Jason Kidd, the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, spoke after the preseason match that his team played in Madrid against Real and lost 127:123.
Before and after the match, much of the discussion revolved around the Slovenian national team representative Luka Doncic, who transferred from Real to Dallas five seasons ago.
In the game against his former club, he played only five minutes. Reporters immediately asked Dallas coach Jason Kidd why he played so little.
“We didn’t want to put him in a situation where his physical condition would be compromised. He has a leg issue, but we know how important it was for him to be here today, and we agreed that he would play a few minutes,” Kidd said.
He then commented on the game itself and his team’s performance.
“We played well at the start; we scored 37 points in the first quarter. We were good for three quarters, unfortunately in the last five minutes, Madrid was better. But I am satisfied with what the team has achieved in these 12 days of travel.”
What does it mean to have a player like Luka Doncic on the team?
“Luka is one of the best players in the world, an NBA MVP candidate, he puts up video game numbers. We need to be a winning team that makes them MVP candidates.”
What are the team’s goals this year?
“This is a new team with many new faces. We need to progress in both offense and defense. The Western Conference has many contenders. We need to stay healthy and have Luka and Kyrie. If all of that happens, I hope we’ll be one of the contenders,” Kidd concluded.