Mavs GM Nico Harrison On Disappointing Season: ‘Jason Kidd Still Our Guy’
Though the Dallas Mavericks were once a top-four team in the NBA Western Conference, they have since fallen out of play-in contention, and general manager Nico Harrison has not liked what he's seen from the team this year.
Harrison's outlook, while blunt, also accounts for untimely injuries and extenuating factors that have made his team’s campaign all the more challenging. But with a superstar player in Luka Doncic and a supporting cast that helped him reach the 2022 Western Conference Finals — well, sort of, as Jalen Brunson, Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith are no longer part of the picture — anything less than looking like a champion is a let down.
To make things worse, the acquisition of All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving has not made them any better thus far despite his stellar individual play.
The numbers speak for Harrison. Outside of stellar outside shooting, including being one of seven teams in the league to connect on over 1,000 three-pointers, the Mavericks fail to rank inside of the top 10 in most major offensive category this year.
Defensively, they're even worse. Dallas is a bottom-10 team in defensive rebounds, steals, blocks and forced turnovers and the bus does not stop there.
More telling is the eye test, which shows an offense filled with players that can create for themselves, shoot with the best of teams and excel in the pick-and-roll. Yet, they can't collect stops consistently and that already persistent problem was exacerbated with the arrival of Irving and the departure of key defender Dorian Finney-Smith.
Harrison also spoke on coach Jason Kidd and his future during his interview on the Ben & Skin Show, saying "He's still the guy."
One season of excellence followed by a season of struggle does not automatically make Kidd bad coach. However, he will need his players to respond to him better in a final attempt at making the postseason or sentiments will be subject to change.
Now one game out of the No. 10 and final play-in spot, a near-flawless Mavericks finish is required to go the long route toward reaching the NBA Finals and winning. Squeezing in by the skin of their teeth does not call for applause from their general manager -- only an unforeseen postseason run will.
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