outsider head coach Jason Kid is not happy with the team’s efforts on defense, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, who notes that Dallas, who was seventh in the NBA last season,’s defensive rating has fallen to 25th in 2022-23.
Two solid defenders Dorian Finney Smith and Josh Greenreturned to action on Wednesday from injury breaks, but it was still the third straight game the Mavericks gave up at least 130 points.
“It’s the attention to detail and the focus,” Finney-Smith said. “It’s everything. I tried to come out of here with some energy but we still end up doing the same thing. It’s everyone. It’s not just one person. We all have to take the challenge and start guarding. It has to be about the Go care factor. We have to take care of stopping someone. You should get mad if they keep scoring.”
The Mavericks’ offense, which was 14th last season, is fifth so far in the 22-23 season, but Kidd told reporters Wednesday he doesn’t want his club to make a habit of his Outperform opponents in gunfights.
“Tonight we gave up 130 points and one team shot 57 percent,” Kidd said after the loss to Atlanta. “It’s a shootout. In this league, if you do that, whether you have Luka or Kareem or LeBron, you’re going to lose. It doesn’t matter how many points you score, you will always be close.”
Here’s more from the Southwest:
- echo outsider owner Mark Cuban, Luke Doncic denied a report that suggested he had “strongly indicated” that the team intends to make roster upgrades by the Feb. 9 close, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. “Of course I know that the people next to me that I speak to know that’s not true,” Doncic said. “I didn’t say anything about that. I speak to (President of Basketball Operations) Nico (Harrison). I’m talking to Fin (Assistant GM Michael Finley) more than before. But I just don’t talk to them like that. We have great communication and we just keep it between us.”
- grizzlies guard Yes Morant Isn’t just campaigning for one of his teammates to be named Defensive Player of the Year — he thinks two of them should share the award. As Evan Barnes of The Commercial Appeal writes, Morant believes Jaren Jackson Jr. and Dillon Brooks both earn DPOY honors and jokingly suggest voters (who can only pick one winner) write in “Jaren Brooks”.
- answer to John Wall‘s criticism of the rockets and their culture, head coach Stephen Silas said he understood the veteran’s frustration at how his time in Houston was going, but resisted the idea that the team was giving too much of it to its young prospects, according to The Houston Chronicle’s Danielle Lerner. “To hold them accountable, they learn partly from mistakes, from adversity and from film sessions,” Silas said. “For me it is important to set out the expectations. But expecting young children not to make mistakes is unrealistic.”