[外電] J-Kidd Has Mavs in Complete Control
05/05/2011 - 19:13
J-Kidd Has Mavs in Complete Control
by Rob Tucker
Before even playing a home game, Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks are
halfway there.
With a stellar first half, some excellent defense down the stretch and a
late-game dagger three, Jason helped the Mavs to a 93-81 win over the Los
Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference
Quarterfinals.
With the victory, the Mavericks took a 2-0 lead as the series heads back to
Dallas for Game 3 on Friday night.
J-Kidd and the Mavs have done an excellent job on the Lakers to take a 2-0
lead back to Dallas (Getty Images).
Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas wrote about No. 2's outstanding play:
"Kidd had a terrific first half. He was guarded by Kobe Bryant and he kept
Bryant on his toes with five points and four assists. Bryant was also guarded
by Kidd for much of the quarter and finished with six points on 2-0f-4
shooting, but Kidd stayed on him and forced tough shots."
After the game, J-Kidd explained the difference between this year's Mavs club
and those before it.
"The only thing that may be different throughout the season is that we're
playing defense."
Defense indeed. Through eight games, Dallas has yet to allow an opponent to
score 100 points this postseason. On Wednesday night, the Mavs held the
Lakers to just 2-of-20 from beyond the arc. They racked up four steals and
four blocks, forcing a total of 10 turnovers. Caplan put the dominance of the
Dallas defense into perspective:
"Unfathomable? Perhaps, but facts are facts. The Game 2 victory marked the
eighth consecutive playoff game that the Mavs have not allowed more than 97
points. Five times they've given up less than 90 and four times now fewer
than 85. It was one thing against the low-possession Trail Blazers, who
lacked outside shooting and inside punch from anyone not named LaMarcus
Aldridge.
But against the Los Angeles Lakers? Showtime with Bryant and Pau Gasol and
Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom? Those guys, for heaven's sake?
"We play defense now," Mavs forward Shawn Marion said rather frankly as if to
suggest doubt-us-if-you-dare. "We're able to key on certain guys and help
when we need to. They are a talented team, they're the defending champions
and they're going to hit some shots. You've got to stay out there and make
them keep taking contested jumpers. When they're hitting them, more power to
them. When they're missing those shots, they get heavier as the game goes on."
Jason said the key to the Game 2 win was the Mavericks staying within
themselves on both sides of the ball. They didn't press or force anything,
rather, they exerted their will on the Lakers and got LA to fold.
"We kept our composure, our patience and playing defense is going to win
games at this time of the year," Kidd said. "Right now, that's been our focal
point. There for a stretch it was 68-62 [Mavs] and we couldn't make a shot.
But, defensively, we held serve in the sense of they couldn't score. Once we
got off 68, we started to score and continued to play defense."
According to J-Kidd, the Mavs learned a valuable lesson about their defense
in Game 4 of their first round playoff series with the Portland Trail Blazers.
"In Game 4, we let one guy beat us. We play team defense. That's our
strength," No. 2 told TNT after Wednesday's Game 2 win. "We're not a team
that can just guard one-on-one. We're a little bit older, so we rely on each
other to help out. That was a great learning experience for the whole team to
understand that we can't just let one guy guard, we have to help as a team."
The team method has worked wonders. The 81 points scored by the Lakers was
their lowest point output of this postseason and fourth lowest of the year.
Along with another night of strong defense, J-Kidd poured in 10 points with
six dimes, two rebounds and a steal.
NOT YET CONTENT
Prior to the game, J-Kidd, ever the veteran leader, made sure that his team
wouldn't be satisfied with just one victory in the Lakers house, as Dwain
Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote:
"I think being a veteran ballclub -- understanding that Game 1 is over --
there's nothing you can do now but play Game 2 and find a way to win," Kidd
said. "And again, give ourselves a chance with six minutes left to see if we
can get a win on the road."
Kidd said the Mavs veterans will make sure the young players are not
satisfied with winning the series opener. They have the Lakers down and
questioning themselves, and they want to keep things that way."
Jason told Mike Fisher of Dallas Basketball that to accomplish their goals
and avoid complacency, the Mavs were treating Game 2 as if they were the team
in the must-win spot:
"You got to think the opposite, that you're down one and you need to win Game
2," he said. "That’s the way we’ve got to come out."
The best way for No. 2 to show his teammates that Game 2 was equally
important was to get them rolling right out of the gate. So J-Kidd drained
the first bucket of the game for his team and, as the period progressed, made
clear that he was just getting started.
During a five-minute span early in the first, the veteran point guard dished
to Tyson Chandler for an alley-oop slam, then DeShawn Stevenson for treys on
consecutive trips. Moments later, Jason hit a triple of his own from the left
wing and then assisted Shawn Marion on a dunk to give the Mavs a 17-14 lead.
By the end of the first, with J-Kidd commanding the offense all over the
court, the Mavs had taken a 26-20 lead into the second quarter. At half,
Dallas had yet to allow a three-pointer and led 51-49. They wouldn't
relinquish that edge.
The Lakers crawled back within one early in the third, but Jason dished to
Dirk Nowitzki for a three that made the Dallas advantage 60-56 with just over
five minutes remaining in the quarter. With a minute remaining in the third,
J-Kidd found Peja Stojakovic for a short runner. The Mavs took that six-point
advantage into the final frame.
At the start of the fourth, Jason made sure his teammates remained aggressive
and mindful that no lead is safe until the final buzzer sounds:
"It's a 48 minute game," he said. "With the guys like Kobe and the players
they have, they can score in a hurry. So for us, we were up 13 or 14 and we
couldn't stop playing. We had to get stops, but on the other hand we had to
keep trying to score the ball."
It was No. 2 who would launch the knockout blow at the five-minute mark of
the fourth. After he received a pass from center Brendan Haywood, Jason took
his time, lined up and drilled his second triple of the game, from almost the
same spot as the first. It was the Mavs' 82nd point of the night and from
there Dallas cruised to their second straight win at the Staples Center.
Taking the first two games of the seven-game series at the Lakers' home court
bodes well for Dallas' chances of winning the series according to Tim
MacMahon of ESPN Dallas:
"The Mavs have complete control and extreme confidence as the series heads to
Dallas. Teams that win the first two games on the road have won 15 of 18
series in NBA history. (The 2005 Mavs are the last team to go down 0-2 at
home and win the series, beating the Rockets in seven games.)"
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