Mavs host Pistons in their final preseason game

Health

That’s the operative word Mavericks coach Jason Kidd stressed as his team prepares to play their final preseason game on Friday at 7 p.m. at American Airlines Center against the Detroit Pistons. It’s the Mavs’ only home preseason game this year and it comes five days before they open the regular season in San Antonio on Wednesday.

Kidd acknowledged that the energy and execution has been high in practice this week, and he wants his team to get out of the game against the Pistons without any notable bumps and bruises.

“I think the biggest thing is getting out of this last game healthy,” Kidd said. “That’s one of the issues we’re having right now is our health.

“So, if we can get out of this game healthy and kind of address some of the things like trying to play faster, rebounding the ball. . .But the biggest thing is our health.”

Luka Doncic will not play against the Pistons due to a left calf strain sustained during an Oct. 9 practice session in Spain, and Jaden Hardy is doubtful with a sprained ankle suffered in Tuesday’s practice.

Kidd said the plan is for the Mavs (0-3) to try and create a faster pace this season when the opportunities present themselves.

“We have guys who are athletes who can get out and run that might be labeled non-shooters, but still can throw in a three (pointer) once in a while,” Kidd said. “But I think just the way the roster is built, you have guys that can run when you look at (rookie center) Dereck Lively (II). He’s one that can get out and run.

“(Forward) Derrick Jones Jr., he’s another one that can put pressure on. He did that in Madrid. They scored, we take the ball up on dribble one and draw ahead and he’s dunking the ball. But that’s the goal is to try to play faster, and sometimes as we get whole here we can tend to rely on our halfcourt offense because we were good with those two guys we you talk about Kyrie (Irving) and Luka.”

Once everyone gets healthy, Doncic and Irving will comprise the starting backcourt for the Mavs and will get the lion’s share of the minutes there. Lively has often been discussed as possibly being the opening day starter at center.

“Lively has done an incredible job as a rookie,” Kidd said. “He’s 18 years old. We’ve asked him to start (and) we’ve asked him to play with the second group here in practice this week.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked, and he’s a rookie. He’s not going to be perfect. He’s going to make some mistakes. But he’s in work mode and he’s in learning mode in the sense that he wants to learn, he wants to get it right and that’s all you can ask for.”

While Grant Williams has frequently been talked about as being the starter at one wing spot, who starts at the other wing spot is still up for grabs.

“We have a lot of versatility when you look at different matchups and you look at different players,” Kidd said. “If you looked at Josh (Green), he does something different than Derrick Jones Jr. does, so there’s different scenarios that we have to talk about and put these guys in the situation of playing with different tandems.

“This week we’ve been able to just play with Kai and understanding. But then you have Tim (Hardaway Jr.) and Seth (Curry) that do things differently too, so we’ve got some options to go to with that wing. But also, I think that actually adds depth to coming off the bench with multiple wings that can do different things, too.”

Kidd said “it takes time” for the players to build the roles put forth before them.

“As a coach you believe in or hope that he wants to do this, but you see that with the different pairings that maybe they’re doing something else,” he said. “Different guys are playing well. You have guys who played on the national teams together, they have a great rapport. You have guys who’ve been here multiple times that have (great rapport).

“Seth plays well with Timmy. They have a great rapport. Also, our veterans are playing well when you talk about (Markieff Morris) is playing extremely well right now. So that gives us depth and strength and leadership, and also toughness and another guy who can spread the floor. So, it just takes a little pressure off of Maxi (Kleber) when you look at those different guys that are playing well.”

Kidd also praised guard Dante Exum, who spent the past two years playing in Europe after spending the previous seven years in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers. Exum, Kidd said, is another wing player they could either start or bring off the bench.

“Having an incredible year (in Europe), he could easily have stayed there because of comfort, but he wants another shot at the (NBA),” Kidd said. “I think that’s kind of cool that he’s betting on himself.

“I think he’s in a great situation with a great team with a coach that’s going to put him in a position to be successful. And then that also his team believes that he’s a capable player. We’ve seen that in practice and also here in training camp in the preseason. He’s playing at a extremely high level, and so we’re very lucky to have him.”

As a whole, Kidd knows he has a lot of pieces to fit in his puzzle. And he reiterated:

“I would say this is going to take time. With the (12-day) trip (to Abu Dhabi and Spain) and everything that we’ve dealt with injury-wise, we’re still probably a little bit behind. And it’s not a bad thing, so I don’t want people to take that out of context, because they probably will. But it’s just the truth.

“We’ve got a lot of new pieces, we’ve got to get to know one another and we’re trying to inform that relationship on and off the floor. So, if things don’t go well right away it doesn’t mean that the world is coming to an end. But we’ve got a lot of positive things happening right now that are taking place on the floor and off the floor, and as a coach you can sleep a little bit better at night.”

KIDD ON THE ALL-STAR GAME: In regards to getting the players to actually compete in the NBA All-Star game, one idea NBA commissioner Adam Silver floated during Wednesday’s appearance on ESPN’s First Take — when asked by host Stephen A. Smith — was possibly having the American-born players play against the international-born players.

Asked about that on Thursday, Kidd said: “I think that would be pretty cool to see.” Kidd he paused and added: “The international team. They’re going to be pretty good.”

Some of the top international players currently in the NBA include Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam, Rudy Gobert, Josh Giddey, Lauri Markkanen, OG Anunoby, Clint Capela, Nikola Vucevic and Andrew Wiggins.

Lately, some fans have expressed dissatisfaction with the way the players mostly just go through the motions during the All-Star game, with very little defense being played. That was the case again during this past February’s mid-season classic played in Utah.

“We’ve got to find a way to be better at All-Star,” Kidd said. “I understand the corporate and the business side, but there is history with the All-Star game that I think we’ve kind of dropped the ball on, and we have to do a better job of teaching the guys who are young that are going to start participating in the All-Star game that you are supposed to play hard and to respect the game, because of the Larry Birds, the Dr. J’s, the Michael Jordan’s, the Isiah Thomas’s — the ones before us played the game at a high level.

“So, somewhere we’ve kind of dropped the ball there and we’ve got to correct that. But there are some players — Giannis plays the All-Star game hard. So, we have to do a better job there of getting that game to be competitive because in Utah, that game was, it was terrible.”

BRIEFLY: The Mavs signed center Tony Bradley on Thursday. The 28th overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, Bradley was ultimately traded on draft night to the Utah Jazz. The 6-10, 248-pounder spent three seasons with the Jazz. He also split time in three other seasons with Philadelphia, Oklahoma City and Chicago. In 179 career games — including 18 starts — Bradley averaged 4.4 points and 4.1 rebounds. And in two G League seasons with the Salt Lake City Stars from 2017-’19, Bradley averaged 14.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. In addition, in his lone college season with North Carolina, Bradley averaged 7.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 14.6 minutes as the Tar Heels captured the 2017 NCAA title.

X: @DwainPrice