“It’s About Team for Them”: Following the Celtics’ defeat, Jason Kidd criticizes Luka Doncic’s Mavericks?

After the Celtics’ loss, Jason Kidd criticizes Luka Doncic’s Mavericks in “It’s About Team for Them.”

The head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, Jason Kidd, implied that his team didn’t play together enough to win after a lopsided loss to the league-leading Boston Celtics.

The Boston Celtics presented a formidable challenge to the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden on Friday night, after the team triumphed over them on Wednesday.

It was the Mavs’ third game in four nights in addition to being the last of a difficult road trip consisting of four games. Even though Dallas was only trailing by three points at the half of the third quarter, they were ultimately outplayed in the final minutes and lost 138-110, dropping to 34-26 on the season.

“Seeing a team like that with five shooters is extremely uncommon in this league,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd remarked of the Celtics, who finished with 33 assists and a 41-43 (48.8%) shooting percentage. For them, it’s about the team. That’s evident from the way the ball moves. The question of who is shooting it doesn’t concern them. The individual shooting it is frequently completely exposed.”

It seems unlikely that Kidd intended to criticize his team as a whole rather than just one player, but that won’t stop those who believe Luka Doncic ought to distribute the ball more from interpreting his remarks as a jab at the five-time All-Star.

To those who believe that, however, keep in mind that Doncic, who finished with a team-high 37 points and 12 rebounds, also contributed 11 of Dallas’ 20 assists. To imply that he doesn’t move the ball enough is ridiculous because he gives the Mavs everything he has.

Kidd was criticizing every player on the squad save Doncic, if anything. When it comes to other Mavs passing the ball, let’s look at Tim Hardaway Jr. to provide some perspective, even though it’s not just about him. The Mavs are 13-2 when Hardaway records three assists or more this season. In 20 minutes off the bench on Friday, he was a -21 with 10 points and zero assists.

It’s obviously impossible to expect the Mavs to move the ball at the same level moving forward, given how ridiculously skilled the Celtics are all around, but it starts with starting players who are better at moving the ball around on the court. And that’s something Kidd has to work out.