Apr 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd looks on during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Jason Kidd explains decision to rest key Mavericks with postseason seed on the line

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Apr 13, 2025 3:31 PM ET

The Dallas Mavericks finish off the regular season with a road game against the Memphis Grizzlies, but they'll be sitting the majority of their key players. Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, and Dereck Lively II all played in Friday's matchup against the Toronto Raptors but are sitting on Sunday.

The Mavs already know they'll be playing in the 9/10 game of the Play-In Tournament against the Sacramento Kings, but the seed is still up in the air. Both the Kings and Mavericks have a 39-42 record, so if Dallas wins today and Sacramento loses, Dallas would host that first Play-In game, but instead, most of their key players are resting. Why did Jason Kidd and his staff decide to do this?

"Understanding the minutes those guys played the other night against Toronto and understanding there is a slim chance," Kidd said in his pregame press conference before the Memphis matchup, "but we're going to try to win this game and compete with the guys that are in uniform. We've been through a lot of injuries. We want to come out this healthy for the best chance if it's at home or in Sacramento to have an opportunity to win."

Essentially, the Mavericks are choosing to be a little healthier going into the Play-In game, if they can. A lot of the guys not playing have been dealing with injuries in the last months of the season. Sacramento is playing a Phoenix Suns squad that has underwhelmed all season and is resting all of their starters, and the Kings own the tiebreaker over the Mavs.

Memphis is also resting most of its key players against Dallas, sitting Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., Zach Edey, and many more. They're locked into the 7/8 Play-In game, though their opponent is unknown entering the day, as seeds 4-7 of the Western Conference are all within a game of each other.

This article first appeared on Dallas Mavericks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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