With Mavs allowing fewest points in the NBA, Kidd lauds his defense

When the Dallas Mavericks became the No. 1 scoring defense in the NBA earlier this week, some folks started raining on their parade.

They claimed the only reason the Mavs were tops in allowing the fewest points is because they’re slowing things down on the offensive side the court. No. 1, coach Jason Kidd knows that’s not fair to the gutty effort his players are putting out, and No. 2, he really couldn’t care less about the naysayers’ opinions.

“We don’t have to play fast,” Kidd said. “There’s no rule that we have to keep up with the other teams.

“We have our own identity, and it helps us defensively. So we’ve got to use that as part of our defense or offense.”

The Mavs went into Friday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers leading the league with the fewest points allowed at 103.7 points per game. And it’s become abundantly clear that they’ve been able to establish themselves as very stingy at allowing points, since they’ve held opponents under 100 points 25 times this season.

“We own it and we’ll continue to own it,” Kidd said of his team slowing things down on offense. “Many teams are going go try to make us play faster, but that’s the cool thing is that we’re not going to speed up.

“We’re going to play the way that we like to play. It’s helped us win ballgames.”

Indeed it has.

After Friday’s 111-101 loss to the Sixers, the Mavs have won 14 of their last 18 games. And this surge started with a 107-98 victory over Philadelphia in Dallas on Feb. 4.

So, is there a credible reason the Mavs don’t run up and down the floor at a breakneck pace on the offensive end of the floor like most of the other NBA teams do?

“It doesn’t fit our personnel,” said Kidd, who is in his first year as the Mavs’ coach. “We would need some helium on our shoes to go faster.

“I don’t think the league is going to allow us to put roller skates on our Air Force Ones, or Jordans, or whatever we’re wearing. But the cool thing is identifying your skill set, and that’s what we’ve done.”

And in identifying his team’s skill set, Kidd discovered: “We’re not a fast team, and that’s cool. We don’t have to match what everybody else is trying to do.

So at point of this season did the Mavs started becoming a defensive juggernaut?

“Luka (Doncic) would say when he started blocking shots and saying that he should be on first team all-defense,” Kidd said while smiling. “I think it just takes time.

“They were so used to doing it one way with (former coach) Rick (Carlisle),” Kidd said. “We really didn’t talk about offense (in training camp).

“We really truly believe that defense could help us win games.”

So far, the Mavs will carry a 43-27 record into Saturday’s 6 p.m. game in Charlotte.

As far as letting the air out of the ball on offense, Kidd said: “We own it and we’re trying to be the best at our pace.

“Yeah, we’re dead last (in pace). But it’s kind of cool to be dead last and still find a way to win.”

DONCIC MINDING HIS BUSINESS: While in Philadelphia, Luka Doncic was on JJ Redick’s podcast and he said he will no longer get very agitated by calls made by the referees.

“If you saw the last two games, I was really good,” said Doncic, who has 14 technical fouls. “I had a little talk with myself. A real talk. It was unacceptable no more — the way I was acting — maybe some of my personal issues or everything.

“But I had a talk with myself and I just said this can’t keep going. It’s a really bad look. I knew I was doing this, but I kept doing it. But it’s over now. I had a talk with myself. No more, man.”

Following the loss to the Sixers, Doncic expounded on staying calm when he disagrees with the referees’ call, adding that he now usually starts singing a Slovenian or Serbian song.

“It’s a funny thing,” Doncic said. “I just start singing a song in my head.

“One of my favorite songs I pick and just start singing and let (whatever frustrations) pass.”

Back on Redick’s podcast, Doncic said after he was drafted in 2018, he had a talk with Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar guard Kobe Bryant.

“It was at the Nike camp (in Portland), and he was there,” Doncic said. “The one advice he gave me was like, ‘Watch out. They’re going to come after you, because you’re from Europe. They’re going to try and go after you.’

“And it was true.”

RIVERS COMPARES DONCIC TO HARDEN: Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers has noticed the similarities between Mavs point guard Luka Doncic and Sixers point guard James Harden.

“They have so many similarities it’s really unbelievable,” Rivers said. “I think for a while there it was Luka or James leading the league in time of possession (handling the ball). I thought most people probably thought it was James, when it actually was Luka for the last three or four years with the ball in his hands.

“You can pressure them (and) you can double-team them. They’re just not going to speed up for you. You’re not going to speed them up. Neither one of them.”

Rivers really likes the moxie Doncic plays with. And he noticed it immediately in Doncic’s rookie year during the 2018-’19 campaign.

“He came in the league with that,” Rivers said. “That’s unusually. The first time we saw him play in NBA, man, the guy could move like a veteran.

“He plays like a veteran. He’s already at NBA speed, and each year he’s becoming a better shooter. Great finisher. He’s just tough. He’s a tough cover.”

BRIEFLY: Reggie Bullock (personal reasons), Theo Pinson (right fifth finger fracture) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (left foot surgery) all sat out Friday’s game. It’s the third straight game Bullock has missed. . .In describing what the Sixers received when they got point guard James Harden in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets last month to pair him with center Joel Embiid, coach Jason Kidd said: “Harden is one of the best scorers in this league. So to be able to get him in a trade just makes them that much dangerous in a sense of defensively, one of those two are going to have the ball and someone is going to be open.”. .When Sixers coach Doc Rivers played the final two seasons of his career (1994-’96) for the San Antonio Spurs, he knew his career was winding down and that his role would change. ”You’ve got to accept your role on a team,” Rivers said. “I started for 12 years and my role that last year was to come off the bench, and I was good with it. First of all, I accepted it. There were nights that I would tell (Spurs coach) Bob Hill that, ‘My legs. I don’t have it tonight.’ I was very honest. I wanted to play every night, but you have to accept where you are in your career whether you’re a young guy or an older guy. That’s just the way it is.”

Twitter: @DwainPrice