He thought about how he would’ve handled the Mavericks’ Wednesday night overtime heartbreak against the Lakers back when he was head coach in Milwaukee. “[I] was positive,” Kidd said of his locker-room demeanor after the Lakers hit two last-second 3-pointers on Wednesday. After no practice Friday, the Mavericks will return Saturday for one before flying to Minnesota. “When he feels like we’re not playing our hardest and we’re not playing well because of that, then he gets on our ass,” Maxi Kleber said. As his warmer front, sense of humor and relationship with the Mavericks’ superstars has contrasted to former coach Rick Carlisle’s, so has Kidd’s approach in-house.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 17, 2021 18:31 UTC