Mavs HC Jason Kidd Kicks Rudy Gobert, Jazz While Down
Apparently, eliminating the Utah Jazz from the Western Conference playoffs wasn’t enough for Jason Kidd.
The Dallas Mavericks coach still has Jazz center Rudy Gobert on his mind as the Mavs get set to open Game 1 of their series Monday night in Phoenix.
And it wasn’t exactly complimentary to the Jazz All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, who the Mavs closed out Thursday in a Game 6 win in Utah.
“We have to adapt,” Kidd told reporters Sunday. “Our game plan against Utah is not going to work against the Suns. We’ve already changed that mindset because we’re not playing against the Jazz."
"This isn’t Gobert or Whiteside,” the 49-year-old Dallas coach continued. “These guys can put the ball in the basket.”
Ouch.
Not 100 percent fair to Gobert, who averaged 15.6 points and shot 71 percent from the floor for the Jazz during the 2021-22 season, as there were many facets at play during the series against the Mavs.
Chief among them is the Jazz’s other All-Star, Donovan Mitchell, who handles the ball most of the game and doesn’t really look to Gobert for scoring opportunities. Advanced statistics show Mitchell only passed to Gobert twice per game on average this past season.
Gobert has also taken the brunt of criticism for his team’s defensive lapses in the playoffs over the past two seasons as teams like to go small and pull Gobert away from the basket. But as analysts have pointed out, he can only be as good as his teammates’ willingness to keep their man in front of them and out of the paint.
All this led to Gobert voicing frustration in media this season about his Utah teammates getting dirty and playing hard on every possession on the defensive end, which reportedly rubbed Mitchell the wrong way.
All this adds to what already should be an interesting offseason for the Utah Jazz, with Kidd adding a little more fuel to the fire.
