Kidd’s last stand

Jason Kidd’s legacy will be written in the next one and a half years. Years later when NBA experts are debating where Kidd stands in the pantheon of great point guards in the league, they will look at these games as the barometer.

If Kidd wins a championship with Dallas, he will bumped into the top five. Passing the likes of Stockton on the way.

If he falters and Dallas collapses in the playoffs, he will be remembered as the guy who couldn’t hack it against better competition.

Make no bones about it. Kidd got to the finals from the Eastern Conference when the East was at it weakest. Since the combination of the Pistons, Lebron and Wade, the Nets have been stuck in mediocrity. Wasting away in a place where few people watch.

Sure, the Nets regression isn’t all on Kidd. The lack of a big man hurt them. But that team still carried two very talented wing players in Carter and Jefferson and still couldn’t do much with it. His age is an issue. There aren’t many point guards who have resurgences after 13 years in the league. You lose a step or two along the way. In Kidd’s case he may have lost 3 or 4 and his numbers this season reflect it. He is shooting a career worst 36.6% from the field. Yes, he has never been known as as an assassin from the perimeter, but those numbers would make Ben Wallace cry.

So now Kidd finds himself back in Dallas. A team that got rid of him after only two years in the NBA. A team that is battling some recent playoff letdowns. A team that is in dire need of someone to win games for them. Nowitzki is a great player but has faltered when the Mavs needed him most.

Can Kidd fill that role? Only time will tell, one and a half years that is.

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