SAN FRANCISCO — Jason Kidd had his Bay Area homecoming for the first time this season with the Dallas Mavericks visiting Golden State on Saturday night. It marks the first time Kidd has returned to the Bay with his Dallas Mavericks since the Oakland A’s announced relocation to Las Vegas.
The Oakland native and former Cal men’s basketball star had some thoughts on the news.
“It’s unfortunate, but business happens,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that Oakland is without a professional baseball or basketball (team).”
On top of his day job in Dallas, Kidd has stayed involved in Oakland sports. This October, Kidd became a part owner in the Oakland Roots and Soul, the city’s professional men’s and women’s soccer clubs.
“The last professional teams are the Oakland Roots and Soul in soccer,” Kidd said. “So we have something to cheer for. This isn’t the first time a team has been moved from Oakland and not the first time the A’s have moved. Hopefully, they’ll be successful in Vegas but hopefully, we can get an expansion team to Oakland or Sacramento.”
A healthy squad
Draymond Green was the only inactive Warrior for a Western Conference rivalry game against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.
Gary Payton II returned to action from his calf strain after a month’s absence and Kevon Looney, listed as questionable pre-game with a general illness, was active to continue his streak of 223 consecutive games played.
For Dallas, point guard Kyrie Irving and guard Seth Curry were sidelined with injuries.
Kerr’s self-reflection
Coach Steve Kerr has called out a few of his coaching mistakes this year, most pointedly when he subbed out hot-handed Moses Moody at the apex of an eventual loss to the Sacramento Kings last month.
Kerr said the team was “out-coached” after the Warriors’ loss to the Miami Heat, playing without stars Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry.
“When I say I got out-coached it’s because our team didn’t execute as well as the other team,” Kerr said the day after the loss. “During the course of 82 games you generally have games where you execute better and games where the other team executes better.
“But if you’re a good, consistent team, you’re going to win the majority of those battles and you’re going to execute better for a longer stretch of the 48 minutes than the other team. Last night, I thought Miami out-executed us for the big majority of the 48 minutes. That’s coaching, it’s always a collaboration, everything we do is about coaches and players collaborating and trying to come up with the best plan. We didn’t do a good job of that.”
The Miami loss and some of their recent struggles highlighted how the Warriors have had trouble juicing the best shots out of every possession. That’s often seen in Steph Curry’s sluggish first halves, where opposing teams often double-team him and his teammates struggle to free him for good looks. Green has a knack for generating scoring opportunities for Curry but is serving an indefinite suspension.
“We have to find a way to help Steph have an easier game, make a play to get him open,” Dario Saric said after Friday’s practice. “When Draymond is here, he understands the role better than the rest of us who (have been) here for one year right now. (We’re) getting to know each other and how to play.”
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