"Can't believe this guy is the coach": Jason Kidd's lineup debacle against Celtics leaves Mavericks fans furious

Dallas Mavericks fans are upset with coach Jason Kidd's lineup decisions in their loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday. The Mavs wasted another brilliant performance by Luka Doncic, who had a triple-double. Kidd is being criticized by fans for sticking to a small-ball lineup against the best team in the NBA.

Kidd was asked why he kept going with a small-ball lineup in the second half when the Mavs were making a run. The coach pointed out Boston's "struggles" against the small ball, but that was not evident in their 138-110 win against Dallas.

Kidd played Maxi Kleber at center while limiting the minutes to trade deadline acquisition Daniel Gafford. One source of frustration for the Mavs fanbase is not properly using one of the deepest big men rotations in the league of Gafford, Kleber, Dereck Lively II, P.J. Washington and Dwight Powell.

Dallas Mavericks fans are not happy with Jason Kidd's coaching decisions, and some even believe that the franchise should part ways with him. Kidd is in his third season in Dallas, making the Western Conference finals in his first year before missing the playoffs last season.

Fans are pointing out Kidd's usage of players like Maxi Kleber and Tim Hardaway Jr. against the Boston Celtics. One tweeted:

"I can't believe this guy is the coach. No one on the planet thought small ball was a good idea after making a run with a bigger unit."

One fan commented:

"Maxi scored 1 point got 2 rebounds he does nothing for you except try hard that's why he looks good. Lively makes a real impact. We got the closest with him but Jason bin Laden won't let us win a game."

Another fan added:

"The Mavericks are 74-77 behind by three points. Then Hadarway came on, Kleber came on. Using 4 guards and Kleber. Jason Kidd just hate this team. How could you win a game with this tactics? Fire Jason Kidd!"

Here are other reactions on X to Kidd's coaching decision:

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Did Jason Kidd call out Luka Doncic?

Did Jason Kidd call out Luka Doncic?

Jason Kidd praised the Boston Celtics following the Dallas Mavericks' blowout loss on Friday. He gushed about the Celtics' team play and wished his team to have done the same.

"It's about team for them," Kidd said. "You can see that with the ball movement. They're not worried about who is shooting it. A lot of times, the person shooting it is wide open."

Luka Doncic is one of the best players in the world, but one of the criticisms of his game is his ball dominance. Doncic loves isolation plays, which is the opposite of what the Celtics were using. While Kidd didn't call out Doncic directly, some fans might interpret it like that.

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