DALLAS -- The drastically improved defense that helped the Dallas Mavericks make a run to last season's Western Conference finals seems like a distant memory, prompting coach Jason Kidd to call out his team's poor effort on that end of the floor.
Kidd made his pointed comments, sprinkling in a healthy dose of sarcasm, after the Atlanta Hawks' 130-122 win over the Mavericks at the American Airlines Center on Wednesday night. The Mavs have lost three straight, allowing at least 130 points in each game of that skid.
Dallas, which ranked seventh in the NBA in defensive efficiency last season, has fallen to 25th in that category, allowing 115.