Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd did not hold back about his team’s shortcomings following Friday’s 114-113 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Kidd was not happy with his team after the defeat, which saw the team fall behind by ten points in the first quarter and trail by 13 at the half. Kidd blamed a lack of energy at the start of games for the issue, and added that the bench needs to do more in general.
“For whatever reason, we get off to a slow start,” Kidd told reporters after the game. “It’s got to be addressed. We’ve talked about it. There’s got to be action. There’s got to be some energy. Somebody has to come with some f—ing energy. We’re f—ing flat. That’s where it starts.
“The fatigue of running Luka (Doncic) or (Kyrie Irving) 40-something minutes because our bench stinks right now. As deep as we are, we got to get someone to f—ing participate off the bench. Somebody has to join the party to help Ky and Luka, and that’s just not happening right now. It’s a team. It’s not Luka and Ky and Klay (Thompson). Others have to participate. Played the whole f—ing team tonight and we couldn’t find anybody so we had to leave those two to carry the load and that’s not fair to those two this early in the season.”
A significant portion of Jason Kidd’s fiery rant. He called out the bench and said the team needs to have more energy. #MFFL pic.twitter.com/GRkofdk9M5
— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) November 9, 2024
The Mavericks got just nine bench points in Friday’s loss. Spencer Dinwiddie attempted just two field goals despite playing 28 minutes off the bench, while Dwight Powell attempted one shot in 25 minutes.
Dallas is 5-4 and a one-point loss to the Suns is hardly a crisis. Kidd is correct, however, that the Mavericks are not getting a lot of help from their bench, nor are they starting games well. Some of the former is certainly down to injuries, but all of it is fixable this early in the year.
