Mavericks have no lineup changes planned before Game 4, Jason Kidd says

DALLAS — Facing elimination, the Dallas Mavericks didn’t sound like they were preparing to do anything rash to stave it off.

On the precipice of a championship, the Boston Celtics didn’t sound like they intend to use any of the considerable cushion they’ve built in the finals.

Ahead of a potential clinching Game 4 for the Celtics on Friday, their coach said the 3-0 lead they’ve built over the Mavericks will have nothing to do with the status of Kristaps Porziņģis, who’s dealing with a rare, serious ankle injury. If Porziņģis can play, he will, coach Joe Mazzulla said.

Conversely, the Mavericks are on the verge of being swept. Often when teams are in a hole such as this, they consider and implement a lineup change. But their coach, Jason Kidd, said no such changes were imminent.

“I think we played 11 (in Game 3),” Kidd said on Thursday after the Mavs’ film session. “Everybody is on deck. Everybody has to be ready to play. No lineup changes here today. But we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

Virtually every Mavs player has had his struggles. Luka Dončić may be averaging 29.7 points, but the Celtics are attacking him on defense virtually every possession. Kyrie Irving scored 35 points in Game 3, but is only shooting 40 percent overall and 28 percent from 3-point range. Obviously, those two wouldn’t be a part of any Kidd lineup change, but their struggles as Dallas’ two best players further illustrate how tough of a series it’s been for the team.

Kidd could start rookie Dereck Lively II over Daniel Gafford at center, if he chose, but statistically there has not been much difference between the two. Derrick Jones Jr. is shooting 17 percent from 3-point range; Kidd could give Josh Green more of a look. Green played 22 minutes to Jones’ 16 in the 106-99 loss to the Celtics in Game 3, making the only 3 he took. Lively, meanwhile, scored 11 points off the bench and played nearly twice the minutes Gafford received in that game.

One lineup change Kidd made in Game 3 was to play Dante Exum less. As Kidd shuffled through his rotation — playing 11 players, as he mentioned — Exum logged just three minutes after playing 11 minutes in Game 2. That could change again Friday, Kidd said.

“We could have probably got him in there a little bit more, but we went with the other guys,” Kidd said. “We were looking for something to be able to knock down an open shot. We had good looks that just didn’t go down for us. I thought Exum’s pace, his ability to get the ball into the paint for those three minutes was good. So hopefully we can get him in the game in Game 4.”

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Mazzulla said Porziņģis, who suffered a tear of the connective tissue around the left ankle that caused tendon displacement in Game 2, was better Thursday than he was Wednesday. It’s an injury that usually requires surgery to fix, Mazzulla has said the decision to play will not be made by Porziņģis, but by the Celtics’ medical team — because of the delicate and potentially serious nature of the injury.

Given that context, it’s a reasonable guess that Boston would be even more cautious with Porziņģis when considering no team in NBA history has ever blown a 3-0 lead in a playoff series. Boston has won 10 consecutive playoff games, and is on the verge of posting the best playoff record of any of the franchise’s previous championship teams (there are 17 currently; a win Friday would give the Cs 18 titles — an NBA record).

At minimum, the Celtics have considerable room to work before they face a serious threat from Dallas in the finals. But Mazzulla said this is not the Celtics’ approach when managing Porziņģis’ injury.

“I think that’s a rather passive way to look at things,” Mazzulla said. “I think at the end of the day, we have to continue to do what we do. Kristaps has gotten better from yesterday to today. He’s fighting like hell to play. But it’s going to be up to us to protect him and to make sure that it’s in the best interest for him as a player and as a person.

“Going into what’s best for a player and a person has nothing to do with where we’re at from a basketball standpoint,” Mazzulla said.

Boston is now 10-1 in playoff games this spring without Porziņģis, who missed the first 10 with a right calf injury.