NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: MAVERICKS VS. WARRIORS

May 18, 2022

Jason Kidd

Dallas Mavericks

Game 1: Pregame

JASON KIDD: I know about the fine. Just trying to figure out what we did wrong to get the fine. So, we'll see tomorrow why we got fined.

I mean, who complained? It was a blowout, so I don't think the fans were complaining. I thought the guys did what they were supposed to do. They were cheering on their guys. So we'll find out what the fine is. But it is what it is.

Q. Jason, do you feel like your group in the second round got better as the series went on, and if so, in what ways? How are you playing better basketball now than you were earlier on in the Playoffs?

JASON KIDD: I would say that they have gotten better, especially after Game 1, even though Game 2 was -- that game got out of hand in the second half.

But the big thing is this group has always learned from its losses and its wins, and they will always bounce back, especially after a bad loss. They're just playing better, I think. Mentally and physically they've grown up, too.

This is a young group, so just understanding a lot of them haven't been in this position, but they are learning on the fly, and so I would say that we are getting better, and we're going to be tested this evening in this series just because the Warriors have been through this. Steve is one of the top-15 coaches of all time. He understands how to prepare and how to get his teams and make the adjustments.

This is a great test for us, but the guys are playing better.

Q. Jason, as you go along in these Playoffs, in theory round by round the pressure goes up, and the likelihood of being nervous or having butterflies or being tense is more likely. Do you see that at all out of your team? Game 7, the practice before that looked like the lightest practice of the year.

JASON KIDD: You guys shouldn't have been in there for that practice. That's been practice all year.

I think when you look at our group, I don't know if we ever use the word pressure. I don't think that's in our vocabulary. We look at the challenge, and we understand what we have to do. That doesn't mean to say we always achieve what we want to do, but we learn from it, and it's a work in progress.

But this is a group that likes to have fun. They love to play the game of basketball, and they're learning how to embrace the stage. It's been a lot of fun. This journey has been a lot of fun, and we're learning each other.

I think the word pressure has never been brought up with this group, and I don't think it will ever be brought up.

Q. You've been around the game for 28 years now as a player and a coach. So much has been written and said about Luka. Who does Luka remind you of?

JASON KIDD: Yeah, that's -- Luka reminds me of Luka. He's one of a kind. You can compare him to the shooting of Larry Bird. His smile is Magic, his play-making ability of Magic. A current player, LeBron. Just doesn't jump as high as LeBron.

But when you talk about those traits, they all have one thing in common, and that's winning, and that's what he does. He finds a way to win. When you talk about those traits, hopefully at some point he will be right there with those guys, just not his ability to play basketball but to have those championships.

Q. One of the things that Dorian was saying yesterday was that Golden State doesn't call many plays. It kind of sounded like he was talking about the 2011 Mavericks. What kind of challenge does that pose in terms of scouting and also defending them?

JASON KIDD: Yeah. We've talked about this. They've been together. They have a unique system that works for them at a very high level. They're very unselfish. They know how to play off of one another. There's constant movement. Steph and Klay will always be moving. Poole will be moving. Then you have their quarterback in Draymond Green, who is the one who kind of sets the table for those guys and finds those guys in rhythm, and then everybody says they do the hard part, but it's almost the easy part; they do the shooting.

Again, we have to be tied together and understand that this isn't just sit and look at someone in the post or sit and look at someone in a high pick-and-roll. There's a lot of movement.

One thing leads to another, and so we have to be cautious of that.

Q. How are you different as a coach now than with the Nets and Bucks? What did you learn from those experiences that you think have made you better here with the Mavs?

JASON KIDD: Yeah, I think with the Nets I was still a player. I had just finished. I had no idea what coaching was all about. I'm still learning what coaching is all about.

Totally different situations. In Milwaukee it was a franchise that was at the bottom, and we were trying to help build something and develop players. Totally different than we're here in Dallas when you have a megastar like Luka who's playing at a high level who's been a pro since he was 14 years old, and then the other guys, you're trying to help develop when you talk about Brunson and Dorian and these guys.

It's been fun. But I learned a lot being an assistant coach with the Lakers and winning a championship there, which was pretty cool, and understanding under Frank and learning from Frank a lot of great things that I didn't know as a coach. So I borrowed those things and brought them here to Dallas.

Q. Marquese Chriss was a fan favorite here, and when you're looking for any little edge in a playoff series, do you turn to him for some insights about the tendencies of his old teammates?

JASON KIDD: Yeah, Marquese, he was here, and he did play well here.

For us, whatever information we can get that can help us win, then we're going to use it. Hopefully he's given us the right information.

Q. The continuity the Warriors have now that they didn't have throughout the season with Klay not coming back until January and then Draymond being hurt and Steph being hurt, how much different of a look do they have, and Jordan Poole and Wiggins getting some more playoff experience? Just a different look than what you saw last time you were here.

JASON KIDD: Yeah, everyone went through injuries and COVID, but at the end of the day when you talk about Draymond and Steph and Klay, they've won championships. They've been tested. They've seen it all.

They are a different team. They're not just the third seed. This team has won championships. They've been down in series. They're a team that's not going to panic and they're well-coached and prepared.

Again, we've got our hands full. We're here to just try and make it tough and hopefully put ourselves in a position late in the fourth quarter to find a way to get a win.

Q. How important is pace in a series like this?

JASON KIDD: We like to play our pace. But the Warriors have a unique pace. They're going to get out and put a lot of pressure on your defense in transition on makes and misses. We have to be cautious of that.

We don't want this to be a track meet. We want to play our pace, and hopefully they'll join us, but we know that's not going to happen. They're going to force their pace, and so it'll be both teams fighting to see at what speed we're going to play tonight.

Q. What did you learn from Frank with the Lakers? Is there any example that you sort of took from there that has helped you in Dallas?

JASON KIDD: Just have fun. Just enjoy it. Let the players be players, and you can't control everything.

Then the biggest thing is being a defensive-minded team. That's what Frank has done at a very high level, not just in LA but in Indiana and Orlando.

To be at that point in my coaching career, we had two -- I think we were No. 1 in defense two years in a row, which was pretty cool, and I thought if we could do it there, hopefully we could do it in Dallas. Unfortunately we didn't get to No. 1, but we did improve.