Source:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/
022409dnspomoorecol.38a85c9.html
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Dallas Mavericks must beat top flight at their site
04:35 AM CST on Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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SAN ANTONIO – The Mavericks crave upward mobility.
They refuse to rattle around in the back of the playoff pack, holding their
breath from one day to the next as they cling to one of the final spots in
the Western Conference.
Now, we'll see if they can do something about it.
Wins over Sacramento and New Jersey at home are nice. Heck, they're essential
if this team has any hopes of cracking 50 wins.
But these Mavericks won't get any traction or move up in the standings until
they start to win on the road against their prime competition.
Tonight's game against San Antonio falls into that category.
"To move up, you're going to have to win some tough road games," Mavericks
coach Rick Carlisle said. "It's as simple as that. The other competition in
the West has teams that are capable of doing it."
One reason the Mavericks languish around the No. 6 seed as they enter this
week is because of their troubles on the road in the Western Conference.
Nine teams are jockeying for eight playoff spots. The Mavericks are 3-7 on
the road against those other eight teams. The Mavericks haven't picked up a
win against one of those teams since they beat Portland on Christmas night.
The trend extends even further. The Mavericks are 4-13 on the road against
the best in the West since Jason Kidd's arrival last February.
"Look, we won at Miami, we won at Orlando," Carlisle said of the excursion
that jump-started the Mavericks current push a few weeks ago. "We know we're
capable of beating good teams on the road.
"The formula has got to be there. You've got to play consistently on defense
and rebound. Offensively, you've got to be efficient and you've got to score
enough points."
That's the problem. The Mavericks haven't been consistent on defense on the
road. Their offense has been sporadic. Their bench has been erratic.
But there are signs of improvement, such as Friday's 93-86 loss in Houston.
"Well, look at that game," Kidd said. "We put ourselves in position coming
down the stretch, but didn't execute and turned the ball over.
"It's there. We're right there. It's a matter of staying with it."
The Mavericks will have plenty of opportunities to break through.
The team returns to the American Airlines Center for three games after it
faces the Spurs. Then, six of its next eight games are on the road. The
Mavericks play in New Orleans, Phoenix, Portland and Los Angeles (the Lakers)
in that stretch.
"I don't spend a lot of time analyzing and overanalyzing our situation with
respect to who we have beaten lately on the road," Carlisle said. "What
matters is right now, the next game. We've got to get ready to perform.
"We're dealing with the here and now and what is going on tomorrow. That's
enough for us. We don't need to regurgitate the past."
If the Mavericks regurgitate past results on the road, they won't like what
they see.
And they won't move up in the standings.
"We've got to find a way to win on the road against the good teams," Kidd
said. "If we can do that, that will catapult us to that next stage."
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