Jason Kidd Named West Coach of Month; First Mavs Recipient Since 2011
The NBA announced the recipients of the Coach of the Month for March and April in the Eastern and Western Conferences on Tuesday. Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka and Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd were named the winners.
The last Mavericks coach to win Western Conference Coach of the Month was Rick Carlisle back in 2011. Kidd previously earned this award three times when he was in the Eastern Conference.
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Under Kidd's leadership, the Mavericks went 16-5 in March and April and finished with a 52-30 record. Dallas' success late in the season played an integral role in the team finishing with the No. 4 overall seed in the Western Conference — the franchise's highest seed since 2011.
A key reason for the Mavericks' success has been the significant improvement on defense from just a season ago. Luka Doncic has played at an elite level, but now, Dallas is defending well enough to be in position for their closer to lead them to wins more consistently.
"Obviously they can score and they’re talented, but you don't go anywhere if you don't play [defense] once the playoffs begin." Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said about the Mavericks' defense under Kidd.
“So [Kidd] has made a great effort to set some standards, and they bought in. And they can get even better as time goes on, so the future is very bright.”
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The Mavericks began the season with a 16-18 record, but have been among the most successful teams since the start of the 2022 calendar year. Each player is bought on defensively and the team has fully leaned into a "Luka ball" style of half-court offense — a result from the Kristaps Porzingis trade.
With Luka Doncic's status unclear for Game 1 of the Mavericks' first-round series against the Utah Jazz, Kidd's coaching execution will become all the more important.
