Caplan has a good article about Dirk and how much he hated five game losing streak.  It also sounds like he and Carlisle have a pretty open line of communication.

During the rocky start, Nowitzki met several times with Carlisle behind closed doors to discuss the team's direction, why players were uncomfortable with the offense and how to go about finding a more complementary mix.

"The last two weeks I like what we're running," Nowitzki said. "We're mixing it up with moving plays, pick-and-roll plays, simple stuff, and I just think we found a good mix with coach together."

------------------

Shawne Williams is getting it.

"I went back to the old school and went inside to get rebounds and hustle plays," Williams said. "We have enough scorers out there, so I need to find out what we lack and go in there and do those things."

Yep, keep crashing the offensive glass like you did Thursday and the minutes will continue to come.

---------------

Carlisle has said many time that the reason for the ever-changing lineup has a lost do with just see what works and matchups, but it sound like it also has to do with wanting to be able to have faith in the guys at the end of the bench.

"That year taught me a lot about belief in players and trusting your depth players that they can step up if they have to," Carlisle said. "It's one of the reasons that I feel like developing players is probably the most important part of this job because you're going to have some unpredictability in terms of who comes and goes. You got to have young guys ready to step forward. The experience in Indiana was great, but I wouldn't want to go through it again."

----------------

Shan Foster's stats through 7 games in the Italian league.

--------------

This Day in Mavs History

1995 The NBA disqualified Roy Tarpley for violating his terms of his aftercare agreement.