Mavericks struggling through adjustment period

[HMFFL]

Dirk Nowitzki has run the play countless times. He calls it his play.

So naturally, head coach Rick Carlisle called for the side screen and roll to get his All-Star the ball in the fourth quarter of Friday's loss to Denver. There was only one problem.

Nowitzki forgot his play because it now goes by another name. He wound up in the wrong spot, and the possession broke down.

There have been other breakdowns in this 2-3 start. With an afternoon date against the winless LA Clippers on the agenda, the Mavericks are further behind in picking up this new scheme than envisioned.

"Yeah, we've had some setbacks," Nowitzki said. "But we knew it was not going to be easy to throw everything out the window and start completely new defensively, new calls offensively.

"It's going to take some time."

The Mavericks started the preseason strong. But once the initial excitement burned away, once the coaching staff got into the detail and nuance of what is required, the team's progress slowed.

Fourth-quarter failures have been a recurring theme. Jason Kidd said, "at some point, we've got to get fed up" about how they're playing late in games and do something about it.

That's easier said than done. Avery Johnson had nearly 3 ½ seasons to drill his system into the players. Carlisle has had one training camp and five games.

"Everything is different," Nowitzki said. "We don't call anything like we did last year offensively or defensively. In practice sometimes, it's not a problem. In a game situation, where calls come in a split second, and you have to react the right away...

"Old habits are in there, too. Pick-and-roll coverages are messed up here and there. We've got to keep working. That's the only way we're going to get it done."

Substitution patterns are different, too.

"The thing you learn about Carlisle is he's going to roll with whoever is playing well," Nowitzki said. "You saw that in the Minnesota game. Our bench was playing well, and we were up 11 points in the fourth quarter. I didn't come in until like 4 ½ minutes were left.

"He doesn't have a certain rotation or subs after the clock like some other coaches do. He's going to roll with the flow."

This flow had Gerald Green and Brandon Bass play the entire fourth quarter against Denver. Josh Howard played 2:39 in the final period because of an injured left wrist that was so bad he didn't want Nowitzki to pass him the ball on one possession.

Jerry Stackhouse, a late-game fixture for the Mavericks in recent seasons, didn't get off the bench in the fourth quarter and played just 4:29 in the second half.

Carlisle acknowledged he will keep a group together if it's performing well as he did against the Timberwolves. But he will also substitute according to time.

"I guess we've all got to get used to each other, the substitution patterns, and coach has to get used to us," Nowitzki said. "What guys are good when they are fresh off the bench, what guys need a couple of more minutes to get loose. It will still be a learning process for a couple of weeks.

"I think we need a couple of more games to get adjusted to everything."

Chances are it will take more than a couple of games.

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[rsavaj]

The sky's not falling yet, you guys just need some time to become accommodated to each other.

[JD45]

Maybe they should have focused on fewer plays at first. Then added more once they have those mastered.

[DDansby123]

Make no mistake, this team will get better as the season progresses. Unfortunately, I can't imagine that it'll be enough to compete in the playoffs. Even if we actually WIN a playoff series, where does that leave us?