Dallas Mavs center Kristaps Porzingis has enjoyed a strong start to the 2021-22 campaign. Porzingis seems to enjoy playing for new head coach Jason Kidd, as he spoke to NBA reporter Mark Medina about a variety of topics, mentioning his love for playing under Kidd, though he also subtly threw shade at former head coach Rick Carlisle.

Hmm, So Porzingis said that his role was different playing for the Mavs than it was for the New York Knicks. What was one of the few things different about it? Porzingis was playing under old head coach Rick Carlisle. That's a sneaky dig at Carlisle.

There have been some noticeable changes on the stat sheet for Porzingis under Kidd. For example, Porzingis is shooting fewer threes for the Mavs under Kidd than he did under Carlisle, who tried to maximize the center's ability to stretch the floor.

To be fair, Carlisle had the right idea on how to use Porzingis, it's just not how he wanted to be utilized. And comments from Mavs owner Mark Cuban, who spoke about letting players be themselves, subtly show how Porzingis felt uncomfortable playing for Carlisle.

As long as the Mavs remain in the playoff race and Kristaps Porzingis keeps playing well- and staying healthy- then he'll continue to love playing for Jason Kidd. However, if things go south, he could be wishing for the old days with Rick Carlisle.