Sean Sweeney was in the “big chair” for the first time Friday night in Houston.
Unless, of course, you count all his times running an NBA team at the summer league in Las Vegas.
“Summer league, I might have coached the most games in summer-league history,” Sweeney said with a laugh before the Mavericks met the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. “But not in the big chair, no.”
There’s a first time for everything and Sweeney’s moment came when Jason Kidd entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols Thursday night after a positive COVID-19 test.
Kidd jokes quite often about how he’s working on his medical degree with all the health issues his team has faced this season.
He doesn’t offer a prognosis when asked if players might return from injury or illness. “That’s above my pay grade,” is his usual response.
As it turns out, Kidd could probably place out of a few classes in medical school with all that he’s learned in a short amount of time.
Kidd traveled to Houston on the team’s plane Thursday, but he’ll have to return on Interstate 45 by car. He said on Friday that he was feeling fine, that the only symptoms were like he was fighting a cold.
In the meantime, Sweeney said the Mavericks have had provisions in place for weeks should something like this happen. Kidd had said the same thing in late December when so many players were landing in the health and safety protocols. And the preparation paid off in a 130-106 victory over Houston.
“Coach does a real good job of scripting out what we need to do, and making sure we know our roles,” Sweeney said. “And it’s our job to keep it as (normal) as we can. It’s hard, but business as usual. For the most part, that’s it – sticking to the plan in place. We met on Zoom and he’s still very involved in what we’re doing.”
And the backup plans are always in place, Sweeney said.
“Coach just in general in game preparation has done a good job of having contingencies in place – plan A, plan B, plan C – making sure we’re ready with a robust strategy for whatever may come,” he said. “So yes, this has been touched on. Hopefully we can execute the plan.”
In one way, it’s fitting that Sweeney is the acting coach for Friday’s game.
The Mavericks have had five consecutive games of keeping opponents under 100 points, including the last three under 90.
Sweeney is the defensive coordinator for Kidd, a role he also filled at Milwaukee when Kidd was head coach of the Bucks.
“Guys are pretty understanding of what we’re doing,” he said. “It starts with your effort and your energy. And we’re giving great effort. The guys have done a great job of covering for each other and communicating to the coaching staff what they’re seeing so we can be ready for anything that we need to adjust on the fly for. The guys are doing a hell of a job getting after it and playing with an edge.”
And when was the last time the Mavericks had an edge like this?
It’s been awhile, but it all comes from one thing: playing extremely hard.
And, being able to adjust on the fly. Just as Sweeney has had to step in as acting head coach, players have had to adjust their roles and be ready for anything with COVID-19 looming over everything.
“The biggest thing to me is just making sure you understand what processes are in place and make sure you concentrate on what’s right in front of us, dealing with whatever comes up, whether it’s the opponent or getting (people) in and out of the lineup,” Sweeney said. “Just in general, try to stick to the plan and do as good a job of controlling what we can control with all the different things going on.”
Luka sidelined: The Mavericks were shorthanded again in Houston, just as they have been for the last two-plus weeks.
Boban Marjanović and Kristaps Porzingis remained in health and safety protocols. Willie Cauley-Stein remains on personal leave.
But the most pressing concern was Luka Dončić, who was out with a sprained right ankle.
This is, as he said after Wednesday’s game, his good ankle.
Dončić missed 10 games in a row, the first five because of a left ankle sprain and the last five for COVID-19 issues.
Now he’s missed another one with the right ankle.
“Obviously, not having KP and Luka is always a challenge with how good those guys are and how well they’ve been playing,” Sweeney said.
There was no update on the superstar point guard’s outlook for Sunday’s home game against Chicago.
More defensive chatter: Rockets’ coach Stephen Silas was an assistant for Rick Carlisle with the Mavericks for years.
He’s seen the Mavericks grow together with Dončić, Jalen Brunson, Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell, Porzingis and others sticking together for several seasons.
But he’s never seen this sort of defense out of them as a unit.
“They’re making people miss,” Silas said of the Mavericks. “They’re putting a lot of pressure on the ball. They’re in the right spots. They’re really trying hard on the defensive end.
“When you have a group that’s been together for quite a long time – most of those guys I coached when I was there and that was a few years ago – they were always good offensively. Now they’re holding teams under 100, which is crazy in today’s NBA – five times in a row. Yeah, that’s impressive.”
Twitter: @ESefko
Immaculate coaching vibes, Coach Sweeney.
This one’s for you! #MFFL pic.twitter.com/pSHuBkKJeM
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) January 8, 2022
Share and comment