Quotes after 98-83 win at Memphis

HEAD COACH AVERY JOHNSON
On Jason Kidd: “He was awfully good in getting the ball up the floor in transition, down half-court. When we had the set up in half court and broke the defense down. He was just special in the way he was passing the ball tonight.”

On the way the Mavericks play with Jason Kidd: “We still had 21 turnovers, but 32 assists, that’s pretty good for us. We’ll take that. If we can cut down on some of the turnovers…even the passing was contagious, [Erick] Dampier was passing the ball and throwing it to Dirk [Nowitzki] on the break. That was a highlight for us. More than anything, it really wasn’t about playing against another team tonight as much as it was about us trying to figure out what works and some things we need to eliminate. Like I said all along, we just need to practice, play some games and get more and more stuff on video so that we can continue in this process of trying to get this team headed in the right direction.”

On the different player combinations the Mavericks have: “We liked Devean George at point-forward, especially when he’s playing with JET [Jason Terry]. He does a nice job for us there. We came in tonight wanting to play eight, no more than nine players and we were able to do that. Juwan [Howard] gave us a big life. But, when the game got tight we weren’t going to win this game without Josh’s [Howard] defense. Josh’s defense tonight won the game for us and after that [Jason] Kidd’s assists. Josh is really special on defense.”

MAVERICKS GUARD JASON TERRY (22 points, 6 rebounds)
On the Mavericks’ point guards: Devean [George] a good solid ball-handler. At the same time, if anything happens he could still come back in there and run the point and still make good decisions. It’s good to have Devean George with the ability to play the point. We like the team we have now. We’re deep at all positions.”

On Jason Kidd: “The first night he was really just trying to get his feet wet. Tonight, he really came out very assertive. He was decisive and knew who he wanted to get the ball to. He looked like he found his rhythm. That’s the Kidd we know. We know it’s going to take a game of practice before he got comfortable, but tonight he looked good.”

On the Mavericks: “We feel like we’re one of the elite teams in the Western Conference. The sky’s the limit for us.”

MAVERICKS GUARD JASON KIDD (2 points, 15 assists)
On adjusting to his role with the Mavericks: “It’s about making the game as easy as possible and finding guys’ sweet spots. So they don’t have to put it on the floor or adjust the ball and just catch it and shoot it. You saw that a lot tonight. For me, it’s just about asking guys if they want me to put your head up, do they want me to go long and go from there. We’re playing catch up. I want to make sure I understand what they’re thinking. I have to ask them what they want. It’s just going to take time. We’ve have two good practices. We’ve only had two practices. At the rate we’re building, it’s going to take a little time but we’re going to get better.”

On his comfort level tonight: “I was a little more comfortable tonight just to play basketball. Leading up to that first game it had been a bit of a circus. Now I can concentrate on the game of basketball. That’s what I have to do. I’m going to try to execute Coach’s game plan and do my job.”

MAVERICKS FORWARD DIRK NOWITZKI (27 points, 6 points)
On Jason Kidd: “He’s a great passer. That’s really what he brings to this team…He pushes the ball. He’s always ready for the ball. When he’s in the air and he looks like he’s got nowhere to go he throws a crosscourt pass to wide open shooters. That’s why he’s one of the best passers this league has ever seen.”