The Utah Jazz were no match for Jason Kidd’s Dallas Mavericks this postseason, and Kidd is making sure to let everyone know about it.
Kidd spoke about his team’s upcoming matchup against the Phoenix Suns ahead of Monday’s Game 1. Kidd touched on the matchup difficulties that Phoenix’s talented bigs pose and got in some shade at the Jazz (particularly Utah’s bigs of Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside) in the process.
“We have to adapt,” said Kidd, per Mavericks reporter Doyle Rader. “Our gameplan against Utah is not going to work against the Suns. We’ve already changed that mindset because we’re not playing the Jazz. We understand their strength in the midrange, but they can hurt you with the three in transition and they can hurt you in the paint with JaVale [McGee] and [Deandre] Ayton.
“This isn’t Gobert and Whiteside,” Kidd added. “These guys can put the ball in the basket. So, our bigs are going to be tested.”
Kidd probably isn’t wrong here, especially with Ayton, a skilled back-to-the-basket big man who averaged over 20 points per game in the first round. But to single out Gobert and Whiteside by name here and imply that they are offensively-challenged players (even if true) is pretty savage.
Unlike their series against the Jazz, which was essentially a toss-up, the Mavericks will be fairly heavy underdogs against the 64-win Suns. At least Kidd is taking them extra seriously, especially since the Suns may or may not be preparing for the series extra seriously themselves.
