Mavericks coach Jason Kidd wants Luka Doncic to “stick up for himself” on the defensive end as Dallas trails the Suns 2-0 in their playoff series.
“It’s not just protecting Luka. Kidd said Friday ahead of Game 3 of the conference semifinals at home in Dallas.
After Wednesday’s Game 2 loss, Kidd said the Mavericks need to do a better job “protecting” Doncic when the Suns hunt him — but then called out Doncic hours before Game 3.
“He’s got to play defense,” Kidd said Friday. “There’s no secret — they’re going to put him in every pick-and-roll. They did the same thing with [Mavericks legend] Dirk [Nowitzki] until Dirk participated and stuck up for himself.
“You can always ask for help, but you’ve got to participate. Luka has done that for us in this journey, and so he’s going to have to do it (Friday night). He’s going have to defend. If the score, they score, but we don’t want it to be on their terms. And the other thing is his teammates have to do a better job helping.”
Chris Paul and the Suns have figured out how target Doncic in an offensive attack that consists of the Phoenix point guard luring him into the pick-and-roll.
Kidd also specifically called out guards, Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie, after Game 2, and said the team needs more production from the pair — who have combined for only 41 points on 32.6 percent shooting in the two losses.
Jason Kidd said that Luka Doncic must play defensively before Game 3. AP
The Mavericks are down 2-0 against the Suns. APDoncic was heavily targeted by the Suns in Wednesday’s Game 2 loss. Afterwards, the Slovenian star said, “I’ve just got to play better defense. That’s it.”
The Slovenian was brilliant, though, on the offensive end, scoring 35 points on 13-of-22 shooting in Game 2. Kidd. meanwhile, was whistling a different tune after Game 2 when he praised the 23-year-old All-Star for showing up.
“He had a great game, but no one else showed,” Kidd said of Doncic after Game 2. “We’ve got to get other guys shooting the ball better. We can’t win with just him out there scoring 30 a night — not at this time of the year. And we’re playing the best team in the league, so we’ve got to get other guys going.”
Doncic is averaging 33.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game during the Mavericks’ 2022 playoff run. But his offensive efforts haven’t been enough to steal a win so far in the series. According to Kidd, it’ll come down to Doncic’s defending if the Mavericks to make a comeback.
