Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle is reminded every day of how invaluable Jason Kidd is.

No. 2 has it all – skill, knowledge and experience. He takes everything in stride and never stops learning from his experiences. Jason uses all of that knowledge as an overwhelming advantage, as he told NBA.com:

"Games are about runs and guys making plays. I’ve seen a lot, so I try not to get up too high or down too low because there is a lot of basketball yet to be played."

With 15 years in the league, J-Kidd has become more than just a clutch player. He has become a mentor, friend and pacemaker for his team, as Carlisle told NBA.com:

"The tone he sets is solid, consistent and strong-willed. He’s a major part of our personality. The thing I love about Jason is that he has a flair for the dramatic, but a real appreciation of the need for simplicity."

In his second tour of duty in Dallas, No. 2 has fit in well with the Mavs and is helping them get better every day. He has taken rookie Roddy Beaubois under his wing and shown him the ropes of the NBA.

But although J-Kidd and the Mavericks are making positive strides this season, posting a 14-7 record, good for fourth in the Western Conference, No. 2 knows there’s still a lot of work to do.

"We know we’ve got a lot more to improve on. We’ve played a lot of close games that maybe we shouldn’t have made close, but wins count this time of the year. We’d like to get healthy, but that doesn’t mean just because we’re healthier we’re going to turn it on."

Carlisle put things into perspective:

"To sum it up, he gets it. He understands winning and he facilitates good chemistry by how he orchestrates a game. He’s gotten better and better with it."

ROUGH WEEKEND
The fact that J-Kidd "gets it," is why he was so frustrated with himself and his team after an 0-2 weekend.

As J-Kidd told the Dallas Morning News, he knows that Mavericks are better than they showed over the two-game stretch:

"We didn’t do anything right. And this is something that we have to address. When we’re making shots, we play defense. Last year, it was horrendous when we didn’t make shots."

Although a losing weekend can bring spirits down, No. 2 always sees the silver lining:

"Last year at this time we weren’t happy. The good thing is we are winning. We’re winning the close games. We’ve got to finish game and that’s the one thing we’re not doing right now."

J-Kidd pulled down eight rebounds, passed out six assists and tallied three points in a nail-biting 80-75 loss to the Atlanta Hawks Saturday night. One night earlier he barely missed on a double double with 13 points, seven assists and three rebounds in a 98-82 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

NEXT UP
J-Kidd and the Mavericks will face former Dallas point guard Steve Nash and his Phoenix Suns in Dallas on Tuesday night in a battle of two of the West’s top squads. Tip-off is at 7:30 CST and the action can be seen on KTXA.

RELATED STORIES
‘Soft’ play sums up loss for Dallas Mavericks (Dallas Morning News, Dec. 4, 2009)
http://www.star-telegram.com/287/story/1811284.html
Kidd, the rock of Dallas, continues to pile up assists, wins (NBA.com, Dec. 4, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/art_garcia/12/04/kidd/
Mavericks at Grizzlies Boxscore (NBA.com, Dec. 6, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20091204/DALMEM/gameinfo.html#nbaGIboxscore
Hawks at Mavericks Boxscore (NBA.com, Dec. 6, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20091205/ATLDAL/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0020900286