Kidd’s explanation for crippling Mavericks rotation decision makes zero sense

The Dallas Mavericks were unable to secure a victory on the first night of their two-game southeastern slate, as the Mavericks lost a tough and competitive contest to the Miami Heat by a score of 123-118 in overtime on Sunday evening.

This was Dallas’ second game in a row without the likes of Luka Doncic, and while Dallas certainly fought hard on both ends, their inability to summon more shot creation down the stretch of this game was evident just as it was in their recent victory over the Nuggets.

Doncic’s hole in the lineup has provided opportunity for others to step up and excel at the guard spot, as Jaden Hardy and Quentin Grimes have both increased their offensive output in this recent stretch before Doncic got hurt. However, Grimes and Hardy shot the ball poorly against Miami on Sunday night, leaving Kidd to play Spencer Dinwiddie 28 minutes in the game in hopes of Dinwiddie galvanizing some shot creation and playmaking off the bench for the Mavericks.

Kidd's reasoning for keeping Dinwiddie in the game made no sense

Dinwiddie played fairly well defensively and had seven assists with zero turnovers in this contest, but he couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn when it came to his shot attempts in this game. Dinwiddie finished the game going 1-12 from the field and 0-9 from the 3-point line in this game, as he played deep into the fourth quarter and overtime despite continued struggles shooting the ball.

Dinwiddie’s shot portfolio in the clutch moments of this game was pretty rough as well, as he continuously settled for step-back 3-pointers and ill-advised contested shots in hopes of getting his rhythm back.

In a game where Hardy and Grimes were struggling themselves, it makes sense that Kidd tried Dinwiddie out for some time, especially with Doncic out of the lineup. This doesn’t excuse Dinwiddie playing heavy minutes in this game and being the primary initiator deep into overtime though, as it was very clear that he was hard pressed to create any offense for himself in this game outside of a few drives to the basket that resulted in fouls.

When asked why Dinwiddie played so much in the post-game press conference, Kidd gave a confusing answer as to why this occurred.

"We have a talented team," Kidd said. "Just having other options out there when you have Spencer as a ball handler. I thought Spencer being aggressive did a great job on both the offensive and defensive end. We trust everybody that plays. This is a different group to end with to see how they handled it. We put ourselves in position to win."

While Mavericks fans wouldn't expect Kidd to completely throw Dinwiddie under the bus, this answer from Kidd didn't make much sense at all, as Dinwiddie definitely didn't do a "great job" on the offensive end. Kidd has to be able to diagnose trends happening within a game, and Dinwiddie's abysmal shooting was certainly something that he should've taken into account when trying to establish a closing lineup.

To be fair, Dinwiddie shot the ball decently in Dallas' recent game against the Nuggets, and a lot of his 3-point attempts against the Heat came very late in the contest. Kidd should still be more cognizant of who should have the ball in their hands late in games though, as Kyrie Irving or Naji Marshall would've been far better options on many possessions down the stretch based on how well they shot all evening long.

Going forward, Kidd needs to make the proper adjustments in a given game when Dinwiddie goes on another one of these blunders, and Dinwiddie is going to find himself on the outskirts of the rotation if this continues. It's obviously still early in the season and tinkering with lineups is to be expected, but Dallas can't continue to make decisions that are this costly and experimental in nature.