Jason Kidd addressed the refereeing after Dallas fell 111-107 to the Houston Rockets on Saturday, saying, “Now, does he make both? That’s up to the player, but the referees did not do their job tonight. They were terrible.”
On missed calls against Cooper Flagg, Kidd added, “Understand he drives the ball, he gets slapped, it’s a foul. If it was the other way, it would be a foul, right? All right, so just being consistent, and tonight the referees were not consistent.”
Kidd praised Flagg’s resilience, saying, “There’s a lot of fouls missed with this young man, and maybe they just don’t know his game yet, but that’s who he is. He’s going to continue to keep driving. He’s not going to get discouraged, and tonight he backed up what he did the other night.”
The coach reflected on the team’s evolution, noting, “Yeah, I think, well, it’s definitely changed with the trade and the draft. But the one thing that’s been consistent is injuries. We just have been hit with a lot of injuries, and unfortunately we’re playing and stretching guys that normally wouldn’t be playing these minutes.”
Kidd emphasized the team’s mindset, stating, “Next man up mentality, and the guys have responded in a positive way. We’ve played in a lot of close games…for a young team, it’s only going to make us better as we go forward.”
On Flagg’s aggression and leadership, he said, “Well, that’s how he’s built. He’s built to win. He’s gonna try to do everything to help his team win. And he’s done that all season.” Kidd added that consistency in health is critical, remarking, “If we can get some consistency for our health…right now it’s just next man up mentality and hold it down until we get healthy.”
Kidd also addressed the impact of missing key bench players, explaining, “You asked the question and answer the question he got. [Brandon Williams] was off to a great start at 13 points and got hurt.”
He concluded on the team’s effort despite challenges, noting, “The guys kept fighting and it comes down to one possession.”
