Rick Carlisle is preaching persistence

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DALLAS -- Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle dropped the dreaded "S" word -- soft -- on his club two weeks ago.

After a 3-3 record in response and with a dozen games left to get it together, Carlisle cut to the chase Tuesday with multiple references to the "P" word -- persistence.

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AP Photo/Patrick Semansky"Even if you aren't the most physical, bruising team, there's nothing that says you can't be the most persistent team," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.

Following Thursday's home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Mavs embark on a crucial six-game road trip, including a March 31 stop at the Los Angeles Lakers that ultimately could decide the No. 2 seed in the West. The longest trip of the season holds the potential for the Mavs to redefine an identity that's gone adrift.

"Our identity has got to be persistence," Carlisle said. "Our success is going to be defined by our experience, skill and persistence, and not necessarily in that order. It's probably going to be more defined by our persistence than the other two things.

"There's a lot of good teams in the West, a lot of skilled teams in the West, a lot of experienced teams. We've got to be more persistent than the rest of them."

In starker terms: Play harder and smarter than your opponent for 48 minutes or forget about it. That's how slim the margin of error is for the Mavs.

Like last season, the Mavs' point differential is among the tightest of the contenders in both conferences. In the West, Dallas' plus-4.1 differential -- lifted out of the 3s by Sunday's 28-point win over the Golden State Warriors, the first 20-point margin of victory this season -- ranks fourth. The Denver Nuggets (plus-4.4), minus Carmelo Anthony, rank third behind the Lakers (plus-6.5) and San Antonio Spurs (plus-6.4).

Among the 16 teams in both conferences currently in position to make the playoffs, the Mavs' differential ranks eighth.

The Mavs have hung their hat for two seasons on an excellent record in close games, but crunch time has failed them recently. Continual defensive slippage, perplexingly high turnovers and at times poor offensive execution are the culprits. In March, the Mavs are 1-3 in games decided by three points or fewer. They've allowed an average of 100.3 points in the defeats, all coming against potential first-round playoff foes.

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Matt Strasen/US PresswireSince Dirk Nowitzki came back from a knee injury Jan. 15, the Mavs are just 1-7 against teams currently positioned in West playoff spots.

Memphis rallied from 17 points down and won on a buzzer-beater. New Orleans erased a seven-point deficit in the final 73 seconds, and Carlisle called his team soft.

"We've just got to work on being as persistent as possible," Carlisle said. "Even if you aren't the most physical, bruising team, there's nothing that says you can't be the most persistent team. And, that's what we've got to do."

The Mavs' stellar record against playoff teams earlier this season bolstered their case as contenders. But since Dirk Nowitzki returned from a sprained right knee Jan. 15, Dallas is 1-7 against teams currently positioned in the West playoff spots, with the victory coming against the Lakers to end a six-game skid.

In March, the Mavs' record is a disconcerting 0-5 against the West's other teams in playoff spots by an average margin of defeat of just 3.2 points.

"We know we have to tighten up on our defense," point guard Jason Kidd said. "We know we can score. We've just got to be able to get stops when we need them. A lot of [playoff] games won't be in the 100s, so we've got to figure that out."

Carlisle emphasized three areas of work during this light week: "defensive stuff, screening offensively" and most notably "finishing off plays" at both ends.

"Finishing off plays is going to be one of the things that's going to define how good a team we are and how persistent a team we are," Carlisle said. "We're the kind of team that we're skilled, we're experienced, but skill and experience aren't going to get us where we want to go. We've got to be the most persistent team going. And that's a mindset, and we're really focusing in on that."

Poor stretches can always be traced back to injuries, and the Mavs are no different. At the same time, Carlisle has eased Roddy Beaubois and Peja Stojakovic -- until a stiff neck sidelined him for six games -- into starting roles, and he continues to look for a niche for 6-foot-9 Corey Brewer.

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The carousel of minor injuries and the influx of additional players into key roles have created greater roster instability in March than at any other point this season other than the period in January when Nowitzki and Caron Butler were both out.

The Mavs expect a full squad to be ready for Thursday's game, the last at home until April 6. In between, the 10-night road trip with three sets of back-to-backs gives Carlisle a chance to re-establish a sense of order.

That's why this road trip is so critical. It ultimately could determine whether the Mavs can regain their identity and disposition needed to make the deep playoff run that this veteran, ring-less group has talked about so much.

"Based on the Golden State game [Sunday] and our practice [Tuesday], we're trending in the right direction," Carlisle said. "But, this is the kind of thing that you don't talk about; you got to do it. I can talk about the importance of it, we work on it in practice, but we've got to put it into action in games.

"And that's what we intend to do."

Jeff Caplan covers the Mavericks for ESPNDallas.com.

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