"Playing roulette with his role players and couldn't find five guys" - Bill Simmons defends Jason Kidd, Luka Doncic following Game 5 loss

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The Dallas Mavericks made an outstanding run to the NBA Finals but unfortunately met a formidable Boston Celtics squad that had an answer for nearly all of their strengths. After losing the first three games and giving fans some hope on the heels of a strong Game 4, the Mavs couldn't provide Luka Doncic with enough help in the fifth contest.

Longtime Celtics fan Bill Simmons discussed Game 5 on his podcast and noted how Mavs coach Jason Kidd couldn't rely on anyone other than Doncic in the deciding contest.

"I felt like Dallas was just searching," Simmons said. "Kidd was still, it's Game 5, and it's like, '[Dante] Exum? Nah. [Daniel] Gafford?' He was playing roulette with his role players and couldn't find five guys."

The Mavs' catastrophic offense in the Finals

As Simmons pointed out, Dallas mustered only 93.5 points per contest in their four losses against the Celtics. That wasn't going to cut it against an opponent with several players who can get buckets and turn it up on defense like crazy.

People have pinned the blame for the Finals loss on Doncic and Kidd, but the player-coach duo did all they could to give the Mavs what would have been just their second championship in franchise history.

The Ringer founder posted on X that the role players who had an elite run in the Western Conference playoffs turned invisible in the Finals. He also deemed it "stupid" to ascribe the beating to Luka, who averaged 29.2 points (on 47.2% shooting), 8.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.6 steals per contest in the series.

Folks should also cut Kidd some slack, as his players appeared to wilt under the bright lights of the grandest stage in the NBA. For instance, in Game 5, only reserve Josh Green (14 points on a 5-for-8 shooting clip) was able to offer Doncic reliable offensive support. Former Celtic Kyrie Irving had just 15 points and went 5-for-16 from the field.

Dallas' young core

Perhaps it was too harsh to expect Luka's teammates to perform well when most of them haven't gone this far in the playoffs in the past.

The good news for the franchise and its passionate fans is that optimism abounds in Dallas, especially since many of its core group are 25 years old and under. Only Irving, who had just completed his first full season with the Mavs, is above 30.

The front office, though, should probably look to bolster its roster with a microwave scorer who can take some offensive load from Doncic and Kyrie. The Mavs' Finals run should also give Kidd an idea of who should be a part of his rotation starting next season.