Dallas, Texas — With 23 games left in the Dallas Mavericks' regular season, head coach Jason Kidd is eyeing the NBA standings a little bit closer.

He's also concerned with if his team is ready for win-or-go-home basketball in the NBA playoffs. But Kidd acknowledges the NBA is a marathon, not a sprint. And in the home stretch of the season, his primary concern is making sure the team continues to battle, even when things aren't going well. It's only then that he'll be certain of Dallas' playoff potential and hope in a seven-game series.

"The things that I look for are how do we respond when things get hard or things don't go our way," Kidd said after practice on Thursday. "It's easy to say we are ready when we are winning and things are going our way… But I look at it as how do we respond when things get tough."

Right now, things have gone alright for Dallas. Luka Doncic is playing at an MVP level. The defense hasn't dipped. And the organization shipped off Kristaps Porzingis to bring in two guys it feels can make a difference.

This season hasn't always felt so effortless.

The slow start to midseason peak 

In the first month and a half of the season, Dallas was a .500 level ball club. Doncic looked out of shape. The defense didn't look that great. And Jalen Brunson, for as good as he is, looked like the only player consistent enough to bring it every night.

Dallas dug itself out of the early season hole with elite-level defense at the start of January. Since that point, the Mavericks haven't looked back.

"Defense was something we talked about since day one," Kidd said. "The guys are bought in. And that's hard to do when everyone in this league is scoring at a crazy rate. The guys have done a great job, they've been tied together, and we are going to need that from here on out."

Using Kidd's high-pressure defensive strategy, Dallas has climbed to fifth in defensive rating (107.2). And since Jan. 1, 2022, the Mavericks only trail the Boston Celtics in defensive rating with a 105.0.

But when it comes to playoff basketball, defensive rating won't matter. Kidd knows that. That's why he puts so much emphasis on being able to win when things don't go as planned.

In the playoffs, you don't get a second chance.

Can Dallas win ugly? 

Dallas winning big in the playoffs comes down to learning how to win ugly. The final 23 games are going to be the test.

The Mavericks play the Utah Jazz twice in ten days. During that span, Dallas also has to play the New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. It's a brutal 10-game stretch where things won't always go as planned, but it's getting Dallas ready for the playoffs.

A time in the season where one shot can make the difference between going home and playing into late May and June.

"We have 23 games left," Kidd said. "We just have to take each game one by one. There are going to be some wins, and there are going to be some losses. It's not life or death."

Related Dallas Mavericks reading

"Mavericks: Three ways Dallas improves out of the All-Star break." 

Feature image via Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports.