Tomorrow, a new era in Dallas Mavericks basketball will begin, and with it, Jason will take center stage.
No. 2 will helm coach Rick Carlisle’s new run-based offense, which will allow the nine-time NBA All-Star the opportunity to create on the fly or take it to the hole himself. As written by BleacherReport.com:
“Carlisle will institute plays that have Kidd drawing in defenders into the paint and either putting in the layup himself, or passing off to Howard, Bass, Dirk, or Green on the interior.”
Popeye Jones, a Mavericks assistant coach, gave Star-Telegram.com his take on the new offense:
“You’re going to see high-speed basketball, high-octane basketball, which we know crowds like. When you have Jason Kidd, you have to play that way.”
NOTHING BUT GREAT
With the age and experience Jason brings to the team, Carlisle is more than happy with letting his point guard take control of the game. As DallasNews.com reports:
“Rick Carlisle has already figured out what Avery Johnson never did: Give the ball to Jason Kidd and get out of the way.”
“Carlisle’s overall strategy is to outline some broad offensive and defensive principles that he wants to see from Kidd, but allow Kidd himself much more freedom to implement those concepts.”
That works for No. 2.
"That’s what I’ve been doing since I came into the league," Kidd said of playing fast-break basketball. "I run and try to make my teammates better."
EASIER FOR EVERYONE
The Morning News went on to say that having J-Kidd running the point will actually pay dividends for all of the Mavericks in ways most might not imagine.
"You have to be smart when you run," Kidd said. "We want to run. We feel like we have the parts to run, and we want to be aggressive and get easy baskets."
Some folks espouse the theory that having the Mavs play fast-break basketball will actually reduce some of the wear and tear on the players because they won’t be banging quite as much in the low post for position.
NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT
Jason was held out of practice on Saturday due to some sorness in his legs, but coach Carlisle said it was more precautionary than anything else. As he explained:
"He’s been going at 78 rpm’s” while everybody else has been going at 33 rpm’s."
NEXT UP
The season tips off at 7:30pm in Dallas for preseason play. You can catch it on CSN.
RELATED ARTICLES
Jason Kidd and Rick Carlisle: Will They Boom or Bust in Dallas? (BleacherReport.com, Oct 3rd 2008)
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/64954-jason-kidd-and-rick-carlisle-will-they-boom-or-bust-in-dallas
Dallas Mavericks’ coach passing the ball to Jason Kidd (DallasNews.com, Oct 4th 2008)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/yahoolatestnews/stories/100408dnspotaylor.11b17b5.html?npc
Nothing more than stiffness for Jason Kidd (DallasNews.com, Oct. 4th 2008)
http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/10/nothing-more-than-stiffness-for-jason-ki.html
Rick Carlisle is putting Dallas Mavericks in motion (Star-Telegram.com, Oct 5th, 2008)
http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/953352.html