The Dallas Mavericks head into the postseason as one of the hottest teams in basketball, and before the playoffs begin, Coach Jason Kidd is getting some recognition for leading them into that position.
The NBA announced on Tuesday that J-Kidd has been named Western Conference Coach of the Month for March-April after Dallas posted a 16-5 record from March 1 through the end of the regular season on April 10. This marks Jason’s first time being named coach of the month in the Western Conference. He previously won the Eastern Conference award three times: January 2014 with the Brooklyn Nets, March 2014 with the Brooklyn Nets and March 2017 with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Erik Spoelstra, coach of the Miami Heat, the top seeded team in the East this year, and a nine-time Coach of the Month recipient himself, recently heaped praise on Jason for the job he’s done with the Mavs, and how he’s used his brain to outwit other coaches dating back to his playing days. The Mavericks famously upset Spoelstra’s Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals during Spoelstra’s third season as coach of Miami.
“He’s one of the historic brilliant minds of this association, and he can fully dominate a game with his mind,” Spoelstra said. “He just had a knack for blowing up everything that you’re trying to do. I don’t even know if you can teach that kind of level of IQ. You’re talking about a Hall of Fame IQ and quite naturally that would translate to coaching, and I think that’s what you’re seeing.”
In his first season as head coach, Coach Kidd had the Mavs rolling to close out the season as they handled their business against teams in both conferences. Dallas had signature victories down the stretch, over fellow Western Conference playoff contenders Golden State and Utah in March, as well as some of the top teams in the East: Boston and Brooklyn in March, and Milwaukee in April.
After going into the All-Star break with a record of 35-24, the Mavs played 23 games post All-Star break and were tied for the most wins in the league from that point with a 17-6 record. The strong finish secured them the fourth seed in the West with a 52-30 regular season record, the Mavs highest seed since their championship season in 2011.
Dallas’ success down the stretch has come in large part due to the play of their defense. Coach Kidd has preached effort on that side and the Mavericks continued to improve on defense throughout the season. Their efforts led to them allowing the second fewest points per game in the league this season, an average of just 104.7 ppg.
Closing his first season as a recipient of the Coach of the Month award goes to show how the team has evolved and developed throughout Jason’s inaugural season as coach, while embracing his philosophies to put together one of the best seasons in recent franchise history.
“His teams play smart. His team does not turn the ball over,” Spoelstra said. “They are very coherent offensively, and I think probably one of the most underrated things about their team this year is they have a great defense. Maybe in years past they haven’t really dominated games on that end. This year they’ve actually been able to dominate games defensively, and then they have a great closer to finish teams off (in Luka Doncic).”
Dallas begins their postseason on Saturday at home, where they will host the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of their first round series at the American Airlines Center. Tip-off is slated for Noon local time and the game can be seen on ESPN.