At the Mavericks’ first practice after the All-Star break, Jason Kidd was peppered with questions about Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić.
And how those two will mesh is going to be a major factor for the Mavericks, for sure.
But there are a lot of other things on Kidd’s to-do list that need sorting out when they start the post-break sprint to the finish line of the regular season.
Mainly, the clock is ticking on the Mavericks getting healthy and figuring out how to play their best basketball come playoff time.
“Yeah, this is a great time to have that (finishing) kick,” Kidd said. “We’re 22 games left and it’s a luxury to have six of them right off the bat at home. You don’t really get to see that either when you come out of the break to have a homestand like this. So this is a big homestand for us.”
Six in a row at home, starting with San Antonio on Thursday. Then the Mavericks have 10 of their ensuing 13 games on the road before a three-game run at American Airlines Center to finish out the regular season.
Irving and Dončić both were at practice Wednesday after their All-Star duties were done and their quick break to rest was over.
Kidd said that the two stars will continue to learn each other’s nuances. They will get beyond the situational problems that they had in their first two games together before the break, when both deferred to the other a bit too much.
Hopefully, that’s over, Kidd said.
Now, it’s about having fun, competing and becoming a true team, he emphasized.
“It is different because the break was later in the schedule,” Kidd said. “This is the first time I’ve seen a break this late with only 22 games to go. It’s going to be different because everyone’s so bunched up in the West. There are some teams that have gotten better. Each game is going to mean something.”
And while Kyrie and Luka get familiar with each other, there are two other important areas that have to be addressed:
Health: The Mavericks will remain without Maxi Kleber and Davis Bertans for the start of this home stand.
And Kidd could not make any promises about when Kleber will return. He’s been out since Dec. 13 after hamstring surgery.
“Maxi got some run, did a really good job,” Kidd said of Wednesday’s practice. “But Maxi and Davis will be out tomorrow (against San Antonio), and we’ll just see how Max feels after a day of practice.”
Could he play on the homestand?
“We’ll see,” he said. “That’s not a guarantee. Again, it’s about how he feels. So we’ll just see how it goes. It would be great to get him back with us in the homestand, but there’s no guarantee that he’ll be ready to go.”
Bertans has been out with a left calf strain.
The injuries dovetail into the second area of concern.
Defense: The Mavericks know they are going to have to be an offense-first team with two prolific scorers like Irving and Dončić on board. But they need to find some defensive traction if they are going to be taken seriously come playoff time.
“Yeah, I think it’s just paying attention to the details, understanding the defense,” Kidd said. “Sometimes you got to give up something to get something. We believe that our ability to score will put pressure on our opponent, but we also got to get stops. And we know that. The break came at the right time to for us to regroup and get our defense back in order.”
And that’s where Kleber’s return could help. As well as the addition of Justin Holiday, who signed with the Mavericks before the All-Star break after reaching a buyout with Houston.
Kidd clearly is looking forward to getting some defensive-minded players on the floor after Dorian Finney-Smith, the team’s best pure defender, had to be part of the trade to get Irving.
“I’m excited to see Maxi come back,” said Dwight Powell. “Obviously, Doe-Doe is a guy that we relied on for a long time and was a great player in the system, so we’ll miss him.
“But the situation is what it is and we’re excited to have the guys that we have in the locker room right now. And Maxi is going to be a huge added force on both ends of the floor. But like I said, we have to work with what we have at every moment and that’s what we’ve been doing and will continue to do.”
As Kidd said of Kleber: “It’s big because of his ability to guard multiple positions, his want-to to play defense sometimes not look at the basket on the offensive end, it gives us the luxury to be able to play Maxi and Luka and Kai out there. Hopefully when he does come back, he helps us. Now we’re not trying to put pressure on Maxi to do everything defensively, but we do miss Maxi and hopefully he’s back soon.”
Supportive friends: Many of the Mavericks went to exotic destinations for the All-Star break. Kleber and Powell went to Arizona to support their teammate and good friend Josh Green.
Green was inducted into the University of Arizona ring of honor.
“Maxi and I got a chance to go down to Tucson and watch Josh (get into) the Ring of Honor,” Powell said. “It’s pretty cool that he was only there for a year. But obviously he left his mark and did a great job.
“And his (playing for the Australian) national team, you know, that represents the university as well. So it was cool to see him and his family get that honor.”
Pace and playing time: The Mavericks’ staff has discussed ways to pick up the team’s pace of play. They have been one of the slowest-tempo teams in the league, but the addition of Irving will give Kidd lots of options going forward.
“There’s going to be different speeds,” he said. “That’s just the way we’re built. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t play fast with the throw-aheads, and the ability to get out and run. I think when we talk about Josh and Holiday, these guys can get out and run and with Kai and LD and their ability to throw ahead, we can look to do that a little more.”
The other aspect of Irving’s arrival is that it could afford Kidd a chance to give Luka a little more rest. There have been many games when the point guard has played all or nearly all of the second half.
“We have that luxury now with Luka,” Kidd said. “We got to get him out at some point. There are going to be times when we might to push him to play the whole fourth.
“But we do have the luxury to with Kai being able to split those two up so that we can have Kai start the fourth and run that group.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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