This happened last week but I hadn't seen a quality YouTube clip that properly shows the action. In the last couple of minutes in the Mavs-Hawks game on Friday, Mavs point guard Jason Kidd saw Hawks coach Mike Woodson on the court and went straight towards him, drawing contact and a technical foul on Woodson.
At the time the Mavs were down by two. They would go on to tie the game and go into overtime where they picked up their sixth straight victory. This was just one fantastic moment in what turned out to be an amazing game for Kidd (19 points, 16 rebounds, 17 assists). This move has drawn a lot of criticism from pundits around the league but the fact of the matter is, Kidd made a play. He demonstrated why he is widely considered to be one of the smartest players in the history of the game in FORCING the refs to make a call. Just pointing out that Woodson was literally 5 feet out on the court wasn't going to cut it. By making contact it forced the refs to make a call and they made the right one. Coaches cannot be on the court and in all honesty, if Kidd would have cross checked him, it would have been a fair play because Woody's not supposed to be on the court, period. Instead he just sticks the elbow out, grazes him, and makes sure the refs can see it. That's all it took. The best thing about it was that everyone in the building, including Woodson himself, knew it was a genius play. Woodson was embarrassed, clearly, but while he may have been on the wrong side of the play this time, you know he'd LOVE to have a player smart enough to pull the same move for his benefit.
-BG
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