Better than most other teams entering the NBA Playoffs this weekend, Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks know their enemy.
The Mavericks clinched the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with a 96-89 win over the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night.
 Jason will face off against Tony Parker when the playoffs begin this coming weekend (Getty Images). |
Now they’ll have to beat San Antonio four more times to make it to round two.
Jason left it all on the court in the regular season finale – literally. In the final seconds of the first half, J-Kidd hurled his body out of bounds to save a loose ball. While stretching out completely horizontal, No. 2 got the ball back in bounds to DeShawn Stevenson, who then quickly got the ball to Jason Terry for a three on the other end to finish off the half.
No. 2 finished the night with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Before the game, he told the Star Telegram that he thinks his team is prepared for the playoffs and a matchup with the Spurs.
"Where we want to be defensively, offensively and the mental part, we’re right there," Kidd said. "Dress rehearsal is almost over now. This is the real deal. We took care of business and did what we had to do. Now we’ve got to find a way to win four games…"
The Spurs represent a familar opponent to Dallas, not only because they wrapped the season against one another on Wednesday or because they share the same state, but because they have a playoff history.
Most recently, the Mavericks and Spurs faced off in the first round last year, a series that resulted in Dallas advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals. In the Mavs’ four games to one victory, J-Kidd averaged 10 points, six rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. But Jason knows past victories are not necessarily an indicator of future success, as he told the Dallas Morning News:
"It’s the now, the present and the future, so this is an exciting time," Jason Kidd said. "Again we’re a veteran ballclub so I think for everybody to get out of this game healthy is key. Now we have to focus on what we have to do and that’s try to win 16 games. But we first have to win one at a time."
In four games against San Antonio this year, No. 2 has been all over the floor, averaging 8.5 points, seven assists and 7.25 rebounds per game. Jason also has an admirer in Spurs coach Gregg Popovich:
"I think that in the off-season he took a trip that nobody knew about to some far off place and I don’t know, did some magic yoga. The guy is incredible. The pop in his step, the lateral movement, his speed. He looks like he did five, six, seven years ago very honestly. No exaggeration. I marvel when I watch him. I wouldn’t have thought he would continue to do what he’s doing now at this stage of his career. He’s been magnificent."
NEXT UP
There will be no marveling from Popovich when the Mavericks kick off the first round of the playoffs against the Spurs on Sunday night at American Airlines Center. Popovich will instead be trying to figure out if it’s possible to stop No. 2 and his Mavs.
Tip-off of game one of the series is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST and the game can be seen nationwide on TNT.
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http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/04/13/2112378/mavs-trying-to-build-momentum.html
Mavericks at Spurs Boxscore (NBA.com, April 15, 2010)
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History, hostility make Mavericks, Spurs rivalry an appealing matchup (Dallas Morning News, April 15, 2010)
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Gregg Popovich marvels at Jason Kidd’s level of play (Dallas Morning News, April 14, 2010)
http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/04/gregg-popovich-marvels-at-jason-kidds-le.html