ORLANDO — One of the biggest surprises of the last quarter of the season for the Mavericks has been the stellar play of center Kai Jones.
Signed to a two-way contract on March 2, Jones has been one of the bright spots of this injury-riddled season. Not only is he averaging 14.2 points and 8.6 rebounds since the Mavs acquired him. But the 19th overall pick of the 2021 draft from the University of Texas also has also been a stabilizing force in the middle.
“When you look at what Kai’s done, he’s done it at a high level — being able to score and rebound and change shots and give us minutes as a big, because we were playing small,” coach Jason Kidd said. “His ability to change shots and play-make has been really good for us.
“For him to do that, it seems like he’s been here all year. Give credit to the coaching staff and the teammates to be able to absorb newcomers and make them feel comfortable.”
Unfortunately for Jones, he suffered a left hip contusion seven minutes into Thursday’s 101-92 triumph over the Orlando Magic when he landed awkwardly after he dunked once he received an alley-oop pass from Naji Marshall. The injury ended the night for Jones, but doesn’t take away the impact he’s had on this team in a short period of time.
The experience has been what he dreamed about from the day he played his first game with the Mavs when he collected 21 points and eight rebounds on March 3 against Sacramento.
“I’ve been loving every second of it, honestly,” Jones told Mavs.com. “Playing in the games, practices, traveling, I’ve been loving it.
“The coaches broke everything down to me on the first day and showed me what I need to do, and it made a lot of sense to me. So, I went out there and executed it, and it’s been great.”
Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said he admires the “energy and toughness” Jones brings to the court.
“He’s been a great pick-and-roll player offensively – a lob threat and (grabbing) offensive rebounds,” Mosley said. “Speaking of the Brooklyn game (on Monday), he might have had three or four dunks just being underneath the defense.
“So, his ability to put pressure on the rim offensively, but then defensively being able to be a rim protector as well (is solid). And his activity and his energy, you can see it’s contagious with that group.”
Mavs forward P.J. Washington and Jones were teammates with the Charlotte Hornets from 2021-23. At the time, Washington noticed the passion for basketball Jones exhibited on and off the court.
“His athleticism is off the roof,” Washington said. “He can be a really good player in this league.
“I just try to mentor him any way I can. Obviously, I was with him in Charlotte, so he’s grown so much as a player.”
And that growth – combined with the available minutes he’s played due to the injuries – has turned Jones into more than just a serviceable player.
“He has so much potential,” Washington said. “He’s grown mentally as a player, understanding coverages. Obviously, his athleticism is out of this world, so I think the sky’s the limit for him.”
Jones, who played his high school senior season at Orlando Christian Prep and helped them win the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A state title in 2018, said he used to watch Anthony Davis as a youngster. And now the two are teammates.
“I watched him from afar when I was young, and his post-up game and his ability to create action on offense by setting good screens and rolling to the rim were great,” Jones said. “That was something that I was watching a while ago.
“It was just something that I noticed with hm, because he had a lot of games on TV with the (Los Angeles) Lakers, and when I was younger I watched that. I picked up some little things — his mid-post game, touch shots around the rim. It’s always good to have those so you can be productive.”
And Jones 
has been very productive for the Mavs. Now, they wait to see how long he’ll be sidelined due to his left hip contusion.
BRIEFLY: After a sluggish first quarter that saw the Mavs lead the Magic, 19-17, coach Jason Kidd said: “One thing about our group, we don’t panic. No one could score to start the first quarter — six minutes it was a 4-4 game. It was ’80s, maybe ’90s, type basketball where it was a lot of good looks that just didn’t go down. I thought (Anthony Davis’) patience, again this is a group that is trying to play with AD, you know? And so, we’re doing this on the run and give the guys a lot of credit. (Brandon Williams) and Spencer (Dinwiddie) being able to play with a big like this, it’s different and it’s going to take some time . . . Kidd was asked since there is a short amount of games remaining this season, why does he think it was important for Davis to play this season, despite having a strained left adductor. “The injury came at the wrong time,” Kidd said. “He was playing extremely well in that two-and-a-half quarters against Houston (on Feb. 8). When you talk about leadership, he wanted to get back on the court. I think sometimes we lose sight that this is a job and that you owe it to your team and to the organization to work as hard as you can to get back from injury. When you look at AD’s ability to come back from injury, understanding where we are in the standings and trying to help get us to that next level. I think it just shows the character and what he cares about for him to come back from injury. He could easily have been ruled out for the rest of the season and no one would have questioned that.”
X: @DwainPrice
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