Jason Kidd says Mavericks need players besides Luka Doncic to step up with Dallas in 2-0 hole against Phoenix Suns
Published: May 4, 2022 US time
Publisher: ESPN
Article by Tim McMahon
Article translated by de Gaulle
The Western Conference Semifinals Lone Ranger and Suns played two games, and not only was the process and result similar, but even after the game, Lone Ranger head coach Jason Kidd made almost the same statement in an interview. After these two games, Kidd's core point is that luka Doncic, the core of the Lone Rangers, needs more support and help from his teammates when facing the sun with the best regular season record in the league.
In the second game of the series with the Suns, Doncic's personal data, although not as gorgeous and shocking as the first game of 45 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists, he still showed his fullness and efficiency. On offense, Doncic shot 13-of-22, including 5-of-10 from outside the three-point line, and while scoring a game-high 35 points, Doncic also contributed 5 rebounds and 7 assists, both of which were also team-highs.
But even when Doncic played to this extent, the Lone Ranger still lost to the Suns by as many as 20 points by a score of 109 to 129. "He played a great game, but no one else stood up," Lone Ranger coach Kidd commented after the game, "we need other players to play better, because if he is the only one who scores 30 points in a single game, we can't win, at least not at this stage of the season." We're going to play against the best team in the league now, so the rest of us have to stand up. ”
As the manager of the team, Kidd's comments do not end there. In a later interview, he also "criticized" two players by name — Jaylen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie — who, in Kidd's view, were the players who should stand up for Doncic the most.
In the face of criticism from the head coach, Brunson and Dinwiddie really can't say anything, because the two Lone Rangers played well in the first two games of the Western Conference semifinals. In both games, the two men combined to contribute only 41 points, and the sports shooting rate was only 32.6%. Brunson, in particular, was "born out of the woods" in the previous round against the Jazz, averaging 27.8 points in six games. It is precisely because Kidd knows that the two have such abilities that he will be unhappy with their performance in the past two games.
On the other hand, the Suns not only have outstanding star players like Doncic, but also a number of role players who have played steadily and have seen big winds and waves. Under the leadership of the two stars Booker and Paul, the Suns in the two games against the Lone Ranger, the game state presented on the court is "at ease". In Game 2 of the series, Booker scored 30 points and Paul scored 28, while the two contributed 21 and 20 points respectively in the second half, helping the Suns cut a staggering 71 points in the second two quarters of the game, giving the Lone Ranger's slight advantage in the first half to be wiped out.
An important means for the Suns to crush the Mavericks in the second half was to target the Slovenian defender on the offensive end. According to statistics, in the second half of the second game of the series, Doncic has 19 times to defend the ball carrier after the Suns launched a block, which ranks third in his career. And the Suns' offensive players can score an average of 1.81 points per chance when facing Doncic after the break-up — the highest defensive number of points lost of all players who have faced this situation at least 15 times in the last three years.
Doncic has to take the lead on the offensive end and be so targeted by the Suns on the defensive end, the pressure he faces can be imagined. Coupled with the inability of his teammates to provide him with effective help, it is not unusual to eventually lose the game by a gap of 20 points. Doncic, however, did not dump the blame for the loss on his teammates, as head coach Kidd did. "I have to play better on the defensive end," Doncic said after the game.
As a leading player, how to lead the team forward and how to let teammates play better on the field is also an important aspect of testing his leadership ability. For the young Doncic, this may be the focus of his attack in this series. If you can't find the answer quickly, this situation in the first two games of the series is bound to continue. That's why Kidd is so anxious and desperate for doncic's players to come forward quickly.
"We have to help him better," Kidd said after discovering the Suns' actions against Doncic, "and they really wouldn't give him a moment's respite on the pitch." In fact, we anticipated this before the series started, we went through a similar situation in the last series, and we protected our core players well in the last round, not just Luca. So, when we get back home to play game three of the series, we have to go back to the way the players are protecting each other on the pitch. ”
In the first round of the playoffs, when the Lone Ranger faced the Jazz, he also had Doncic missing 3 games, still leading 2-1. However, now that it's the Western Conference semifinals, they are no longer facing the Jazz, but the Suns with the best regular season record. What's even more frightening is that the Suns today are a more stable and efficient team than they are in the regular season.
In the second game of the series, the Suns played a single game with a 64.5% sports combat shooting rate, of which in the fourth quarter, their sports combat shooting rate reached a staggering 84.2%. The Suns' true shooting percentage reached 75.7 percent, the second-highest single-game record in NBA playoff history. In first place is the Clippers of 2020, who had a 77.8 percent true shooting percentage in a single game in game 5 of the first round of the playoffs that year. The Clippers' opponent of the year is the lone ranger who is now standing opposite the sun.
"Look at our opponents, they have CP and Booker, the two guys are really taking turns," Kidd said after the game, "one guy took over the third quarter, the other one took over the fourth quarter, and we really couldn't do anything about it, they could do whatever they wanted." CP found its rhythm, constantly making layups and jump shots, while Booker kept shooting three-pointers, both of whom played well and had a very good understanding of the situation on the court. They really can control everything on the pitch, so we have to play better in the later games as well. ”
Although the first two games of the series were lost miserably, for such a team to reach the Western Conference semifinals for the first time since 2011, the Lone Ranger also needed time to adapt and adjust. Fortunately, in the next two games, they can play in their own familiar venues and environments, which is undoubtedly the best opportunity for Doncic and his teammates to find a standard of response.
"A lot of the players on our team, they're facing this for the first time," Doncic said, "we still believe in ourselves, after all, the opponent hasn't won 4 games yet, so this series is not over." ”