Jason Kidd's controversial decision that Mavericks fans hated looks brilliant now

Heading into the Dallas Mavericks' game tonight against the LA Clippers, the series is tied at one game apiece and it has been a great battle in all aspects of the game.

Dallas started the series off slow and ended up losing Game 1, but better defense in Game 2 combined with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and P.J. Washington stepping up even more than they already had, the Mavs were able to get the win.

Everyone played a factor in this win, and the only negative from this game was Tim Hardaway Jr. going down with an injury. Hardaway Jr. was someone who could have been an X-factor for Dallas in this series, and this ankle injury is the first injury the Mavs have had since the NBA Playoffs began.

Jason Kidd resting players at end of season looks brilliant now

Dallas being at 100 percent strength to begin the NBA Playoffs was a huge help, and part of the team being fully healthy (outside of Hardaway Jr.) could be attributed to a simple but extremely helpful decision by Mavs head coach Jason Kidd.

Kidd decided to rest Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in their second-to-last game against the Detroit Pistons and then he rested Irving, Doncic, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, Dante Exum, Maxi Kleber, and Derrick Jones Jr. in the final game of the year against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dereck Lively II also missed this game as he was still recovering from his knee sprain, and Kidd resting these players in the final two games was a decision that some fans didn't like.

They thought that Kidd should have trotted out everyone in both of these games due to the fact that the Mavs still had a chance at grabbing the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Dallas was neck and neck with the Clippers during the final stretch of the season, and Dallas would have been able to grab the fourth seed since the Clippers lost their last three games.

Like Dallas, the Clippers were also resting many of their players and they would have likely played their guys in the final game of the year if Dallas were to have beat Detroit. Kidd's decision to rest his players was controversial to some at the time, but now he looks like a genius considering how many injuries there have been around the league in the postseason.

Alex Caruso, Zion Williamson, and Jimmy Butler all got injured during the NBA's Play-In Tournament, and Kidd keeping his guys out of harm's way and making sure that they were healthy for the playoffs was the much better move than playing them with the slim-to-none chance that they were going to grab the No. 4 seed.

Risking the availability of Doncic, Irving, or any of the role players wouldn't have been worth it, and Kidd making this decision when he could have played them was the right move despite the belief of some overly optimistic fans.

The Mavs' next game is tonight against the LA Clippers at the American Airlines Center, and we'll have you covered with all the latest.