Let me get my knife and fork out so I can eat a little crow here. I have to admit and you probably heard me yacking about disliking the Devin Harris for Jason Kidd trade. I thought it stunk, was stupid, and more importantly thought the Mavericks were old and got an older, washed up, future Hall of Famer on his last legs. I didn’t think Jason Kidd had much left in his basketball tank. Boy, was I wrong!

After Kidd arrived back in Dallas, it took awhile for me to understand why. I knew the Mavs decided if they were “going for it” with Kidd, now was the time. His NBA clock was ticking and so were other Mavs on the roster. Watching Kidd play every game last year, was interesting at best. He had his moments for sure but fell short of the goal at hand. Get to the NBA Finals and win a championship! Losing in the playoffs was not a surprise, but the reality of Kidd being a year older and the Mavs roster needing some serious help settled in quickly.

Mark Cuban and company were busy as always making some changes to the Mavs roster in the off season. Dallas added Drew Gooden, Tim Thomas, Quinton Ross, & Shawn Marion to the roster which created a nice buzz around Mavs camp. Even though the Mavs lost their home opener to Washington 102-91, they jumped out of the gates with a 10-3 record. Things were sailing along nicely through the first few weeks of the new season. A couple of things stood out with the Mavs early. Erick Dampier started like a house on fire in a contract year playing very well, JJ Barea was a spark off the bench, started at guard a few games and led the Mavs in scoring. Dirk was the usual great Dirk, Jet Terry was scoring but not getting off the runway with the consistency he’s had in the past and Jason Kidd early and often this season showed spark, spunk, hustle, intelligence and an overall will to win we’d not seen in these parts in a long time.

Unfortunately, even with the Mavericks sitting in first place and playing well for first half of the season, they hit a funk. I mean a real nasty, stinky, smelly one. The Josh Howard rumors began again. Dallas lost a few games they had no business losing, Dirk Nowitzki was late to a shoot around and didn’t start a game for the first time in ten years, and their was grumbling in and out of the locker room. On court and locker room chemistry was in trouble. Those on the inside knew it and those on the outside could sense it. There was no secret, the Mavericks were at a crossroads even though they were leading their division! How’s that possible? Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson, & Rick Carlisle all knew something had to be done or this yacht of a team will quickly become a sinking battleship. How long did it take Cuban to make a deal? Blink your eyes. That quick!

You know the trade by now. Brendan Haywood, Caron Butler and Deshawn Stevenson joined the Mavericks from the Washington Wizards. It changed the names, the faces and more importantly, the attitude of the Dallas Mavericks. It’s been an incredible change for this team in body language, aggressiveness, attitude, effort, and confidence in play. All three newcomers brought excitement to the team on the court as well as in the locker room. This new attitude is contagious and it’s given the Maverick players who are here, a new lease on life and has rejuvenated them like never before. We see a new bounce in the step of Dirk, Terry, & Marion. Add that to the thrilled to be playing for a winner smiles of Butler, Haywood & Stevenson and you can see why this Mavericks team is rolling like never before. A sense of swagger.

However, one player seems to have taken the addition of newcomers to the roster a bit different than the rest of his teammates. Jason Kidd is playing out of his mind. He’s currently playing at a level that’s hard to match. Don’t get me wrong. Kidd has been playing great all year. He’s been terrific defensively, leading the team in 3pt FG%, being the leader on the floor, and constantly making the plays that are needed to secure a win. Yes, I’ve changed my thinking on Jason Kidd. He does has something left in his tank. He must be filling up with the premium stuff too. Even before the big trade with Washington, I found myself shaking my head in amazement of how well Kidd continues to play this season.

As impressive as he’s been, I thought I’d seen it all from Kidd this year. Mavs are in first, he’s playing very well, new players have brought new excitement and the team is winning. But last night in Atlanta…are you freaking kidding me? Did we all see what we thought we saw? Did Jason Kidd actually do what we saw last night? It was one of the most miraculous performances I’ve ever seen in my life. Kidd, with the help of his buddy Dirk, brought the Mavs back from fifteen down in the fourth by drilling three after three. It was Dirk, it was Kidd, it was Kidd again, it was Kidd again, it was Kidd again! And again!

The brilliance of it all came when Jason Kidd comes up with the play of a lifetime. A play no other basketball player I know would’ve thought about doing. After grabbing a rebound, Kidd sprinted up the court on the left side. Before he reached half court, Kidd saw something was out of the ordinary. A man in a suit was on the court while play was in action. That’s not allowed. Kidd, in only his genius basketball IQ, realized it was Hawks head coach Mike Woodson standing on the court. Most players in full sprint would try to avoid the coach and stop play.  Not Jason Kidd, he knew this was an opportunity for his team. Kidd not only kept his dribble up the left side towards Woodson, he sped up and unintentionally, intentionally ran into Woodson. WHAT A GENIUS OF A PLAY! Woodson got the technical, Mavs got the game to overtime and went on to win 111-103 for their sixth win in a row.

Kidd had a mammoth of a game. He seems to have a mammoth of a game every night. Talk about a player that’s been rejuvenated by a trade. Kidd is playing like he’s a rookie again. Night in and night out Kidd puts on a dispaly of effort, smarts, toughness, and want to that can’t be duplicated. It sure would be nice for others to duplicate what Kidd is doing on the floor, but not likely. What it will do is make all others around him play even harder. At his age, he’s playing like this? And, just in case your keeping score at home, Kidd pulled some magic out of the hat last night that’s only been done a few times in NBA history. How about 19 points, 17 assists, & 16 rebounds for a night at the office? A 15-15-15 doesn’t happen very often at all. Who’s done it before Mr. Kidd? Some cat named Magic Johnson twice, Larry Bird, Fat Lever and one other guy. You might have heard of him before or seen him play. Yea, Jason Kidd did it back in 1996! That’s fourteen years ago! Congrats Kidd…you’re the MAN of the hour and maybe the year.