Dallas Mavs Unconcerned with Preseason Losses; 'Health' Biggest Positive, Says Coach Jason Kidd

The Dallas Mavericks have started off the NBA preseason 0-2 after consecutive losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Abu Dhabi, but head coach Jason Kidd isn't worried, saying that saying healthy is the team's biggest positive.

When you're coming off a season as disastrous as the Dallas Mavericks had last year – missing the playoffs for the first time since Luka Doncic's rookie season in 2018-19 – it can be easy to overreact to NBA preseason losses, especially after several key roster changes have been made.

The Mavs have started preseason play 0-2 after two tough losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA Global Games in Abu Dhabi. Dallas showed some good signs, though, as Doncic looked like his usual superstar self, second-year guard Jaden Hardy continued to prove that he can be a scoring machine, and rookie big man Dereck Lively II made an impact despite being outmanned by the veteran frontcourt duo of Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Town.

Out of all those positives, though, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd says staying healthy is the biggest one with the 2023-24 season opener a little more than two weeks away.

The Dallas Mavericks had a fun time interacting with kids during their Social Impact Event in Abu Dhabi :: David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images

“I thought the trip was a positive in so many ways when you look at the health,” Kidd said. “We leave here healthy headed to Madrid, and then we get back to work on Monday. We’ll have [Sunday] off, but again a lot of positives."

Although winning is always preferred to losing in any setting, the fact of the matter is that the final score of preseason games just doesn't matter all that much. This is a time for teams with new players to get to know each other and for coaching staffs to evaluate the talent at hand in order to form rotations.

That said, if the Mavs start off the regular season with several losses while playing their best players for all four quarters, then perhaps some harsh evaluations will be warranted at that time. As for right now, though, we will continue to watch and evaluate beyond the final score of these preseason games.

The Mavs' next opportunity to show progress will be on Tuesday at 1:45 p.m. CT, as they'll take on Doncic's former club Real Madrid in a friendly exhibition game before heading back to Dallas to finish off the preseason with a home game against the Detroit Pistons. Dallas' game against Real Madrid will be aired on NBA TV.

"I've been thinking about this game since they told me we're going to play there," Doncic said. "That game's going to mean a lot to me. I was raised there. I learned how to speak their English, Spanish ... everything. I learned how to play basketball. That's my second home. I'm very excited to be back there."

As long as Doncic, Kyrie Irving and other key Mavs players can avoid suffering injuries, the team is hopeful that it can return to the same form that led to a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2022.

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