There was much uncertainty surrounding Kyrie Irving's health when he went down with a concerning knee injury back on December 8. But thankfully, Irving's injury wasn't too serious, and the Dallas Mavericks finally had him back in the lineup during their New Year's Day clash against the Utah Jazz. However, Irving's return ended in nothing but frustration, as the Mavs suffered one of their worst losses of the season, a 127-90 defeat.

To begin the game, the Mavs already did not look right, especially on the defensive end of the floor. The Jazz were able to exploit the Mavs‘ poor defense in the first quarter, carving them up to the tune of 37 points on 62.5 percent shooting from the field and 41.7 percent from deep. This first quarter explosion effectively set the tone for the Mavs in what ended up being a night to forget.

Nevertheless, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd doesn't want his team to merely brush this loss off, as they, himself included, have plenty of lessons to pick up from this embarrassing defeat to mark the beginning of 2024.

“The communication with our group was not existent tonight, and as a coach, I take the blame in that. We have to be better,” Kidd said, per Grant Afseth of Sports Illustrated.

Communication on the hardwood is paramount to winning, and the Mavs didn't communicate nearly enough or properly enough to contain the Jazz's intricate offensive scheme predicated on player and ball movement. Perhaps the raucous crowd at Delta Center prevented the Mavs from being in sync as well as they have in recent weeks.

Nonetheless, with Jason Kidd at the helm, this should be an issue that finds a remedy in the coming days. Kidd, after all, is the same head coach who made the crucial adjustment of loading up the strong side against the Phoenix Suns in the 2022 NBA playoffs. Surely he has a few more defensive fixes in his bag.

But the Mavs may have to improve more than their communication and strategies to strengthen their defense in preparation for a playoff push. They currently rank 23rd in defensive rating, so acquiring more 3-and-D players could be helpful in aiding them in that regard.