Dirk Nowitzki Gives 'Dangerous' Dallas Mavs Playoffs Prediction, Jason Kidd Coaching Assessment

NBA Hall-of-Famer Dirk Nowitzki spoke with WFAA and gave his thoughts on the Dallas Mavericks playing their best basketball heading into the playoffs, and an assessment on Jason Kidd's third year coaching in Dallas.

May 15, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) greets former player / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Mavericks are playing their best basketball of the season at the perfect time, as they've won 10 of their last 11 games heading into Sunday's matchup against the Houston Rockets, who have won 11 consecutive games.

Over the weekend, Mavs legend and Hall-of-Famer Dirk Nowitzki spoke with WFAA about how Dallas is playing with the NBA postseasn right around the corner.

"I think we're clicking on all cylinders, finally defending a little better," Nowitzki said. "The offense has been great. Luka and Kyrie are playing well off each other. The other guys are spreading the floor. You've got the bigs rolling to the basket. They're playing really well and really firing on all cylinders, so I'm so happy to see it."

Apr 9, 2019; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) and forward Luka Doncic / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Nowitzki, who racked up 69 playoff wins during his career, including 16 wins in 2011 en route to the Mavs first and only championship in franchise history, knows a few things about what a true contender looks like. He believes Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the rest of the Mavs' supporting cast have the makeup to make some noise this postseason.

"I think we're structured pretty well," Nowitzki said when asked if he thinks this current Mavs team could make a deep playoff push. "We can be big, we can be physical, we got shooting, we're able to defend now and switch a lot. I think we're set for playoff basketball, and hopefully we can settle ourselves in the top six. You don't want to be in the Play-In game, so hopefully they can manifest themselves there and get some momentum going towards the playoffs."

A big part of that 2011 title run was the point-guard play of Jason Kidd, who is now in his third year as head coach of the Mavs. Nowitzki believes the trust Kidd has from his players is what gives him a chance to prove all of his critics wrong.

"I know he takes a lot of heat, but I actually think he's doing phenomenal with the guys," Nowitzki said of Kidd, who is reportedly hoping for a contract extension this summer. "The main thing with coaches nowadays, you need the trust from the team, the team needs to believe in you, and I think they do [believe in Kidd]. They play hard for him. He's a smart coach, and you always saw that when we played together. He's got a coach's mentality, and the way he saw the game, always saw that he's got a coach in him one day. So I'm happy for him, and he's obviously a good dude."

If the Mavs can remain healthy in these final nine games of the regular season, Nowitzki belives they are capable of making a run to the Western Conference Finals. The offensive firepower of Doncic and Irving will be hard for any opponent to handle, and with the Mavs now playing some lockdown defense as well, the sky could be the limit.

"Well... playoffs is always unpredictable," Nowitzki said when asked for his prediction for the Mavs. "Hopefully we stay healthy, and hopefully we can win a few rounds. That'll be fun, create some excitement around here. But I think we're very dangerous with two superstars, two top scorers in our league, and everybody else knows their role, so we can definitely be a great team in the playoffs."

Heading into Sunday's duel with the Rockets, the Mavs are currently the No. 6 seed in the West with a chance to move up to the No. 5 seed with a win. In preseason, Irving spoke about how this season was going to be about 'peaking at the right time,' and the Mavs certainly appear to be doing that.