Mavericks’ MVP so far? Don’t overlook the coach

If you’re picking an MVP for the Mavericks in the pre-All-Star portion of the season, it might have to be coach Jason Kidd.

Granted, he hasn’t scored a point or dished a single assist, but look at what he and his able-bodied staff have had to overcome in getting the Mavericks to a 30-26 game going into the break.

He had Luka Doncic for only 22 games. He had Anthony Davis for only 31 minutes.

He watched all three of his veteran centers – Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford and Dwight Powell – go down with injuries. That was in addition to Davis, who could barely contain his excitement about returning to his natural power forward position instead of playing center.

Kidd has started Kessler Edwards, O-Max Prosper and Kylor Kelley. And gotten results.

The coaches have patched together 27 different starting lineups, none of which played more than seven games together.

Others that missed significant time: Dante Exum, P.J. Washington, Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall. Even Kyrie Irving missed 11 games of the first 56.

And yet, the Mavericks have hung together. They have played particularly hard in the past week when they have had to rely on Edwards as their undersized center and have leaned heavily on Prosper, Brandon Williams and Kelley.

Kessler, Williams and Kelley are two-way players who were not expected to be regulars on the Mavericks’ roster, much less regulars in the rotation.

But here they are.

Through it all, Kidd has kept the ship floating. It hasn’t always been perfect. But to be 30-26 with wins in the past five games over Boston and Houston, as well as Golden State and Miami on back-to-back nights, it speaks to the job of getting the most out of his roster that Kidd clearly has accomplished.

“It’s a compliment to the organization, to the guys in that locker room, the character,” Kidd said after the 118-113 win over the Heat on Thursday. “We have guys out tonight, easy to think about the break, but they came and competed and found a way to win.”

And now, the All-Star break, mercifully, will allow everybody to take a deep breath and clear their heads.

“Get away, relax for a little bit,” Kidd said of what he will do. “Think about the timeline of some of the guys coming back and see what the puzzle looks like. And see what we need to work on.

“I can’t make us taller. We got to get healthy in that department, but building on the things we’ve done at a high level. Just a little rest and then get ready to get back at it.”

The Mavericks will start the stretch drive in eighth place in the Western Conference. But the teams seeded from sixth through 11^th are bunched so closely that things will change daily for the remainder of the season.

For now, the Mavericks are in a good spot, assuming they can start to get some players healthy after the break.

So here’s our other takeaways from Thursday’s strong-willed win against the Heat:

• Dante goes inferno: Though he is still on a minutes restriction (that should be lifted after the All-Star break, he said), Dante Exum has been more than effective. He had 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting against the Heat, doing his best to offset the 40 points Tyler Herro threw down. “We missed him after Day One of training camp,” Kidd said of when Exum broke a bone in his wrist and missed the first 48 games of the season. “What he did for us last year, not having him for most of the season, that’s a big hole, but we never complained, we waited for him. (We missed) his ability to finish, his physicality and being able to knock down that spot-up, just like he did last year for us.” In seven games since his return, Exum is averaging 11.6 points and has yet to play more than 24 minutes.
• Maximum first impression: Max Christie continues to be a sensational addition. In less than two weeks since he was part of the Anthony Davis trade, the 6-6 guard has averaged 17.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in six games as a Maverick. “He loves the competition, he’s all about his teammates and he’s not afraid of the moment,” Kidd said. “In a short time, that’s what we’ve seen. He didn’t make every shot tonight, but he took the shots that (were) presented and made plays. Hopefully we can get healthy and get those minutes down.” Indeed, Christie is averaging 34.5 minutes after he averaged just 25 in 46 games with the Los Angeles Lakers before the trade.
• Time for a break: Though the Mavericks have played hard, gutsy basketball the last week, they need a rest. This is a team that is completely gassed, mentally and physically. They have lost 10 players recently, three in a massive trade with the Lakers and seven more to injuries. It has forced Kidd to get creative and the available players to step outside their comfort zones. Though they would like to keep the good times (four wins in five games) going, getting away will be the best thing for this team right now.

X: @ESefko