Hardy, Mavs aren’t fazed by critics

PHOENIX – Dallas Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy doesn’t worry about the critics often not mentioning the Mavs as one of the top teams in the NBA.

“We feed off of that,” Hardy told Mavs.com. “We just stick together. It’s a brotherhood at the end of the day, so we’re just going to ride for each other and be there for each other. I feel like when we do that, we can go anywhere.”

Last year when the Mavs didn’t have homecourt advantage in any round of the playoffs, the critics had them losing each of those series. However, the Mavs prevailed over the No. 4-seeded Los Angeles Clippers, the No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and the No. 3-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in advancing to the NBA Finals, where they lost to Boston.

Now that the Mavs know how to reach the Finals, they are hell-bent on getting back there and capturing the franchise’s second NBA championship.

“We know we’ve got to take it day by day, but I feel like with the group we’ve got, we can be hungry, and we want to get back there and we want to win this year,” Hardy said. “So, I feel like we have a very good chance of getting back there and just keeping everything together like we did last year.”

Hardy is delighted that he’ll remain a part of this version of the Mavs after he signed a three-year, $18 million contract extension last week. The contract gives Hardy some security in what is his third NBA season.

“I’m super grateful to be in that position, but I’m not going to let this contract define me,” Hardy said. “I’m coming to work and I’m staying hungry.”:

And Hardy wants the Mavs’ fans to stay hungry.

“What I say to the Mavericks’ fans is we’re super excited,” he said. “We’re glad to be back out there and playing in front of the best fans. Our goal is to win the championship this year, so that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

STEPS TO GET TO THE FINALS – AND WIN: If nothing else, the Mavs know what it takes to get to the NBA Finals after reaching the league’s biggest stage last season. Now it’s about taking steps to win the whole enchilada.

“Unfortunately, we did come up short – understanding what it takes to win,” coach Jason Kidd said, referring to the loss to Boston in the Finals. “Hopefully, we have our health and we have a team that’s good enough to get back there.

“But this is a different team, a different season (and) everyone in the league has gotten better, so it’s going to be harder for us. But for us a team, we’re hungry.”

There’s one thing Kidd said is not discussed by his team.

“We don’t talk about last year,” he said. “There’s nothing we can do. That’s over. It’s about what we’re trying to do this year.

“Everybody is focused on executing the game plan, playing for one another and making the game easy and simple and having fun. That’s what we talked about this summer and hopefully we can execute that.”

ADDITION OF THOMPSON MAKES MAVS DANGEROUS: Before Saturday’s game against  Phoenix, Kidd was asked how much more dangerous the Mavs are with adding Klay Thompson to a high-powered offense that already includes Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving.

“Really dangerous, I suppose,” Kidd said. “When you look at Klay’s ability and his pace, his shooting ability, he’s played the game for some time now and understands how to do things different.”

Kidd’s belief is that the more his team’s Big 3 get to play together and get accustomed to playing alongside one another, the more dangerous they’ll become.

“As the relationships start to grow here between (Irving) and Luka in those situations of being able to slip or set, (Klay’s) basketball IQ is extremely high, his skill set is high,” Kidd said. “So, for the season – not just one game or two games – but to go through the season to get that relationship takes a little time.

“But it definitely gives us another weapon that we can use offensively. When we can play with those three in a set, something has to give. It’s just a matter of being consistent, and with our discipline hopefully throughout the year we can show that.”

BRIEFLY: Before Saturday’s game, Kidd was asked about guard Kyrie Irving holding his teammates accountable for their efforts on the defensive end of the floor. “I think as a leader there’s different points in your career that become important at the game,” Kidd said. “Understanding what we went through last year and how the season ended, he’s doing everything with a purpose. He’s not taking anything for granted. He’s worked extremely hard, and you can tell that leadership skill of talking about defense. We talk a lot about defense in the film room and then on the court, and he’s definitely bought into that.” . . . Kidd talked about the competitiveness his team played with in practice before the season opener this past Thursday against San Antonio. He said it “was a great carryover” in the 120-109 win over the Spurs. “As a coach that’s what we look for from practice,” Kidd said. “We can take from practice from the film room to the floor, and I thought the guys did a really good job from that.” . . .nMichael Phelps, a 23-time Olympic gold medalist, attended Saturday’s Mavs-Suns game . . . When Kidd and the United States won the 2008 Olympic gold medal in 2008 in Beijing, he said he wasn’t worried about the extra workload in the offseason affecting his play in the 2008-09 NBA season. “(In) ‘08 I was old, so I didn’t get to play that many minutes,” said Kidd, who was 35 years old in 2008. “So, I used it to be in shape and ready to go. My job was to chaperon the young men. I was ready because I didn’t play a lot of minutes. But also, I got to see basketball at a high level. And the confidence that you can get from being around that and absorbing that type of atmosphere is something that you try to bring back to your club, so you can definitely use that in a positive way.”

X: @DwainPrice