No. 2 isn’t just an All-Star caliber player — according to Mark Cuban, he’s the second best player in the NBA today.

On his blog, Cuban says that he has come up with a lineup and player evaluation system that shows that J.Kidd is second only to Lebron James in terms of delivering for his team.

Cuban uses a plus/minus system that rewards a player for getting the job done when it matters. For example: scoring when your team is up 30 doesn’t matter, but hitting a shot when the game is on the line causes a player’s impact percentage to go up significantly.

Here are the results from this quantitative system:

Player, Z-Score (Impact Ranking)

Lebron James: 3.2034
Jason Kidd: 2.7861
Dwyane Wade: 2.7435
Chris Paul: 2.7183
Andre Iguodala: 2.6702

AMPLE EVIDENCE
Other stats also show how strong a year Jason is having leading into the All Star Break. No. 2 is:

1st in the NBA in point guard rebounds, with 6.3 per game

2nd in the NBA in point guard steals, with 2.2 per game

4th in the NBA in point guard double-doubles, with 12

5th in the NBA in assists, with 8.4 per game

Those stats, coupled with the fact that J.Kidd is shooting 42.2 % from the field — higher than his career mark of 40,2% — demonstrates how great a season No.2 is having for the Mavs.

Another site, 82games.com, provides a in-depth look into Jason’s season, ranking him second on the team overall with +6.1 Roland Rating:

  • Net48 (the average +/- net points over a full game): 5.7
  • Net Points per 100 possessions: when on court is +5.3; when off is -10.2; Net = +15.4
  • Effective FG %: on court 51.2%; off court 46.9%; Net = +4.3%
  • Assisted Field Goals: on court 58%; off court 49%; Net +9%
  • Total rebounds: on court 51%; off court 47.3%; Net = 3.7%
  • Most effective starting unit: Kidd-Terry-Howard-Nowitzki-Dampier

FANS AGREE
Mavs fans agree that Jason Kidd’s positive impact on the Mavs play demonstrates his worth to his team and that the Mavs are lucky to have him.

Here are some comments found on the Mavs Blog:

Posted by K:
NBA.com has Kidd ranked as the second best PG. ESPN fantasy has him rank as #2 as well. Moreover, Kidd is in the top 7 on NBA.com. My point is this if you want fantasy points, go with Kidd over all players except CP3, LBJ, and D HWD. But that’s just looking at the numbers. Guy is #2 in steals, number 1 rebounding guard (including Kobe). 1 # in blocks for PGs. When has D Harris EVER been ranked as high?!!! EVER!!!

Posted by Martin:
All you have to do is watch the games to know Kidd is elite. His instincts are incredible. His passing and intelligence is amazing. And before he came here I never knew how good of defender he is…he has saved about 5 games in the final minutes this year with steals and strips and deflections. He really is a pleasure to watch and I think he can play at this level until he is 40.

Posted by Mark Cuban:
Well how about them apples.
You see, Kidd is the second best player in the league. I’d take him over any other pg in the NBA. He’ll take us to the Finals, bank on it.

RELATED STORIES
NBA All Stars by the Numbers (Blog Maverick, Feb. 8th, 2009)
http://blogmaverick.com/2009/02/08/nba-all-stars-by-the-numbers/
Mark Cuban has scientific proof that Jason Kidd is still an elite player (Dallas Mavericks Blog, Feb. 9th, 2009)
http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/02/mark-cuban-has-scientific-proof-that-jas.html
Jason Kidd on 82games.com (82games.com, Feb. 13th, 2009)
http://www.82games.com/0809/08DAL1.HTM