A couple days ago, I wrote an article about my opinion about the Jason Kidd trade and the effects on the Dallas Mavericks. Basically, I just summarized on my thoughts on how trading away a rising talent and draft picks was a huge mistake, and the Mavericks paid for it.
While I still had a tiny ray of hope in my heart that the Mavericks could get the eighth seed in the playoffs, the game against Denver just proved and finally finalized it. The nail is in the coffin and the Mavericks season is basically over.
Call me a pessimist if you want, but the facts are in front of you.
This team cannot beat a winning team. How can a team that had a 15-point lead in one half come in and lose by 13 in the second half?
This was not the Mavericks team of last year or the year before. It doesn't make any sense that a team considered a West super power can drop down to a team that barely can stay in the playoffs.
Yes, this year, the Western Conference is probably the strongest thing we have ever seen but it still doesn't counter the fact that a team with a winning record is unbeatable to the Mavericks.
People question constantly who the blame of the Mavericks' crumble should be placed on. Many argue it's Avery Johnson or Mark Cuban or the players in general, but the answer really is very simple.
I have narrowed it down to three factors that easily can explain the collapse of this once-dominant basketball power.
1. Johnson - Kidd Correlation Factor
Now, for the people who blame Avery for all the failures occurring on the Mavericks, you have to realize that you have to put equal blame on Kidd, as well.
When the Mavericks traded for Kidd, they thought that, if they had a "field general" on the court, they would flow better offensively. The problem is that the "field general" in question uses a completely different mind set than Avery's job that needs to be done. Take this into consideration:
When Kidd was in New Jersey, Lawrence Frank's job was easier in the sense that he didn't need to run the offense as much because he basically had a "general" on the court most of the time.
You could call Frank a more "laid back" coach in that sense that he let Kidd run half the offense on his own with the Nets, while he focused on defense.
But the fact remains. Frank is the head coach and whatever he said, Kidd had to follow to some degree. Plays are nearly always chosen by the coach. The other fact is that Kidd's style of play is something that has to be seen on the court to understand.
While Kidd runs through dozens of plays through his head, his greatest skill is not play-making, rather, opportunity chances with his court vision. What I mean by that is, Kidd doesn't create plays neccessairly, but he passes or lobs the ball to whoever is open or has a higher percentage to score.
Few coaches run a play that involves an ally-oop to another player at the rim ready to dunk the ball. They are just opportunities that arise that give both players the chance to score a quick basket.
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