6 Mistakes that doomed the Dallas Mavericks from winning the Finals

3. Jason Kidd's lack of in-game adjustments cost the Mavericks one too many times

One reason the Mavericks made it as far as they did was due to Jason Kidd's genius game plans and game-to-game adjustments he was able to make against some of the NBA's best head coaches. Without a championship, Kidd's genius moves and decisions will likely be forgotten but they were also a major reason why the Mavericks couldn't get the job done in their biggest test yet.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has had his fair share of criticism as well, and he silenced them with his first NBA Championship. However, after winning his first, Mazzulla could eventually go down as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history and one way he achieved that title was by outclassing Kidd and the Mavericks coaching staff.

Rather than trying to outcoach Kidd on the biggest stage, Mazzulla stuck to what got the Celtics to 64 wins in the regular season and it worked like a charm. While Kidd and the Mavs scrambled to adjust to what was a barrage of Celtics threes, Mazzulla made the gameplan simple and continued to defend the Mavericks' two best players as best they could.

Many decisions will be looked back at as to why the Mavericks lost the 2024 NBA Finals and one decision will infamously live on and that's Kidd's decision to stick with Hardaway Jr. in the rotation. There are many more reasons why Dallas was unsuccessful against Boston including Kidd's failure to crack the Celtics five-out look, but none greater than sticking with Hardaway Jr. when it wasn't working.

For weeks, fans had called for an increased role for both Hardy and Dante Exum even after the two lit up the scoreboard in separate games. However, Kidd chose to stick with Hardaway Jr. through the drought. This was one of many reasons the Mavericks lost against Boston.