<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>OAKLAND, Calif. – Jason Kidd had seven assists in the first quarter Sunday against Golden State. That came after he had 15 assists at Denver on Thursday. It would seem to indicate that the Mavericks point guard, who wound up with 14 assists Sunday, is hitting a nice stride going into the final nine games. But whether or not Kidd has become more comfortable with his surroundings, his surrounding personnel and Avery Johnson's system, the coach said before Sunday's game that any budding confidence that the point guard might have is not the result of any loosening of the reins by Johnson. "That's an overrated thing," Johnson said in his pregame media gathering. "You guys always talk about me not turning Jason loose. He's a 35-year-old point guard. We haven't held him back in any way. Look at Jason Kidd. He has no restrictions. We've always turned him loose from the first day he got here. He just didn't know the offense. And he didn't know how to work with Josh Howard or Dirk [Nowitzki]. But he's been turned loose from Day One." Johnson said he's not calling many plays "and it's been that way for a while now." It seems to be sitting well with Kidd. The Mavericks had an efficient first half against the Warriors, and while they had 10 turnovers, none of them were by Kidd. "We're just letting him run," Johnson said.</div> Source For some reason I don't believe that.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>But minutes later, someone noted that since Kidd has been turned loose, was the game in Denver where Kidd played so well (19 points, 15 assists) perhaps the start of him getting more comfortable? "See, that's an overrated thing," Johnson said. "You guys always talk about me not turning Jason loose. He's a 35-year-old point guard. We haven't held him back in any way. "So when you start writing stuff like that, it gets all over the country. Look at Jason Kidd. He has no restrictions. We've always turned him loose from the first day he got here. He just didn't know the offense. And he didn't know how to work with Josh Howard or Dirk. But he's been turned loose from Day One."</div> Source
