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On Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks led the Los Angeles Lakers by 27 points before losing the game with a final score of 108-111. Per ESPN Stats and Information, NBA teams were 138-0 this season in games they led by 27 or more before the Mavs’ collapse.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd was under fire for not calling timeouts when the Lakers were fueling a comeback during the second quarter and on. Asked about his thought process, Kidd expressed that it’s not on him to be the savior of the Mavericks.
“I’m not the savior here. I’m not playing,” Kidd said when asked why he used only one timeout in the second and third quarters as the lead was slipping away. “I’m watching, just like you guys.”
After the loss to the Lakers, the Mavericks are now 3-3 since Kyrie Irving was inserted into the lineup. All in all, they are 32-30 and the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
Though growing pains are still on display as Irving and the rest of the squad continue to learn how to play with another one, Kidd also just couldn’t ignore one specific concern from the Mavericks which turns out to be the team’s lack of maturity.
“As a team, we’ve got to mature. We’ve got to grow up if we want to win a championship. There’s no young team that’s ever won a championship, mentally or physically,” added Kidd.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd on not calling a timeout during the Lakers’ second-half run:
“I’m not the savior here. I’m watching just like you guys, and as a team, we gotta mature, and we’ve got a lot of new bodies coming back, and we gotta grow up if we want to win a… https://t.co/DaBnmxMrJV pic.twitter.com/TwjqBATTwn
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) February 27, 2023
