If Dirk is shooting fadeway 17 footers when matched with Tony Parker, then you are blaming the wrong person if you are blaming Avery.

The point about Kidd needing being on the floor is one I considered, which is basically: Go with what may not be as effective an offense for psychological reasons.

I'm not privy to Kidd and Avery's relationship, so this may be a non-issue. But, then again, maybe it is. Maybe Avery has to do a bit more hand-holding with Kidd's ego. If that's the case then this was probably a mistake and Kidd will certainly let Avery know that. Avery won't be able to survive a Kidd v. Avery personality conflict. Still, I was judging this on results and effectiveness.

The only way to see Avery's strategy worked was if the we won the game. So if it worked that game why not try it again if faced with the same situation? That then gets you to the argument of "Why did we even bring him here then?"

You're right basketball is about a results, but it's the coach's job to put the players in the best position to achieve those results. That was not the case with those three shots.

Why can't we agree that Kidd's presence would've provided better shot opportunities? You're telling me Jason Terry provided the best opportunities that possession?!

Maybe we didn't watch the same game.

parker pushed dirk out just beyond his comfort zone and terry's "shot" wasn't really a shot, was it.  a good shot is going towards the basket within 10 ft.  if anything, terry trying to pass (and getting stuffed) showed exactly why a real ball handler needs to have the ball at the end

Well, I tend to think that Dirk on Parker at the distance he had the ball as a pretty much ideal scenario.

If we can't agree on that, then let's just move on, buy each other a beer, and root for the Mavs to beat the Kings tonight.

make it less likely mavs will have as good a look at they did without kidd?

mavs won a sh*tload of games without kidd, but dirk & co. had worked extra hard to get those wins. that is exactly why they got kidd, so that they can win a bit more easily.

sure, mavs did get the shots they want at those situation, but they purposely chose to do it the hard way. WHY?

with kidds, of course, they might end up with worse look. but without trying, how can you find that out? what makes avery so sure that, he predicted kidd cannot do any better than what he planned to do?

Avery set himself up in a lose-lose situation when he sat Kidd.  Even if the play had worked, Avery still demonstrated that he didn't trust his Hall-of-Fame point guard to close out the game.  But even worse, he demonstrated all that and still lost.

The worst that could have happened with Kidd in the game is that we lost a close-fought game.  That's not near as bad as the nightmare Avery is now facing, and I would say it's still a better outcome than potentially damaging the team chemistry by micromanaging and demonstrating a lack of trust.

Regardless of the end outcome, Avery's decision was a bad one.  Kidd should have played, period.

i never heard him being so defensive before. he even blamed the medias for "poisonous journalism" because they said avery's decision showed he lacks confidence in kidd.

and, since mavs got the looks / shots they wanted, avery did not think it is a mistake.

galloway did not ask whether with kidd the same looks/shots would come easier.

he held firm to what he believed in.

he believed in fighting against the odds, and doing things the hard way. that is what he did his whole life.

i admire that.

but: he had to fight against the odds and do things the hard way in his life, because he's not that talented as an nba player.

when coaching a team as talented as mavs, does he realize there is a better way to getting things done?

I still think it's a huge deal, because it means that Avery doesn't know his team.  Dirk almost always gets the kinds of looks he got at the end on Thursday, and he almost always misses them.  The whole point of getting Kidd is that Dirk has consistently failed to win games when isolation plays are run for him at the end.  Against Phoenix in December 2006 and game 7 against the Spurs a couple of years ago are the only exceptions I can think of--in Dirk's entire career.  With Kidd on the floor, you can get open shots for Terry and Stackhouse, who can both hit big shots--but only if they're open.  If Avery can't figure out that Dirk isn't going to suddenly start making shots that he almost always misses, then I don't see how we think he'll be able to coach the team to wins in close games in the playoffs.

have moved on, i'll move on as well.

kidd is in full "listen to the coach" and "follow the order" mode and claimed he does not have slightest problem with this, and cuban reiterated his trust in avery so much so to claim he "even did not notice" that kidd was not on the floor during the crucial time.

fine. i'll move on.

Dirk should abuse Parker when he's on him.  Dirk's the leader, not Kidd.  Kidd was brought in here to help Dirk.  In that situation, he could not help Dirk since the guy defending him wouldn't have to be anywhere near him.  We needed guys who demanded a defender, and I'm sorry, but Kidd does not demand a defender until he gets in the lane.  Even then, he's not dependable.

I for one, still trust in Avery.

How is Dirk suppsoed abuse Parker when he gets the ball 17 feet from the basket? Is Dirk supposed to take 6'3 parker off the dribble? Good luck with that. Especially with every Spur waiting in the paint because none of the Mavs can shoot. Why do you think Dirk couldn't score against Golden State. Same reason. The mavs have no shooters to spread the floor. and with no offense playing Damp Dirk has no room to operate in the paint.

If you want Dirk to post Parker up deeper then put Kidd in there.. because he's the only one that can deliver a decent entry pass to Dirk on the post.

But then guess what. If Dirk is deep in the post he is definitely getting doulbe teamed. Then he has to pass the ball out to Terry or Stack or Damp to miss a jumper. Kidd is a much better alternative to these guys.. Kidd is a clutch shooter. The other mavs are the opposite. They shoot well normally then miss when it matters most. Kidd's the oppooite.

The really unbelivable par though is that Avery said Dirk had a better shot of shooting with Kidd on the bench.  Has Avery missed the games with Kidd on the mavs? Dirk just looks at Kidd and he is hitting halfcourt shots. I don't belive avery doesn't realize this. So if Avery knows Dirk has a much better chance of hitting a shot with Kidd in the game then why wouldn't Avery want kidd in there helping Dirk?

I'll give you a hint.. it's to use Dirk as a scapegoat because he knows the Mavs are going to tank again in the playoffs. Their only bigmen outside of Dirk are Dampier, Juwan Howard and Magliore. that's a suicide mission in the West... Avery is clearly using Dirk as a shield to protect himself. Just like he tried to do last season when he wanted Dirk traded.