Mavs Pushing Brunson & Finney-Smith ‘Past Their Limits,’ Says Jason Kidd
On Thursday, the Dallas Mavericks fell 102-95 in a highly unusual game to the Milwaukee Bucks.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Mavericks started four players who weren’t on the roster 72 hours prior. In fact, two of them signed earlier that day.
Head coach Jason Kidd stressed that he’s had to play Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith extensively, but they’ve handled it well:
“We are playing JB and Dorian past their limits,” Kidd said. “But they’re not complaining. They’re doing everything they can to help the team win.”
Without Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis and many others, the Mavs were led by Brunson (19 points) and Frank Ntilikina (14 points) against the reigning NBA champs.
Off the bench, newly signed Marquese Chriss had made key contributions for the second game in a row, finishing with 13 points and five rebounds before ultimately fouling out down the home stretch.
Now let's hear the Mavs talk:
Kidd about the uncertainty of who will play:
“When you wake up, you just wonder who’s out,” Kidd said of his new routine these days. “There are certain times that you’re used to: first thing in the morning, you check your phone. And then there’s a time between 2 and 3 in the afternoon, they give you another update of who’s out. So you think you’ve dodged one, you still have to wait for that second test.”
Kidd on the positive takeaways from the game:
“The guys played hard. We were in great position tonight against the world champs. We just missed some opportunities. We had good looks, got stops, just couldn’t score there the last five minutes.”
Chriss on his first week with the Mavs:
“It’s a blessing in disguise. It stinks that a lot of people are going through it and a lot of people are not being able to play. I know they want to, but I’m taking it one day at a time and make the most out of this opportunity just to show what I’m able to do and that I’m healthy and able to contribute.”
The shorthanded Mavericks (15-16) will now shift their attention to Saturday night’s Christmas day classic matchup against the Utah Jazz.
