‘It’s Over’: Coach Jason Kidd Reveals Dallas Mavs Road Goals

The Dallas Mavericks suffered a disappointing loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night to end their homestand.

Dalton Trigg | Mar 10, 2022

If you hadn’t been keeping up with the Dallas Mavericks heading into Wednesday’s game, you probably wouldn’t believe they have a 24-8 record in 2022 after watching them get ran off their own home floor by the New York Knicks, 107-77.

Just two days prior, the Mavs took down the Utah Jazz, who are sitting just 1.5 games ahead of Dallas in the Western Conference standings. It was an inspiring win that seemed to set the tone for the Mavs’ chase for home-court advantage.

Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Julius Randle — Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Luka Doncic and Julius Randle argue over a call.

The Knicks, and Julius Randle specifically, seem to have the Mavericks’ number lately.

Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, RJ Barrett — Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Luka Doncic vs. R.J. Barrett

Was the blowout loss to the Knicks just an outlier? Is it just a case of New York having Dallas’ number? After all, the Mavs have only lost by double-digits three times this calendar year, and two of those times have been against the Knicks.

Whatever the reasons were for their ‘stinker,’ the Mavs are collectively flushing it as they move on to Houston on Friday.

“We had a great homestand,” said coach Jason Kidd. “I don't know, sometimes you're going to lose a game and tonight was the night. But we had a great homestand. Now we go out on the road for five.”

That five-game road-trip will be a big test for Dallas, as it features the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets. And even though the Houston Rockets and Charlotte Hornets aren’t as formidable as the other three opponents, the Mavs have shown on a handful of occasions that they can’t afford to overlook anybody. Kidd revealed what the Mavs are hoping to accomplish before they return back to American Airlines Center on March 21 for a big game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

0FC2B677-A670-45C4-B1E4-78E1ADF6DA64 — © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Jason Kidd deals with a frustrating loss to the Knicks.

USATSI_17862669 — © Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Spencer Dinwiddie vs. Julius Randle

C2A9327D-12E1-4C7C-9114-B45025B7D232 — NBA.com / DallasBasketball Illustration

Luka Doncic could be an MVP finalist if he keeps up his current level of play.

“Our goal is to come back above 500. A lot of good things [happened] on this homestand,” said Kidd. “You can't let one game ruin that – and we're not.”

The Mavs have proven time and time again that they have the mental fortitude to not let a bad game or bad stretch of games keep them down. Dallas has bounced back to win after every loss in 2022, with the exception of a surprising two-game skid against the Orlando Magic and OKC Thunder in late-January. So don’t be surprised if the Mavs show up in Houston with a chip on their shoulder.

“It's over,” said Kidd. “We'll have dinner, relax and get ready to go back to work tomorrow."

Published Mar 10, 2022

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.