Jason Kidd Leads Dallas Mavs to NBA Finals as Player & Coach
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00:00 Yeah, I thought, um, you talk about our leaders. Um, Luca came out and set the tone offensively
00:18 and defensively. I thought he was gonna he let everybody know he was ready, ready to
00:24 play. Um, and so I thought we followed his lead. I thought again for a half we played
00:31 at a high level in the third quarter. I thought we continue to play there and we continue
00:36 to keep our lead. And I thought again, Luca was be he was able to be aggressive and then
00:42 Kai joined the party. And when those two are going, I thought again for them to come back
00:48 after maybe not a great game in game four, those two responded at a high level and they
00:55 carried us tonight. But a great team effort. Um, incredible to be a top the Washington
01:01 Conference. Minnesota is well coached. They're a really good team. Um, and we're just happy
01:06 to be able to represent the Washington Conference in the finals.
01:09 Is it fitting that you guys did it on the road as your fifth straight road win? A lot
01:15 of your big wins during the playoffs have been on the road.
01:17 Yeah, you know, I think it goes back to year one. I think we've had some big games, road
01:24 wins. Um, you know, we talked about the game seven Phoenix, um, where Luca again, um, you
01:32 know, showed out. And, uh, and so again, for Luca to come in game five on the road, um,
01:39 understanding, uh, they felt confident cause they got the wind that extend the series.
01:43 But again, I guess our pace was extremely high on that. We got the misses and we ran
01:48 and we could see a little fatigue. And I think we took a full advantage of that, uh, with
01:53 them being tired.
01:54 What's going through your mind when you see Luca come out, he scores in the first couple
01:57 of possessions. He's got 12, like two and a half minutes in the game and he's, he's
02:01 snarling at the crowd. He's kind of full Luca mode.
02:04 Oh, he was definitely Luca magic mode. Um, and just, just thinking about, is he going
02:10 to play all 48? You know, why not if he's going like that? Um, but, uh, again, I thought
02:17 he set the tone, um, and then he just made it easier for everybody else and everybody
02:22 else stepped up.
02:23 What was Kyrie able to do tonight, Jason, particularly in that second half?
02:27 Yeah, I thought just being able to use his speed to get to the rim and then he was playing
02:32 off of Luca and he got a lot of, you know, great looks, wide open looks. Um, but then
02:36 also being able to, uh, pull up, um, going full speed, his ability to stop on a dime
02:43 and shoot the middie, um, uh, was at a high rate. And those are the same shots we got
02:47 in game four. Just didn't go down for us.
02:50 Jason, when you see that, that full Luca sicko mode, like, like Jace, uh, like Tim referenced,
02:55 um, you know, obviously the, the one that comes to mind is game seven against the Phoenix
03:00 suns. What does it remind you of that? Does it remind you of other games that you've seen
03:04 from, from Luca?
03:05 I've seen a lot of games, uh, but game seven in Phoenix, uh, and this one was very close
03:12 to that, um, where he took the crowd out of the game right off the bat. Um, and he let
03:18 his teammates know that it's time, you know, that we got to take it up a notch and they,
03:21 they joined the party. Um, but he said, he said, he sent the invites out and, uh, they
03:26 all came, but he was ready to go. And so, you know, as a leader, that's what you need
03:30 on the road, uh, against a very talented team, uh, to let them know that it was going to
03:35 be hard tonight. And he definitely did that.
03:37 How did you get back to the finals and also how he kept you guys afloat?
03:44 Yeah. Um, I think when you look at Kai's leadership and his ability, you know, he's a winner,
03:50 he wants to win. Um, and he does all the things to do that. Um, I think, you know, for, for
03:56 Kai to be able to play off of Luca and vice versa. Um, but there in the first half, Luca
04:03 sent, sent the message to Kai and Kai got the message and took it in the second half.
04:08 And so when you have two scores like that and two willing passers, um, we got wide open
04:14 looks tonight and, uh, the, the ball was moving. We took care of the ball and we made shots,
04:19 uh, and we put a lot of pressure on, on Minnesota's offense.
04:23 For Luca to make it to his first finals, you know, what does it, what does it say about
04:27 his place in the league and this journey he's on to, to be one of the greatest?
04:31 Well, we believe he is one of the greatest. I think that's up to the media to write. I
04:36 mean, that's, you guys will, will place him in, in a place of great goat, um, debates.
04:43 And so, uh, for us, uh, what he's done this season of, you know, playing faster, um, playing
04:50 defense, um, doing all the little things. And then he's never shied from taking responsibility.
04:56 And, uh, today's just another example of his maturity of, of being able to end the series.
05:02 Uh, and he did that, you know, after the jump ball, you got Derek loudly back tonight, what
05:07 was going on through your mind when he hit the floor again on that play with Nash Reed?
05:11 Yeah. I thought, again, I said it pregame, uh, his energy, um, his spirit, that's what
05:16 we needed from him. Um, and he gave that to us, uh, the defense, uh, being able to rebound
05:21 the ball and then the vertical game on the offensive end, um, was great. Um, again, uh,
05:26 the hit to the head, uh, was a flagrant foul. Um, unfortunately I think he only made one
05:31 free throw, but, um, he was fine. Um, we got him up a little bit quicker than last time,
05:37 but, uh, as a rookie, uh, he's very important to what we do on both ends, but just his energy
05:43 and the confidence that his teammates have when he's on the floor is pretty special.
05:48 You don't see teams go from lottery to finals in the span of one year, a pretty unconventional
05:54 path to say the least. What do you think the keys were for you guys being able to take
06:00 such a massive leap really throughout the course of the season? And it seems like you're
06:04 peaking at this point.
06:05 Yeah, I think, um, just, just understanding, just work. Um, yeah, it doesn't happen. A
06:11 lot of times you go from lottery to, uh, to the finals. Um, but we truly believe that
06:17 we had the pieces. Um, sometimes you take a step back, uh, to, to, to view what you
06:22 have, uh, to be able to get D live, uh, in that process and O max, um, and then to be
06:29 able to sign a free agents, uh, XM and D Jones, and then add the pieces of gaff, um, and PJ.
06:37 It just, you know, puts us in a position to be competitive with the best teams in the
06:41 league. Now, does that mean we went every night? No, but, uh, we come back to work the
06:46 next day and we get better. We look at the mistakes that we've made and, and that group
06:50 is, uh, you know, a tight knit group and they, they truly believe that they can win. Um,
06:55 if given the opportunity,
06:56 Jason, your playoff road, all your never had home court advantage, beating three 50 win
07:02 teams. How prepared for the finals? Do you feel given the competition that you've played
07:06 up until this point? Yeah, I think every series has helped us for the next series. Um, and
07:12 this series is no different. We're going to see five out, uh, Boston shoots the three
07:17 at a high rate. They have a lot of talented players. Uh, they've been there before they
07:21 have the experience, uh, they're well coached. Um, and so, um, this is another great test,
07:28 um, two of the best teams, uh, left. Um, but when you look at what Boston does, uh, by
07:34 spreading you out and, uh, and then on the defensive end, they're going to compete defensively.
07:39 So, um, this is a great test for us. Jason, how satisfying is that when you look back
07:45 when the trade happened, that Curry came over and there was a lot of talking, many people
07:50 didn't see how the fit is going, you know, to be with the mess and to be now in the situation.
07:56 So how satisfying is that feeling? Yeah, it's, uh, it's great. Um, we know we still have
08:01 a lot of work to do, but it's great to have Kai when you have talent, um, you know, to
08:06 be able to have a talent, a young man like Kai, uh, who's playing at a high level. Um,
08:12 a lot of people missed on it, but it's, it's all right because now they're writing about
08:16 that, that it does fit. Um, and, but those two worked at it. Um, it just didn't happen
08:22 overnight and that's a beautiful thing. Um, and so, um, it's all right to be wrong and
08:29 we're not always right. Um, but it's, it's, it's a beautiful combination. Those two play
08:34 off of each other and you can see that they care, they care about one another. Um, they're
08:39 in competition right now. It's who's playing the best defense. Um, and that's kind of cool
08:44 to see because we used to look at Kai and Luca a lot of times they're not known for
08:48 our defensive, uh, you know, guys, but they're competing and it's fun to see internally and
08:55 it's, and it's a healthy thing. Jason, you've seen what the city's like when you guys are
08:59 in the finals. Just talk about the fans and everybody's ready for this. Rangers got kicked
09:04 off this year. Just talk about bringing it back. Yeah, I think when you talk about Dallas,
09:08 the city's an incredible, um, sports town. Um, when you talk about the Rangers and what
09:13 they did, um, just past season in major league baseball, you have the stars fighting for
09:18 it for the cup, um, to have us in the, in the final. So, um, when you talk about, uh,
09:23 Dallas is, is, is a great sports town, but it's a hot city right now. Um, with, with
09:29 all the sports teams playing for a trophy. So it's exciting time to be a fan in Dallas.
09:34 Jason, what's it like for you to go back to the championship round with this franchise,
09:39 but in a different role? Yes, it's humbling. It's surreal, um, to be on as a player to,
09:47 to win a championship, um, was, was, uh, you know, I guess, you know, we, we weren't
09:53 favored to win a championship. Um, and so to be able to pull that off, um, as a player
09:59 and now to be able to help guide these young men, um, as a coach to, to, to win a championship,
10:05 it's just real. And it's, it's a lot of fun. It can be nerve wracking at times, but, um,
10:10 it's actually, it's been a highlight of my basketball journey. And so, uh, you know,
10:16 we got, we got to find a way to beat Boston. We got four games to try to figure that out.
10:22 And so, um, it's, it's surreal, but it's been fun. It's not easy. It's not easy to be a
10:29 coach in this league. Um, but as I've told people, I can care less what you write about
10:34 me. Um, it's all about that group in that locker room and that group response. And that's
10:38 what it's all about.
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