Taylor, you wonder if he may have revisited the story of Samson and Delilah.
- Mike Monroe
The Mavs have been very impressive, gotta give them that. Matrix fits like a glove.
All they gotta work on is team chemistry and brains at the end of games.
Lots of people picking Portland, but I go with the Mavs in the #3 spot...if they can get their end game brain farts fixed, they're contenders in the West.
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