Kyrie Irving Says Jason Kidd Called Mavs 'Soft' in Locker Room After Loss to Raptors

The Dallas Mavericks may be off to a promising 6-2 start, but head coach Jason Kidd isn't letting the team rest on its laurels.

Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving said Kidd lit into his team after Wednesday's 127-116 loss to the Toronto Raptors, calling them "soft" after a disappointing defensive performance.

"We were soft in the interior, in the paint. When you have your head coach calling you soft, you have to take that personally and take that as a challenge," Irving said. "Once we watch film, it will make more sense. I'm looking forward to it tomorrow so we can just move forward, and I would say it's just part of our season of growth."

The Raptors scored a whopping 72 points in the paint as Dallas' defensive woes on the interior again reared their ugly head. Only the Indiana Pacers allow more points in the paint than the Mavericks on a per-game basis, with the combination of rookie Derek Lively II and Dwight Powell offering little resistance at the rim.

One could easily argue the Mavericks' hot start is mostly a result of a weak schedule. Only one of Dallas' six wins this season has come against a team currently above .500.

Paint defense was a glaring hole on the roster coming into the season. Lively has shown promise as a rim runner and finisher at the rim, but young bigs almost always struggle defensively as rookies. Powell has never been an impressive interior defender, and starting power forward Grant Williams is undersized at 6'6".

With neither Irving nor Luka Doncic being particularly strong defenders in their own right, the Mavericks' issues are more of roster construction rather than "softness." With that said, Kidd is right that teams can paper over defensive issues with effort, and the Mavericks have shown little of it at times this season.