Kawhi Leonard's inability to play in Series G1 was no longer a secret before the series began, and Clippers President Lawrence Frank said in good faith that it was "not a smokescreen." However, the Mavericks were still cautious about this, and they responded with the idea that Kawhi Leonard could play the game, but the game turned out to disappoint the Mavericks.
The Mavericks didn't lose as simple as losing, but they lost the game after only half a game.
In the first half of the game, the Mavericks trailed the Clippers 30-56, and the whole team scored only 8 points in the second quarter, which is really nonsensical enough. With a team with two major offensive weapons — Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving — it's unthinkable to score just eight points in a single quarter, and I doubt Jason Kidd can do it on the court.
Do you think this is Kwa Jason Kidd?
As the head coach of the Mavericks, Jason Kidd has actually been questioned by the outside world all the time, which is not surprising, right? Spoelstra has just picked up the whip to coach the Heat's "Big Three", and the sound of class rings in his ears every day, but now Spoelstra is almost the best coach in the league.
In other words, the strengths and weaknesses of a coach cannot be seen in a season or two, although there are lucky coaches such as Steve Kerr and Tyronn Lue, and most of the time it takes some time to prove themselves. Jason Kidd is proving himself, but he's not doing well enough right now and looks very bad.
Why?
Jason Kidd began coaching the Mavericks in 2021-22, and this season is now his third season with the Mavericks, and he is not without achievements, taking the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals in his first season in charge. The Mavericks made it past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since winning the championship in 2011, and Jason Kidd has signs of becoming a miracle coach.
Even if he didn't make it to the Finals, it wasn't Jason Kidd's problem, and the team's roster configuration was not enough to support the team to compete for the championship. Just the following season, Mark Cuban brought Kyrie Irving to Jason Kidd — upgrading the Mavericks to two All-Stars, which also gave Jason Kidd the confidence to lead the team to a championship.
After a short run-in last season, the Mavericks understandably gave up on the playoffs, and this season, the Mavericks continue to bolster the roster, with Daniel Gafford and Drake Lively II and PJ Washington fleshing out the roster.
Rookie Drake Lively II has made some notions, and the arrival of Daniel Gafford has made the Mavericks' interior rotation more comfortable, with the Mavericks expected to overwhelm the restricted area guarded by Ivica Zubac. But the reality made Jason Kidd quite uncomfortable, and the Mavericks were blown up by Ivica Zubac on the inside.
In the G1 game of the series, Ivica Zubac contributed 20 points and 15 rebounds on 10-of-17 shooting.
Ivica Zubac did perform well in the closing stages of the regular season, but it was undoubtedly difficult to accept the transformation into an O'Neal-level interior player in the playoffs. Jason Kidd was clearly ill-prepared for this set-up and didn't respond well to the game after the game started, which also caused the Mavericks to be blown out by their opponents in the first half of the game.
Jason Kidd has to change that, or it's going to be bad for the Mavericks. There will be some time adjustments at the beginning of the series, and how to play to the inside advantage will be an important factor in determining the outcome of the next match.
(Text/Yan Wuqiang)