Jason and the Mavs aren’t content with getting past the first round of the playoffs, and have made it clear that they have one goal in mind: going all the way.

No. 2 might be a future Hall of Famer, but he has yet to win a ring. As he told USA Today:

“We’re trying to win a championship. So we’re taking one little baby step.”


Moving on to the second round (Getty Images).

J-Kidd and Dallas begin their Western Conference semifinals matchup on Sunday as a very different team than the one that fell all four times to Denver during the regular season.

Three of those four losses were by a total of seven points, with Jason missing the November 7th contest — the only game he missed this season.

The matchup between the Mavs and the Nuggets will have the 3rd and 4th most efficient 5-man units in the NBA facing off against each other.

As listed on 82games.com:

TEAM – UNIT :
plus/minus – W – L – W%—Net 48 (Net pts per 48 min)

3rd) Dallas – Kidd, Terry, Howard, Nowitzki, Bass:
+ 87 – 15 – 7 – 68%—+30

4th) Denver – Billups – Jones – Anthony – Balkman —Nene
+64 – 6 – 3 – 66%—+29

BILLUPS VS. KIDD
One of the key matchups in the Mavs-Nuggets series will be the point guard duel of J-Kidd vs. Billups.

Billups and Jason are two of the savviest and most experienced point guards in the league. The two have faced each other various times over the years. Jason won the first five meetings between the two, but Billups has won the last 19 of their 27 regular-season matchups.

ESPN Spot: Mark Cuban’s Diary.
This series will be the third time the two have met in the playoffs: in 2003, Jason’s Nets swept the Pistons, but in 2004 Billups got revenge by beating the Nets in Game 7 of the conference semifinals. Whoever wins this duel has a good chance to win the series, so look for J-Kidd to push the pace to force Billups to work on the defensive end.

HUNGRY FOR MORE
Jason and the rest of the Mavs don’t believe they are done creating havoc in the playoffs.

Terry talked the Star-Telegram about how big No. 2 has been for the Mavericks:

“I can’t say enough about what Jason Kidd means to this team. If you can’t rally around a guy like that — a veteran, a leader, a hall of famer — and play hard for him, then you don’t belong in this league.”

“There is a guy that’s playing for more than just a first-round win.”

With the Mavs following Jason’s lead, the Nuggets better be ready for a challenge as the Mavs are ready for Sunday’s game. There was barely a celebration following the Game 5 victory against the Spurs as the Mavs are looking for much more than a first round win.

Jason talked with the Star-Telegram about how they feel about they first round win and their mental approach to the next series:

“It’s a relief. Over the course of a long regular season, this team has seen it all. We did our job and won the series.”

“But now we have to focus on Denver or New Orleans. If you win in the first round, only to lose in the second, you haven’t accomplished anything.”

“Patience. That’s the key for us. As much as we wanted it to happen last year, it didn’t. It shows the character of this team to be patient and come back and put ourselves in this position.”

“We got four big wins and now it starts over.”

CAPTAIN KIDD
Jason has provided a mental toughness to the Mavericks that had been lacking before hand in the playoffs.

As Carlisle told Dallasbasketball.com:

“I can’t say enough about what he’s done for the team. His knowledge of the game, his knowledge of the team, him having the pulse of the team, all so critical. He’s really led our team.’’

Nowitzki also talked about Jason being more comfortable this year on the Mavs, which has helped them to become a challenger in the West:

“Jason’s playing his best basketball for us. The game seems more natural to him this year.”

Fans have also noticed the change that has come over the Mavs under Jason’s leadership. They talked on Mavs Blog about what Kidd means to the Mavs and how he will face up against Billups in Round 2:

Posted by John H:
The toughness and resilience that this team has developed is directly due to Jason Kidd’s experience and leadership. Without denigrating Devin Harris, I think that Kidd offers much that simply does not show up in the boxscores. Not only does he add toughness, he also sets tone and pace of the game in ways that the Mavs did not have before he arrived.

Carlisle says this team belongs to the players, which sure appears truthful. And Kidd makes the belonging acceptable. Sometimes, teams belong to the players and it’s nothing more than the inmates running the asylum. Kidd allowed Carlisle to loosen the reins.

One thing that is obvious is the training JJB has received. He has improved in his passing and has dramatically reduced his turnovers.

Posted by K:
Kidd is way better than Bullips.

It really isn’t fair to compare the two. Bullips would have to play 40 years to do what Kidd does. Kidd is bigger, faster, stronger, steals, blocks, rebounds, assist, less turnover, runs a team better, plays better defense. Bullips has NEVER bested Kidd in any series. Him being in the west makes no difference from how Kidd would school him all the time.

Kidd> Bullips

Game over

NEXT UP
The first game of Round 2 happens Sunday at 2:30 on ABC in Denver.

RELATED STORIES
Sortable NBA 5-man Unit Stats (82games.com, Apr. 16th, 2009)
http://www.82games.com/0809/USORT13.HTM
Jason Kidd vs. Chauncey Billups: A matchup of the aged (Mavs Blog, Apr. 30th, 2009)
http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/04/jason-kidd-vs-chauncey-billups-a-matchup.html
Mavericks’ patience is finally rewarded (Star-Telegram, Apr. 29th, 2009)
http://www.star-telegram.com/287/story/1348682.html
Mavericks taste overdue success, want more (USA Today, Apr. 30th, 2009)
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2009-04-29-3841316806_x.htm
Capology and Captain Kidd (Dallasbasketball.com, Apr. 30th, 2009)
http://www.dallasbasketball.com/fullColumn.php?id=1588
How many starting point guards… (Mavs Blog, Apr. 29th, 2009)
http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/04/how-many-starting-point-guards-in-the-we.html
Kidd still craving title (Statesman.com, Apr. 30th, 2009)
http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/04/30/0430bohls.html