The Mavs can point to an embarrassing loss to the Celtics on national television as the turning point in their season, as after it they were challenged by Coach Carlisle to take the season into their own hands.
As Jason Terry told the Dallas Morning News, after the loss to the Celtics:
“Coach put it on us. He said this is your team. I’m letting you have it. If you guys want to piss it off and not play hard and lose the rest of these games, go ahead.”
Part of putting the power in the player’s hands was giving Jason the keys to the offense, which has helped the Mavs to move away from the perimeter-oriented style they were relying on for most of the season.
Jason talked with the Dallas Morning News about the Mavs changing their offensive philosophy:
“We are fighting for our identity.”
As DallasBasketball.com pointed out, in the last eight games the Mavs have decreased their trey attempts from 20.2 per game to 15.9 per game. At the same time, they have increased their free-throw attempts from 21.1 per game to 25.6. Not surprisingly, the Mavs have been on the positive side of a series of blowout victories since this change has come about.
Carlisle talked with the Dallas Morning News about his decision to have J.Kidd control the offense:
“It’s been happening gradually to a certain degree. I’ve gained a real comfort level with his feel of the pulse of the team. It also allows things to happen out of the flow of the game, without losing any momentum."
“Hey, you’ve got a Hall of Fame point guard, use him to the best of his abilities.”
NEXT UP
The Mavs face the hot Portland Trail Blazers who have won their last 5 games by an average of 14.8 points Wednesday night at 6:30 pm.
Jason Kidd has averaged 7.7 points, 9.3 assists, 5.7 rebounds and shot 55.5 percent from the field since being told to call the plays, so lets hope he can continue his strong play against the Blazers.
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