Jason Kidd and the art of convincing: Luka Doncic more leader than ever in a team that dreams of repeating the feat of 2011

Egos, convictions, thoughts, decisions. It is not easy to deal with so many factors in a locker room when the coach cannot convince the players during a season. And patience is not the greatest virtue of managers in the NBA, if a project does not work, the coach is usually changed before starting a reconstruction of the campus. That is why it is amazing the capacity of Jason Kidd to align to Dallas Mavericks under a single idea and respond to the leadership of Luka Doncić on the pitch in just one season. These Mavs are very different from last season, as they have mutated from a good team to one that aspires to go very far in the PlayOffs. There were many keys, but three arguments stand out that led them to live this good present in the best basketball league in the world.

Before the season started, at media day, I was able to ask Jason Kidd about his expectations for the season and what he expects from Luka Doncic. The new Mavericks coach had this to say: “I am very excited to start this new project. First, I want the team to find his identity. We will work hard on it, being honest and looking for the best for the team. About Luka there is not much to discover, I am happy to be able to direct one of the best talents in the NBA. It will be a nice challenge to be able to get along and get the best out of our relationship as coach and player”.

For those who do not know, Kidd was the point guard of the last team that was champion in the Mavericks, in the 2011 season. According to what those closest to that team have been able to tell, the relationship between coach Rick Carlisle and Kidd was key, so that Jason always had that goal with Doncic. And he has succeeded. The Slovenian point guard told me at the beginning of the season that “he was looking to improve under Kidd, whom he greatly admires for his ability to pass the ball”. To be honest, Luka passes the ball better, but Kidd has brought out his best version, he has turned him into a point guard who can play and defend in all five positions, encouraging him to give his best effort on defense and to add more movements. to his offensive arsenal.

Doncic is not the most extroverted person in the world, in fact, at a press conference he does not say much. Luka doesn’t make headlines or wear too flashy attire, but on the pitch he can dominate whoever gets in front of him. And this has been channeled by Jason Kidd, who has guided him to improve in a fundamental aspect: trust in his teammates. It is no coincidence that the coach praises his point guard at press conferences on this aspect. In the past, Doncic didn’t pass the ball at key moments, that has changed for this season, as we have seen Dorian Finney-Smith, Jalen Brunson or Spencer Dinwiddie take the winning shots. That’s all Jason Kidd, without his leadership, he would never have convinced Luka to share the responsibility in the most important moment of the game.

Another big change lies in the defense. It is impressive to see Doncic rotate and go hand in hand with the center of the rival team. He is not daunted, he fights and rebounds, even though it wears him down. Midway through the season I asked Kidd about it: “There are players who have a lot of potential on one side of the pitch and no one asks them. I asked Luka for it. I told him that he had to defend at a high level and he promised to do it. Like almost everything he does on the floor, he stepped up and showed that he can be an elite defender. The next step is what they can recognize in some defensive quintet of the season, but that will come with time.

Why was Jason Kidd able to convince Doncic? Because he earned his respect and invited him to participate in the decisions. From day one, Kidd made him understand his role on the team. And he’s two-way, Luka is a generational talent who respects Kidd for what he’s done on the court and the ways he’s made it onto the team. In the Mavericks locker room they are convinced of coach Kidd’s project, Luka is also in that boat, which is why there is such good chemistry and a very good relationship between the two.

Kristaps Porzingis came into the 2019-20 season with the banner of being the team’s co-star alongside Luka Doncic. The Latvian had good moments in Mavericks; however, he was never able to establish himself as a reliable player due to his health, as he dealt with too many injuries that prevented him from playing hand-to-hand with Doncic at crucial moments of the season.

Despite the fact that Jason Kidd wanted him, the first half of the season was more of the same: it was not known for sure if they could count on Porzingis in key moments. Given this, the coach made an important decision: they transferred him to Wizards in exchange for Dāvis Bertāns and Spencer Dinwiddie in the middle of the season. A priori, I thought that the winner of the trade was the team from Washington, but time proved Kidd right, since KP has not been able to play several games due to injury with Wizards, while Spencer and Davis have been active, having minutes considerable in Mavericks.

This did not alter in any way the chemistry that had been built in Dallas. Jason Kidd knew how to handle with mastery and put together a new distribution of minutes for the rotation. The results are more than positive, since with one game remaining in the regular season, Dallas can still be in third place. Notably, they secured home-court advantage in the first round of the PlayOffs, a feat they hadn’t achieved since 2011, the last time they were champions.

Under this foundation of the relationship between Kidd and Doncic, the coach has been able to lead and convince his team. Before the season began, there were many doubts about Dwight Powell and his continuity in the Mavericks. In the press it was said that the Mavericks needed a quality center to accompany Luka; however, Powell was able to take a step forward and today is the undisputed starter. The Canadian knows that his offensive role is limited, but he makes up for everything with effort, good defense and shooting at crucial moments. The confidence received from the coach has allowed him to play all the games of the season and achieve 66.8% in field goals, the highest figure of his career.

The same thing happened with Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith. The first has become Luka Doncic’s squire. Jalen also received the confidence of coach Kidd to be a key factor throughout the season: he started as a reserve and has recently emerged as a starter. Brunson’s versatility allows Kidd to design schemes without Doncic, as he can take over the ball and score points while Luka Rests.

For his part, Dorian went from being a 3&D to becoming a very effective corner tripler. Yesterday I asked Kidd about his growth and he answered the following: “He is a great basketball player, that’s how I define him in the locker room. We know that he is a great perimeter defender, but we wanted him to go further, that he also contribute in attack. And he accepted the challenge, he focused on being prepared and we talked to Luka so that he has him present in the corner. And he has paid off, he is one of our most important offensive weapons and I hope he continues like this in the PlayOffs”.