Cal Basketball: Surging Dallas Mavs Getting `Best Version' of Jason Kidd the Coach

Mavericks will emerge from the All-Star break having won 20 of their past 27 games.

Jason Kidd’s hiring as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks last year was met with some skepticism based on his two previous experiences as a coach in the NBA and some past off-court episodes.

But the former Cal star, ranked No. 43 on the NBA’s 75th anniversary team, is exceeding expectations. “I think (Kidd) has had amazing growth,” Mavs general manager Nico Harrison told Dalton Trigg of DallasBasketball.com. "This is just human nature. As you have more experiences, you’re going to grow from it, and Jason definitely grew from it.”

The Mavs arrived at the All-Star break in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 35-24 record, and Kidd’s contributions are significant:

1. The Mavericks are playing defense.

Dallas ranks second in the NBA, allowing 103.3 points per game. They have held 15 of their past 27 opponents under 100. That’s a jump from last season when the Mavericks were ninth in the NBA defensively, giving up 110.2 per game.

Kidd, 48, said at his introductory news conference that defense would be a priority. He has been a man of his word on this.

"This is probably one of the more underrated defensive teams in the league," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said after Dallas beat the Heat 107-99 a week ago.

“They're far different than they were last year. They can do this to you: get you in the mud, make it tough. Just get you into a grind game, whereas in the past, it used to be a little bit more pace.”

Jason Kidd talks with Luke Dončić / Photo by Jerome Miron, USA Today

2. Luka Dončić has responded to coaching

Kidd made a point back in December to tell Mavs’ 22-year-old superstar Luka Dončić he is hurting himself and the team by continually whining to referees. It was potentially a risky move, but Dončić listened.

“I think J-Kidd, he’s got a point and I’ve got to stop doing that,” he said.

Healthy again after an ankle injury that shelved him for 10 games through the end of December, Dončić is now playing at an elite level.

He is averaging nearly a triple-double — 31.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 9.2 assists — over the past 18 games. And in the past four, he’s scoring at a 41.5 clip including 51 points against the Clippers and 49 vs. New Orleans.

3. The Mavs are playing their best ball right now

Dallas was two games under .500 at 15-17 after a 120-116 loss at Utah on Christmas day. The Mavs turned things around with 10 wins in their next level games and will come out of the All-Star break on Friday at Utah having won 20 of their past 27 games.

Mavericks GM Nico Harrison is not surprised. He was hired to run the franchise last offseason after years working as an executive for Nike, where he developed a strong relationship with Kidd.

The two basically came to Dallas as a package deal.

Harrison told DallasBasketball.com that Kidd’s two seasons as a top aide on Frank Vogel’s staff demonstrated great change in Kidd.

“The thing people don’t really put a lot of emphasis on is the job he did with the Lakers,” Harrison said. “The Lakers don’t win the (2020) championship without what he did. The way he’s able to communicate with superstars, the way he’s able to support the team.

“Jason was in a secondary role. He embraced the role, and he did everything he could do to support the head coach and support the players, but never grandstanding.”

LeBron James gave Kidd an endorsement as he left Los Angeles last June to return to Dallas, where his play at point guard alongside Dirk Nowitzki helped the Mavericks win their only NBA in 2011.

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Harrison told DallasBasketball.com he and Kidd had long talks about his time in New Jersey and Milwaukee, and that Kidd acknowledged learning a lot from those experiences.

“What you saw in Jason in LA is more of a reflection of what you see with Jason here with us on the Mavs,” Harrison said. “He’s a much better coach now than he was at his first stop, and I think he’s learned so much along the way at each stop that we’re getting the best version of him.”

Cover photo of Jason Kidd by Kevin Jairaj, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo