Stephen A. Smith: Doncic, Kidd, Mavs ‘Something Special to Behold’

During halftime of the Dallas Mavericks win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith praised the organization from top to bottom.

When it comes to giving out strong opinions on sports topics, not many analysts are as polarizing as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.

On Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks (49-30) defeated the Milwaukee Bucks (48-30) on the road, 118-112, behind Luka Doncic’s 32 points, eight rebounds and 15 assists. The game was nationally televised on ABC, and at halftime, Smith had some lengthy praise for the Mavs after watching them go toe-to-toe with the reigning NBA champions.

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Luka Doncic skies for a dunk in transition.

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The Mavs are just three games away from knowing who their first round opponent will be.

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Brunson shoots over Lopez.

“I think they’re something special to behold,” said Smith of the Mavs. “I think Jason Kidd should be a candidate for Coach of the Year.”

Smith joined Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel as the second person this week to publicly voice support for Kidd in the Coach of the Year race. He didn’t stop there, though, as he went on to give his thoughts on Dallas’ upper management and the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

“I think Nico Harrison should be a candidate for Executive of the Year because [he] got rid of [Kristaps] Porzingis,” said Smith. “It’s a romp in terms of that trade that took place. Spencer Dinwiddie has been a welcomed addition to this squad. You can’t say the same thing about Porzingis [in Washington] yet.

“You see that he was having a detrimental effect on this squad. They play better [now]. The squad plays much better defensively [and] they’re being exceptionally well-coached.”

Kristaps Porzingis, Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Dwight Powell and Kristaps Porzingis.

Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Jason Kidd keeps collecting Coach of the Year hype.

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Dinwiddie could be an X-factor for the Mavs in the playoffs.

To say Porzingis hasn’t been a welcomed addition in Washington might be a stretch, being that he’s averaging 22 points and eight rebounds per game in 15 games played for the Wizards. They seem happy to have him. However, Washington is just 6-9 in those games, whereas the Mavs are 15-5 in the 20 games Spencer Dinwiddie has played in since the trade.

“Jalen Brunson has turned himself into a starting guard in the National Basketball Association. We see what Dinwiddie is doing, and we [already] know what Luka can do. I can’t say enough about what we’re seeing from Dallas,” said Smith.

With just three regular season games remaining against teams well under .500, the Mavs will have three good shots at capturing their first 50-win season since 2015. After that, the playoffs begin, and that’s where the Mavs will try to end an 11-year drought of not being able to get out of the first round.


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Dalton Trigg
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.