If the Mavericks are to come back from a deficit for the first time in these NBA Finals, they have the right man to do the trick leading them in Jason Kidd.


Jason Kidd leads the Mavericks into Miami tonight for Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

After the Mavericks loss to the Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, No. 2 was the first to recognize the length of the series and put the singular defeat in the rear view.

"This is over with," he said. "We have to look at our mistakes, but we definitely have to play a lot better if we’re going to have any chance to win come Thursday."

That chance to improve, gain a split in Miami and head back to Dallas tied at 1, comes tonight in Game 2 of the NBA Finals at American Airlines Arena. Jason and the Mavs spent the off day looking at tape of their play from Game 1, searching for ways to improve. Some of it was simple. Dallas shot just 37.3 percent from the field on Tuesday and will certainly have to do better.

"The name of the game is to put the ball in the basket and we just didn’t do that," J-Kidd said. "They were closing and making us put the ball on the floor. We had some shots at the rim that we normally make."

But one way that Jason saw which the Mavs can adjust tactically was in the pace of the game, which Dallas let Miami dictate in Game 1.

"We ran a lot of those plays last night which we haven’t done all series," Jason told Mavs Fastbreak. "So, we have to get out and play and get into more of a flow game. That’s where we’re at our best."

Coach Rick Carlisle will likely have Jason work more on the fly in Game 2, one of the assets of having a floor leader like J-Kidd.

"When we’ve got to call plays I’ll call them once in a while, but he’s great at that too," Carlisle said. "The more he can do it the better our team plays."

Dirk Nowitzki feels that the way No. 2 and Carlisle work together can help the Mavericks in a variety of ways, as quoted by Mavs.com.

"I think J-Kidd and Carlisle play great off of each other," Nowitzki explained. "They know when to push him. Coach knows when to let J-Kidd do his own thing and call a bunch of different plays in a role by himself."

Carlisle has had high praise for Jason’s poise and guile throughout this postseason run and puts a lot on the shoulders of the Mavs point guard on a nightly basis, but it’s nothing J-Kidd can’t handle.

"It’s very unique because we’ve got a coach on the floor and then we’ve got a coach on the bench," Mavs center Tyson Chandler said. "They communicate with one another and tell each other what they’re seeing out there. It’s very beneficial for us."

STAYING FRESH
Jason’s poise and guile have been a hot topic this postseason as No. 2 keeps on playing at a high-level 17 years into his NBA career. As Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated writes, it’s a credit to J-Kidd’s work ethic that the Mavericks are where they are right now.

"If Dallas’s matchup with the Heat does boil down to Nowitzki versus LeBron James, two former MVPs trading fourth-quarter rainbows, Kidd will be the main reinforcement in the battle royal, force-feeding Nowitzki and using all his defensive wiles to wear down James. The Mavericks could be overwhelmed physically in this series—Kidd gives up four inches, 40 pounds and 12 years to James—but they enjoy an obvious edge in experience and guile, with a floor leader who sits in front of his locker after every game tapping notes into his cellphone while teammates assume he is texting.

The Mavs don’t produce as many highlights as Miami, but they also don’t make many mistakes, and in the final minutes they are nearly flawless. "That’s Jason Kidd," says Chandler. "He’s the one who keeps us under control, who makes sure we keep our head." The center points to his right temple, the gesture Kidd is constantly making to him whenever he sees Chandler flexing a bit too emphatically.

Jenkins points to Jason’s playmaking ability, a trait he’s always had, as a huge factor in Dallas’ success.

The pass-first point, an endangered species today, is apparently still valuable. Kidd recognizes that 7-foot Nowitzki likes the ball delivered high, around the letters, and backcourt mate Terry wants it fast because he often fires before feeling the seams. Kidd leads all active players with 46,689 regular-season minutes—not including 15 straight playoff runs and 56 wins in international play—and all that time has sapped his speed. But his peripheral vision remains so keen that a teammate can stand behind one of Kidd’s shoulders and he can tell who it is. "Sometimes Jason hits you in a place where you don’t think you can make a play," Chandler says, "but he knows you can."

Players have been saying this kind of thing about Kidd for nearly two decades, since the Mavericks drafted him out of Cal with the second pick in 1994, back when Don Carter was the team owner and Mark Cuban an excitable season-ticket holder. After a quintessential performance from Kidd—two points, 10 assists, one turnover—in the Game 5 clincher over the Thunder in the Western Conference finals, he sought out Carter in the celebration at center court and told him, "I thought we’d be doing this 17 years ago."

But it was when J-Kidd added the three-point shot to his repertoire (he made 3-of 7 from beyond the arc in Game 1), that he truly became a force all over the court. The threat of a three-ball from No. 2 ensures that opponents will be made to pay if they sag off of him in the half court game, Jenkins writes:

The Mavericks are difficult to defend because they have so many perimeter options, beginning with Nowitzki, who can’t really be guarded. Kidd is usually the one left alone. "Late in the shot clock, late in the game, he’ll be open," says 76ers president Rod Thorn, who had been with Kidd in New Jersey.

Chandler likens Kidd to Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis—"The older they get, the smarter they get, so they still outplay everybody," he says—but you see no histrionics from Kidd. A more appropriate cross-sport comparison is Greg Maddux, who pitched in the major leagues until he was 42, putting the ball wherever he wanted it, without a superfluous motion.

Kidd is bound for the Hall of Fame, but he, too, wants to play into his 40s and help educate the next generation on the full job description of a point guard. "They’ll learn how much easier the game is when they involve their teammates and understand when to score," Kidd says. "There’s a science behind it all."

To read Jenkins’ entire piece on J-Kidd, which is featured in this week’s edition of Sports Illustrated, click here.

CHANCE TO PULL EVEN
For Jason, Tuesday night marked his first Finals appearance in eight years and he was sure that there were butterflies in the stomachs of some of his teammates.

"Your first time you’re a little nervous just understanding what you’re playing for and what’s at stake,” Kidd said. "But now at this point it’s just another basketball game…. We’re trying to find a way to win a game on the road."

As Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman wrote after Game 1, J-Kidd has been cool, calm and consistent in that quest:

Jason Kidd was Jason Kidd. Does he ever play any differently than coolly efficient. Kidd had nine points, making three 3-pointers, two of them early that helped Dallas stay steady in the first quarter, plus six assists. The one thing we know for sure in this series, either team, is how Kidd will play.

The Mavericks will rely on No. 2 to keep them under control tonight as they look to maintain a level head in the face of adversity. It’s just another thing he brings to the table, Jason Terry told Mavs Fastbreak:

"Jason Kidd, he’s the one that spearheads all of this," Terry said. "The unselfishness that he plays with on a day-to-day basis, the way he approaches every day, coming in this gym preparing and getting guys ready to play."

J-Kidd is just glad the players still listen to what he has to say after all of these seasons in the league, as he told USA Today:

"Hopefully when I do talk, people listen," he said. "I always felt if you talk too much, people will tune you out at some point and at an important time. My talk is more of what I see on the court or what I want to try to accomplish."

Game 2 of the NBA Finals tips off tonight at 8 p.m. CST on ABC.

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