Can the General lighten up?

In Friday’s Star-Telegram, I will have a column on Avery Johnson adjusting his coaching style with Jason Kidd on the team. Avery has to go from a guy who jumped off the bench on almost every play to call a play to a coach who needs to trust a point guard who will be in the Hall of Fame.

Dallas assistant coach Paul Westphal said he believes Johnson can make the adjustment because he’s appreciative of Kidd’s superior skills. Here is a quote that I did not use in the column, but it will give you a preview.

“It’s hard to say that he’s been banging his head against the wall because Devin Harris is a good player and Jason Terry is a good point guard,” Westphal said. “But they’re different. Avery would see things that they didn’t see and it would frustrate him.

“There were other ways that they could make the play but they weren’t seeing the game the way that he sees it. He knows that Jason sees the same game that he sees. It’s almost a relief for him to not have the tension of saying ‘How could you not see that?’”

 

-- Jan Hubbard

Comments

[The Western Conference]

Dear Avery and Co.,

Thank you for not "SEEING" the HUGE hole in your front court today, and addressing this issue to do everything humanly possible to get the likes of a Kurt Thomas. You guys now officially become the Suns/Warriors of last year every time Damp gets out of the game with early foul trouble against our bigs, and Dirk becomes the 5. We all got big, and no longer consider you a threat. Score all you want with Kidd and your outside jumpers, we all know that its the Big fella's out west here that make the difference in the playoffs.

Sincerely,

The Western Conference (SA, Phx, LA, NO, Denver... err, maybe Utah too)

PS. Please pick up the likes of a Dale Davis, Kevin Willis (again) or some one else over the age of 35, who is good for nothing but delivering 6 fouls and breathing our precious air in the gym.