DALLAS — Mark it down on your calendars. March 13 was the night that not only could Mavericks fans catch dinner after the game — the AAC stands were largely empty by 8:45, a few minutes before the end of a 104-88 loss to Memphis — but coach Jason Kidd reminded us that, even with a losing record, no one gets killed at the end of this season-long horror show.
The club slipped to 34-35 and eighth place Monday. Kidd was actually going on and on about the team’s health or lack of it, with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving missing another game, and suggested that with a little health, the team could make the playoffs. “And if not, that’s just the season. No one’s dying,” Kidd said.
Now, figuratively speaking, coaches have been known to die for less than going from conference finalist to missing the playoffs. Actually, the Los Angeles Clippers did the same thing last year without losing a coach, but two things come to mind here. One is that no one wants to copy the Clippers’ model. Ever.
Two is that LA’s best player, Kawhi Leonard, missed the entire season. For all the hand-wringing Kidd does about getting his team back together, Doncic has played in 57 of 69 games. That’s more games played than Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, Joel Embiid and James Harden in Philadelphia, Leonard and Paul George with the Clippers, Steph Curry at Golden State, Ja Morant in Memphis, than Jimmy Butler in Miami, Devin Booker in Phoenix or LeBron James with the Lakers, just to name 10 other stars. All of those teams have better records than Dallas except the Lakers, and who knows where that will stand by the time the Mavs leave the court Friday night in LA.
The point is that, yeah, health would be great, but the Mavericks were 3-6 with Doncic and Irving on the floor. That was before Doncic developed a thigh injury while making a rare appearance in the second night of back-to-back games. Irving subsequently developed foot soreness after a long night of typing on Twitch. On Monday, Christian Wood, who provides a hot hand at one end and a hot mess at the other, also sat with foot soreness. This is one cold team that could use some Icy Hot.
Kidd expressed something between wishful thinking and optimism that his two All-Star starters would return to the court when the team plays San Antonio on Wednesday in what has to be a winnable game for Dallas, although one never knows.
Put Luka and Kyrie in uniform, and the Mavs will have some offense. With those two, I promise they won’t lose 104-88 in Memphis next Monday, although that might be the score after three quarters.
The real problem with Kidd’s “no one’s dying” comment isn’t that it sounds a little reminiscent of Tony Romo’s “if this is the worst thing that will ever happen to me, I’ve lived a pretty good life” after a 44-6 loss in Philadelphia. By the way, Romo HAS lived a pretty good life, but that’s another story. The real problem is that, under old-school circumstances, a good team misses the playoffs and it regroups and tries again next year. That was before the NBA handed the car keys and the house keys and the ATM cards to the players, who run the entire league.
If Dallas misses the playoffs, what does that do for Irving’s mindset? The main thing I disliked about the Irving trade (there were others) was that the very best the club could hope for was that he liked it here enough to sign a five-year, $272 million contract with Dallas this summer. That was the best. And keep in mind that putting Irving in complete control of your franchise has never worked out anyplace else.
The worst would be that the team misses the playoffs or is eliminated in a play-in game or a short first round, and Irving just leaves as a free agent. At that point, the Mavericks have traded what was left of their assets and now get to try a full rebuild around Luka as he heads into Year 6. Can‘t wait to hear Mark Cuban and Nico Harrison spin that one like they did the Irving trade itself.
Mostly, the Mavericks are traveling down the same path charted by the Atlanta Hawks. Reach the conference finals in a surprise behind Trae Young (permanently attached to Luka), slide down to a first-round exit against Miami the next season, have all kinds of talk about Trae’s unhappiness and the team’s future while changing coaches the following year.
And, just like I said about the Clippers, you really don’t want to emulate the Hawks.
It’s hard to say where all this puts Kidd, who was a breath of fresh air last year but seems forever in search of any kind of clue with this roster. When he says he’s just watching these games like the rest of us or no one’s dying, is he daring Cuban to do something about it or asserting a presumed authority that NBA coaches don’t even possess?
I don’t know. No one’s dying here. But some of this and some of us are getting old.
