Jason Kidd—Time To Earn That Paycheck!

The Dallas Mavericks are currently in seventh place in the Western Conference. Dirk Nowitzki is out with an ankle/knee injury and will not travel with Dallas during their three-game road trip. Five of their next six games are against playoff level teams. They play the Nuggets, Warriors, Lakers, and Suns all on the road in the next week.

The Mavericks current record of 45-26 has them just two games ahead of the ninth-place Denver Nuggets.

It's time for Jason Kidd to earn his $20 million.

Kidd's numbers this month are quite pedestrian for a $20 million dollar point guard. His stat line reads: 7.7 PPG, 8.5 APG, and 6.0 RPG. Kidd is definitely going to have to step up his game if he wants to make this trade look worthwhile.  

In 18 games with Dallas, Kidd has only scored 10+ points six times and 20+ points once. He is doing a good job distributing the ball, but with Dirk out he's going to need to be more of a force scoring.

The Mavericks should take notes from the Houston Rockets.

When Yao Ming went down for the season they rolled off 10 straight wins in the midst of a 22-game win streak. The Rockets rallied around each other and played inspired basketball to keep their season alive.  

The Rockets had it a little easier because they still had Tracy McGrady to rally around. The Mavericks must now look to Jason Kidd for that kind of leadership. I don't think Kidd needs to put up 20-25 points a night but he does need to be more assertive with his scoring.

Dallas is soon going to find out a couple of things: Is he worth the money? Is he worth all the trouble Dallas went through to get him?

Devin Harris, the young guard Mark Cuban gave up for Kidd, has been playing well since the trade. In 15 games he has been in double digits scoring all but three of them. In five games he scored 20+ for the Nets.

Harris, a 25-year-old rising star, is in his fourth year in the NBA. He has improved his point and assist totals every year he has been in the NBA.

Every team responds in their own way when faced with adversity. Every player has their own way to handle stress as well. It will be interesting to see how Jason Kidd handles the pressure of being "the man" again.

The Mavericks need to play well these last three weeks of the regular season or they will be on the outside looking in once the playoffs roll around.