Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks enter tonight’s Game 3 against the Portland Trail Blazers with an opportunity to do something the Mavs haven’t accomplished since their Western Conference championship season of 2006.

With a win tonight, Dallas can take a 3-0 lead in their best of-seven quarterfinal series. The Mavs haven’t done that since the 2006 quarterfinals when they swept the Memphis Grizzlies on their way to the NBA Finals.

J-Kidd was still a member of the New Jersey Nets at that time, but he learned a thing or two about momentum there as well. Three times during their six-year playoff run with Jason at the helm, the Nets took a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven. Each series ended in a sweep.

He’s also able to draw from similar experiences in the Olympics with Team USA, for which he won two gold medals and went 56-0 in his career.

On the 2008 National Team, which won the gold in Beijing, Jason played for coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University. The two shared a close bond and Jason invited the Hall-of-Fame coach, who was in town for a speaking engagement, to Game 2 in Dallas on Tuesday.

Though he was unable to make the game, Coach K did have some kind words for the Dallas point guard, as John Machota of The Dallas Morning News reported:

"Winning over 900 games and four national championships probably qualifies you as an exceptional evaluator of talent. Hall of Fame basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has coached his share of stars at Duke University, and he has added to that talented lineage recently as head coach of the USA Basketball Men’s National Team.

During a countless number of interviews, Krzyzewski has gushed about past players, their work ethic and their accomplishments.

However, it would be difficult to find a player that he respected more than Dallas Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd.

Krzyzewski, who spoke Tuesday at The Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, described the leadership that Kidd, someone he called a "dear friend," provided to the 2008 USA team that won the gold medal in Beijing.

"Jason was really my key leader for the Olympics," Krzyzewski said before the PwC-SMU Athletic Forum luncheon. "I love Jason. He’s brilliant."

Coach K then joked: "Jason looks like he’s going to play 10 more years or something. He’s shooting the heck out of the ball."

Krzyzewski has respect not only for Jason’s game, but for his instincts on the floor and the leadership he provides for a team.

"He is so smart,’ Krzyzewski said. "And really smart people know that they have to reinvent themselves a little bit or change. They’re not resistant to change. They know that with experience, age, knowledge of what they are doing, if they’re not changing, something’s wrong. He’s in great shape and really nothing he does surprises me."

OFF GUARD
It may not have surprised Coach K, but Jason’s shooting run to start the series of 21 points per game on 64 percent (16-of-25) from the field certainly startled the Trail Blazers.

What they thought to be an anomaly after a 9-of-14 in Game 1 showed itself as a trend in Game 2 when Jason basically matched the efficiency in going 7-of-11 from the field. The difference in the percentages was just seven thousandths of a point.

Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus writes that if the Blazers don’t figure out how to slow No. 2 down, they could be looking at a very brief stay in the postseason, especially given the depth of J-Kidd’s supporting cast:

"If Kidd continues to shoot like this–and he was even creating off the dribble in the third quarter, en route to 18 points on 11 shots–I’m not sure Portland has an answer, at least when the Mavericks’ potent second unit with Stojakovic and Barea is in the game.

They can do more to force DeShawn Stevenson (one point in 13 minutes) to beat them when he plays, and they also have to find a way to punish Stojakovic and Barea at the other end of the floor. The Blazers’ size advantage at guard figured to be a huge asset, but Barea has more than held his own and drew a key offensive foul on Wesley Matthews in the fourth quarter."

Zach Lowe of SI.com’s The Point Forward agrees that the Blazers have their hands full with Jason and must defend him better or risk certain elimination:

You cannot let Kidd torch you as a scorer, as he did with 24- and 18-point performances in Games 1 and 2, respectively. When

[Wesley] Matthews is in the game, he’s usually going to defend whichever guard the Blazers consider more threatening (that has been the pattern so far, at least). That often means a matchup with Terry (who got away from Matthews a few times on cuts), but Matthews shifts to Kidd when DeShawn Stevenson is on the floor to start each half.

Matthews struggled to a surprising degree when defending Kidd in Game 2. The Mavericks ran several simple pick-and-rolls with Kidd and Chandler, and Matthews ran smack into Chandler’s chest almost every time. Kidd got free for a wide-open bank shot and a slow-motion drive to the lane for the sort of important early points that everyone forgets later but are crucial in keeping the Mavs’ Nowitzki-dependent offense afloat.

But tcat75 at Mavs Moneyball writes that even if the Blazers force Jason to take fewer shots, there are plenty of other ways he will beat a team:

"This effort from Kidd, even with his age holding him back from doing everything he would want to accomplish (he was visibly gassed in the 4th quarter of Game 2), is going to be crucial for the Mavericks to have hopes for a ring. No one expects Kidd to play this well the entire playoffs, but even if he falls off with his shot, the aggressive, smart mentality driving Kidd each and every play is going to propel those around him. Its about time Dirk had a teammate who understood and cared as much as he does."

AN OUTSIDE VIEW
Jason’s wide-ranging career has taken him to three different teams where he’s had a significant impact.

Even after he leaves, he does so on such good terms that the fans there are left rooting for him. Andrew Lynch, Phoenix Suns blogger for Sun-N-Gun. is one such person.

Lynch wrote recently that because of how hard Jason has worked on his game, through and since his time in Phoenix, he believes that fans should have an appreciation for the fruits of that labor:

"Great players improve their game so that they can perform their best in when it matters most. And in a playoff game in 2011, Jason Kidd, formerly a 32.7% career 3-point shooter, shot 50% from deep.

In Game 2, the Blazers largely defended Dirk Nowitzki well (40.9% EFG%) and defended him hard (he had 17 free throw attempts). Dirk scored 33 points anyway because he’s an MVP-caliber player. His night was constantly buoyed by the efforts of two men who can remember when the Petrified Forest burned down. Peja’s might be the best he has to offer – marvel at the flash in the sky, friends, because it probably won’t be back in our lifetimes.

Jason Kidd, on the other hand, doesn’t need your undivided attention. He only needs enough to take the load off of his teammates. Against the Blazers, he did so by making 3 of 6 3-pointers, drawing a foul, posting a 42.6% assist rate, and forcing you to divide by zero if you want to define his assist to turnover ratio.

I urge you to enjoy him. He’s worked hard to make sure you won’t regret it.

NO TURNOVERS
Through the first two games of the quarterfinals, one of the most surprising aspects of the Mavericks offense has been their minimal turnovers.

The offense Dallas likes to run often produces the occasional errant pass. But in the second half on Tuesday, the Mavs ran it to perfection without the blemish of a single turnover.

Jason Terry credits that to J-Kidd as well:

"If it’s in his hands, it’s like what they say, ‘It’s in good hands with Allstate,’" said shooting guard Jason Terry, alluding to an insurance company slogan. "He knows what he wants to get accomplished with the basketball, and he finds the right people."

What Jason’s looking to accomplish tonight is giving the Mavericks a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. To do so he’ll have to combat a hungry Trail Blazers team and a road crowd at the Rose Garden that ranks among the toughest in the NBA. But J-Kidd feels the Mavs are ready:

"You look at our team and everybody has been in some kind of atmosphere where they’ve been on the road and they’ve played against a loud crowd," No. 2 said. "So, just tune them out, execute your plays, embrace it and go from there."

Tonight’s game tips off at 9:30 CST and can be seen on TNT.

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