Getty Former Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle chats with Luka Doncic.
The Dallas Mavericks will be paid a visit from their former coach on February 28, when the Rick Carlisle-led Indiana Pacers are in town. Carlisle was Dallas’ man in charge from 2008 to 2021, leading the Mavs to an NBA Championship in 2011.
Prior to Tuesday’s matchup against his old club, Carlisle shared some thoughts on the new pairing of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
“Nobody’s going to want to play these guys. Nobody,” he told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon before tip.
Rick Carlisle on the Luka Doncic/Kyrie Irving combo: “Nobody’s going to want to play these guys. Nobody.”
Dallas acquired Irving from the Brooklyn Nets back on February 5, in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick, and multiple seconds.
Since joining the Mavs, the star guard has appeared in six games. He’s played an average of 36.8 minutes each time, tallying 26.2 points, 6.5 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game.
Unfortunately, Irving and Doncic have yet to hit their stride as a paring. They’ve won just one of their first four games playing alongside one another.
Jason Kidd Calls For More Maturity From Mavs After Collapse
Carlisle’s words on Doncic and Irving were much kinder than what the duo’s current coach, Jason Kidd, had to say after the February 26 collapse against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dallas had just let a 27-point lead slip away to the 13th-place Lakers, when Kidd sat down with the media.
He was undoubtedly, still hot about the loss and called for his players to grow up and be more mature.
“I’m not the savior here. I’m not playing. I’m watching, just like you guys,” he told the media. “As a team, we’ve got to mature. We’ve got a lot of new bodies coming back and we have to grow up if we want to win a championship. There’s no young team that’s ever won a championship, mentally or physically… For two and a half quarters we’re playing a high level on both ends, offensively and defensively. But, what the Lakers just showed us is that it’s not a race, it’s not the rabbit that wins, it’s the turtle. They worked the game. That’s what we have to get to, we have to get better at working the game, and we will.”
Mavs Jason Kidd: “I’m not the savior here. I’m not playing. I’m watching, just like you guys. As a team, we’ve got to mature.” – when asked why he didn’t call timeouts during Lakers runs, especially at end of second quarter #MFFL
(🎥: @dallasmavs)
Jarred Vanderbilt Shares Defensive Gameplan Against Mavs
One of the key contributors to L.A.’s come-from-behind victory in Dallas, was newly acquired wing Jarred Vanderbilt.
While the 23-year-old wing tallied 15 points and 17 rebounds on Sunday, his most valuable effort may have come on the defensive end. According to the NBA’s matchup statistics, Vanderbilt spent the most time of any Laker covering Doncic. He did so for 5:49 of the game, held him to 0-5 shooting, and forced him to commit three turnovers.
He later discussed what his mindset was while working to slow down the former No. 3 overall pick.
“My mindset was just to make him uncomfortable. He’s a hell of a player when he’s comfortable and he can get into his rhythm and get into his zone,” Vanderbilt told reporters. “So, I was trying to disrupt that. Just picking him up, 94 (feet), just making him work. I knew throughout the course of the game he was going to get tired and get fatigued. Just bringing the ball up and down the whole court and then try and make a move after I already cut eight seconds off the clock. I knew he was going to get tired. My thing was to just get up in him and force him to drive, just be physical with him and make him uncomfortable. I think in the second half we did a good job of that without fouling.”