Kidd drops fiery NSFW bombshell on Mavericks' biggest problem after loss to Suns

The Dallas Mavericks dropped to 5-4 on the season after a 114-113 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, and one big problem continues to resurface for Dallas through the first nine games of the season.

One of the biggest talking points of the offseason was how deep Dallas' roster is, and some argued that it is among the deepest teams in Mavs history. Through nine games, that has not been the case.

Dallas' bench unit has not been reliable, and they are struggling to get any scoring from the back half of their roster. They've had breakout games from Spencer Dinwiddie, Jaden Hardy, and Quentin Grimes at times, but these occasional bright spots from these guys won't be enough.

Entering Friday night's game, Dallas ranked 26th in the NBA in bench points per game with 27.1 points per game, and that number will fall even more as this issue was especially evident in Friday night's loss to Phoenix.

Jason Kidd blasts Mavericks' low energy and poor bench play

The Mavs only got nine points out of their bench unit, and Jason Kidd tried everything to try to find someone to give them a spark. But no one stepped up.

Kidd was asked about his team's performance in the postgame press conference, and he didn't hold back when talking about what needs to change.

"For whatever reason, we're getting off to a slow start, it's gotta be addressed," Kidd said. "Somebody's gotta come with some (expletive) energy. We're (expletive) flat...Our bench stinks right now...As deep as we are, we got to get someone to (expletive) participate off the bench..."

Kidd then continued to talk about how someone has to step up to help Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but no one has been able to consistently do that. Irving and Doncic are doing nearly everything on offense, and no one has been a release valve for them to help remove some of the pressure off the star duo's shoulders.

"It's a team, it's not just Luka and Kai and Klay," Kidd said. "Others have to participate, and that's not happening right now. Played the whole (expletive) team tonight, and we couldn't find anybody."

Kidd got some decent defense out of Dinwiddie in the first half, but he only finished the game with three points. Dinwiddie has been solid in spurts this season, but his performances have been relatively hit or miss.

Hardy, fresh off a three-year extension, only played three minutes and didn't take a shot. He hasn't been particularly great in his minutes, to begin with, but he didn't even get a chance to impact the game with his scoring, which is the best part of his game. Hardy was oftentimes (over his first two seasons) someone who could check in the game and quickly drain a couple of threes and give the team momentum, but that hasn't been the case this season as his minutes haven't been consistent.

While scoring from Dallas' bench guards has been a struggle, the depth of the frontcourt is what is really hurting them. Phoenix grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in this one, with Jusuf Nurkic leading the team with three offensive boards.

Dallas' lack of depth at the power forward position is so thin that Kidd tried subbing Kessler Edwards in for two minutes, but he missed a three and turned the ball over and was quickly subbed out. Maxi Kleber being out of the lineup hurts, and Kidd hasn't been able to find anyone to replace his production. Kidd also gave Olivier-Maxence Prosper a chance, but he finished with zero points in three minutes and missed a layup.

Now that Naji Marshall is in the starting lineup, Dallas' bench is even more thin. Marshall has been excellent for the Mavs in P.J. Washington's absence, as he finished with 18 points while shooting 7-12 from the field.

They aren't even 10 games into the season, and four of their most important role players are out with injuries. Dante Exum, Kleber, Dereck Lively II, and Washington are all out, and considering that three of these players regularly come off the bench, Kidd is running out of options.

He was trying to get anyone he could to give the team a spark, but no one stepped up to the task. It also doesn't help that the bench isn't getting many open shots to begin with. Dallas' shot creators haven't been able to create the same wide-open looks that we are used to seeing, and that is slowly becoming a problem. The bench only shot the ball six times in the loss, and someone is going to have to step up as a leader off the bench to help get the scoring going.

It's hard to beat one of the best teams in the West without any production out of your bench, and the Suns took advantage of Dallas' slow start to propel themselves to a win. Kevin Durant led the way for Phoenix with 26 points on 8-14 shooting from the field, and Royce O'Neale gave them a huge spark off the bench with 18 points.

Dallas could have used a spark off their bench in this narrow loss, and they'll have the chance to get back on track on Sunday night against the Denver Nuggets. Kidd was more fired up in this press conference than we've ever seen him, and time will tell if the team can find some energy to prevent these slow starts.

Someone has to step up to the plate off the bench when Kidd calls upon them.

The question remains, who?