[Dallas41]

I hope this isn't true about WCS and possible dog house

DONUT 5: Willie Cauley-Stein Whereabouts

The last time Willie Cauley-Stein saw the floor for the Dallas Mavericks was on February 12, for about four minutes. The game before that, he played five minutes. The game before that one he logged 25 minutes, went 7-of-7 from the floor, had 10 rebounds, an assist, and two blocks. Since then he’s had a nearly two-week sabbatical sandwiched between two DNP-CDs (Did Not Play, Coach’s Decision).

It turns out that Cauley-Stein was away from the team because of a death in the family—so it may not be a repeat of the Nerlens Noel situation. Still, it’s weird that Cauley-Stein didn’t play against Chicago Monday night. Yeah, I know he hasn’t had practice time ... but he hadn’t practiced much before suiting up when he got to town either.

If he’s not in Rick’s doghouse (yes, we know the coach hates that word), it’s strange for Carlisle to leave an athletic big man on the bench on a night when his team is decimated by injuries and short on interior depth.