‘He’s a Brilliant Mind’: Heat Coach Heaps Praise on Mavs’ Jason Kidd

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra gave some of the biggest praise that could be given to first-year Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd.

The Dallas Mavericks achieved what arguably was their most impressive win of the season in their 107-99 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday. 

A pivotal factor that contributed to the Mavericks' victory was their continued embrace of playing high-level defense. With Jason Kidd at the helm, his team has strongly improved on that end significantly from just a season ago, which does not surprise Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

During Kidd's playing career, his basketball IQ and attention to detail always stood out to Spoelstra when coaching against him. Now, Spoelstra is seeing how that is being applied to Mavericks players through Kidd’s coaching. 

“He’s one of the historic brilliant minds of this association, and he can fully dominate a game with his mind,” said Spoelstra. “Even as he got into his mid-30’s, he could manipulate, manage a game (and) keep everybody happy.

“He understood playbooks, he understood his own team’s strength, he understood other team’s strengths, and he would be able to disrupt whatever ATO (after timeout plays), or whatever action you’re trying to get the ball somewhere defensively.”

Spoelstra continued, noting how unique of a gift Kidd possesses: “He just had a knack for blowing up everything that you’re trying to do. I don’t even know if you can teach that kind of level of IQ. You’re talking about a Hall of Fame IQ and quite naturally that would translate to coaching, and I think that’s what you’re seeing.”

A change in leadership can result in different results for any professional sports team. Perhaps one of the better recent examples has been the Mavericks' embrace of defensive execution under Kidd. After posting a 112.3 defensive rating (21st) in 2020-21, they have improved their defensive rating to 106.9 (5th) so far this season.

Spoelstra has taken notice of the Mavericks' "great defense" along with their ability to keep turnovers at a minimum. When adding in the closing ability of Luka Doncic, the defense can keep them in a game on most nights while the superstar can deliver the knockout punches in key moments. 

“His teams play smart, this team does not turn the ball over,” Spoelstra said. “They are very coherent offensively, and I think probably one of the most underrated things about their team this year is they have a great defense.

“Maybe in years past they haven’t really dominated games on that end. This year they’ve actually been able to dominate games defensively, and then they have a great closer to finish teams off (in Luka Doncic).”

None of the Mavericks' individual defenders are players one would think about when pondering the NBA's elite individual defenders, but the team has achieved strong results, nevertheless. It's a true testament to the team's coaching staff as a whole for keeping players motivated and executing the gameplan. 

The Mavericks will look to maintain the success they've achieved defensively this season even after moving on from Kristaps Porzingis at the trade deadline. While he's struggled to consistently stay available, the challenge posed by parting with him is the lack of length remaining on the roster.