After Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd decided to try a dirty game tactic that has caused controversy in the NBA world. It appears Jason Kidd doesn’t care how but he wants the Mavericks to win the championship at any cost. If that means playing mindgames with the rival, so be it. After Game 1 and leading up to Game 2 of the series, Jason Kidd said that Jaylen Brown is currently the best player the Boston Celtics have. Obviously leaving Jayson Tatum out of the picture, a tactic that is only meant to get the rival off their game for the second game of the series. So far, the response from the Celtics players have been according to the script of how to react.
Guardiola, another fan of the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals
Every single team has a professional media department that deals with these types of issues on a daily basis. Within the team, players and coaching staff also make a decision of how to respond to these tactics. Although Jayson Tatum was brilliant in his response, Jaylen Brown was more serious and slightly dismissive. However, their message was pretty much the same. Here’s what Jayson said: “I have no reaction. We wouldn’t be here without JB. … People try to drive a wedge in between us. It’s a smart thing to try to do. We’ve been in this position for years, saying one of us should be traded.”
Can this tactic from Jason Kidd work?
Although it is important that the media responses are on point for every team, we still have to see how this venom injected by the Mavericks coach will affect the Boston Celtics’ locker room during a game. After all, these types of tactics are aimed to precisely affect the players during the game. That is where these tactics are more effective. Based on Jaylen Brown’s demeanor, he didn’t seem amused by what Jason Kidd said about him. Even if Kidd truly believes that, statements like those are designed to create pressure on the rival. Jason knows exactly what he is doing.