Preseason GDT: Mavs at Pistons

[Kante]

Yeah another game...

The Mavericks head into Grand Rapids, Mich. to face the Detroit Pistons Wednesday night. In the team's fifth preseason contest, coach Rick Carlisle is looking for improved play on both ends of the court, writes Earl K. Sneed.

The Mavericks are not alarmed by their 1-3 record in the preseason.

Instead, the team is looking at the mark as an opportunity to improve as the eight-game exhibition schedule continues on, with another opportunity to get better coming Wednesday night against the Detroit Pistons in Grand Rapids, Mich.

"Obviously, there's a lot of different thoughts on preseason. But my personal opinion is that it's good to get in the habit of winning," forward Steve Novak said. "Everyone out there is an NBA player and you should be able to give yourself a chance no matter who's out there. The more you win, the more it becomes a habit. And I don't think 1-3 is what we wanted at this point. But I also think that we won't overreact and think this is how the season is going to be."

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle agrees with Novak's assessment. So while Carlisle was implementing new parts of his playbook during the team's Tuesday practice in Dallas, the head coach also stressed to his team that the main focus is improve game by game. For the players, that includes bettering their performance after Monday night's 85-79 home loss to Cleveland.

"We're just continuing to work on things that are critical," Carlisle said, "running the floor, screening, timing, getting more new stuff in, making sure that the stuff we have in we're doing hard and doing right."

Carlisle also took extra time in practice preparing for the Pistons' high-octane offense by focusing on improving the Mavericks' transition defense. With a bevy of Pistons that can score in fast-break opportunities, Carlisle wants to ensue that the five defending guys on the court for the Dallas squad are always looking to get back to the other side of the floor.

"The biggest other issue that we have right now is our transition defense. That's something that we did a good job on (in practice Tuesday), and we've got to stay on it," Carlisle said. "I'm looking at trends. I'm looking at things that continue to creep in that we have to address."

The coach adds that he will also continue to utilize different lineups as he examines which combinations of players work best with each other. Carlisle hasn't settled on a starting lineup for Wednesday night, nor is he certain which five players will take the court when the team opens the season Oct. 27 at home against the Charlotte Bobcats.

"There's nothing set in stone at this point," Carlisle explained. "Half way through exhibition and a 1-3 record, I think you've got to say there's still a lot of possibilities and it's still really competitive."

Perhaps Carlisle will get a better idea of how his rotation will look after meeting up with a Detroit team looking to return to the playoffs after a 32-50 season in 2009-10. The Pistons were one of the major pursuers in free agency during the summer of '09, adding guard Ben Gordon and forward Charlie Villanueva. But injuries derailed last season's playoff hopes. This summer, the Pistons added former scoring champ and All-Star Tracy McGrady making the Detroit ball club that much more dangerous when healthy.

That makes Detroit the perfect pre-season test, according to Carlisle.

"They're going to be a lot better, because their guys have an extra year together. They've added some more quality pieces. And health was an issue for them last year, too, and they're going to be healthy," Carlisle said.

But the Mavericks' leader on the sideline is more concerned with how his squad looks, saying that he'd like to see the team continue to progress on its way toward claiming a second exhibition win.

"Look, we're seeing some good things. We had some mild progress (against Cleveland), we had progress in practice and (Wednesday night) we'll see where we are," Carlisle said.

The Mavericks-Pistons matchup will tip off on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. CT. The game will not be televised.

http://www.nba.com/mavericks/news/in...010_10_13.html

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