The idea of NBA teams sitting players down the stretch is not a new concept, but the idea of a team that is still in the hunt for the playoffs seemingly taking that approach is simply mind-blowing.
On Friday night, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd came clean regarding the team’s plan for All-Star Luka Dončić for the remainder of the season. Prior to the game against the Bulls, Kidd revealed that Dončić would only play in the first quarter against Chicago in a must-win situation for the club before sitting out the remainder of the season.
“I can’t speak for him. But I think when you look at it, we all said that we want to have the opportunity to find a way to get in,” Kidd told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “And we were gonna play until told otherwise. And today is the day that we’ve been told that we’re gonna do something different. And so he’s gonna participate in the first quarter and then he’s done for the season.”
