Certainly less out there now without the FWST beat writers...

Dirk has the perfect take on what went wrong in Utah.

"They were great, and we were a step slow at everything," Nowitzki said of the Jazz. "And once we got down, we started forcing stuff. We didn't try to get back in this game together. Everybody thought: 'Hey, I got to carry this team.' And we took a bunch of bad shots. That multiplied it even more. Once we get down, we got to stay together."

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Sefko has an article on the Mavs defense, saying that when the offense isn't clicking they quit playing defense too -- which leads to the huge blowouts we've seen recently.

Added Jason Kidd: "If you don't make a shot, it doesn't mean you can't still be productive on the defensive end. It's something we have to address."

Tonight will be Game No. 50 in an 82-game season, so this would be a good time to get the message. Quality NBA teams find a way to hang around when they aren't clicking offensively.

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For those who missed it, Dirk will be playing HORSE against Kevin Garnett at the All-Star festivities (nevermind, reading comprehension failure).  Should be pretty cool, but it would be even cooler if they weren't actually playing G-E-I-C-O.