Down 3-1 in the Western Conference semifinals to the Denver Nuggets, Jason and crew gave it their best effort in Game 5, but they came up short Wednesday night, falling 124-110.
Jason finished with 19 points, nine assists, three rebounds and a steal. After the game, he looked back on the season as a successful one. He told the Dallas Morning News:
"It’s something for us to build on…and hopefully come back and get off to a better start next year."
 Jason slips a pass around Chauncey Billups on his way to a nine dimes (Getty Images). |
STARTING JET
In an effort to energize Dallas’ offense in a must-win game, Carlisle opted to put Jason Terry into the starting lineup, and credited Jason with why. As reported by the Dallas Morning News:
Carlisle played the only trump card he had left and started Jason Terry, the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.
"The time was right to make that move," he said. "The more guys play with Jason Kidd, the better they play and the more good looks they get. Jason
[Terry] hadn’t really had a bust-out game in this series."
NEXT SEASON
Jason will be a free agent in the 2009-2010 season, and as he explained on Wednesday afternoon, he’s open to returning to Dallas if things work out."I know I want to go on vacation," Kidd said. "That’s about all I know right now. I don’t know what beach, but I just want to relax and enjoy my time off and let my agent do his job and see what happens."
As far as free agency goes, Kidd did drop a few hints. Based on that and the fact that the Mavs can pay Kidd more than anybody else — and have made it clear they really want him to return — the odds are he’ll be back in Dallas.
RELATED STORIES
Jason Kidd reveals his plans (Dallas Morning News, May 14, 2009)
http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/05/jason-kidd-reveals-his-plans.html
Simple explanation: Nuggets are better team (Dallas Morning News, Apr. 14, 2009)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/jtaylor/stories/051409dnspotaylor.430ca10.html