The Mavs are still a great team

I am watching a most excellent Lakers-Mavericks game and wanted to make a few observations:

Kobe Bryant is an amazing player. There's no other way to put it. As much as I dislike him, he does things I've only seen Michael Jordan do.

Kobe and Nowitzki are both absolute clutch players. At the end of regulation, Kobe made a huge play to grab an offensive rebound off of a missed free throw by Lamar Odom and then coolly made both free throws after he was fouled. With the Lakers up three with 6 seconds to go, the Mavericks came back with a beautifully designed play. The ball was inbounded to Jason Kidd, who had his back to the basket just inside the three point line. Another Mav came over and set a pick next to Kidd as Kidd tossed the ball out to Nowitzki, who came across the double screen set by Kidd and the other Mav and got an open look at a three, which he nailed with 2 seconds to go. Absolutely clutch.

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Reports of Jason Kidd's defensive demise have been greatly exaggerated. People forget that he used to be considered one of the very best backcourt defenders in the game. So what if he got torched by Chris Paul? Everyone gets torched by Chris Paul! I don't understand this idea that Kidd is somehow fast enough to be an asset on the fast break but too slow to keep up with most NBA point guards. He's fast enough, and more importantly, his defensive instincts are excellent. He reads the game exceptionally well, and thus is great at blocking off passing lanes and knocking the ball away when his man not paying attention. He's an excellent rebounder. And at 6-4, he's big enough to guard taller point guards.

I also think that people who think that Kidd is a bad fit for the Mavs are missing something. Just because Dirk doesn't really run the floor doesn't mean that other Mavs don't. Stackhouse? Howard? Terry? These guys have looked great running the wings with Kidd leading the break. Similarly, I don't understand how people think that Kidd is going to continue shooting so poorly. He's never been a good shooter, but shooting 35% or whatever he was at prior to joining the Mavs is obviously an aberration.

I do think that overall, the Kidd trade was good for Dallas. Devin Harris is a good young player but Kidd is most definitely an upgrade. With the revised version of the deal leaving Stackhouse and Devean George on the Mavs, they didn't have to give up too much to get him. Make no mistake: the Mavs are still a quality team and most definitely are legit contenders for the NBA championship.