Dallas Mavericks Must "Circle the Wagon" During Tough Stretch

[BGMaverick9]

The Mavericks are in the midst of their worst stretch of losing since early 2000 as they have lost their last six straight games. Things will not get any easier for the Mavericks as they will go up against the Los Angeles Lakers, the two-time defending NBA Champions, on Wednesday night. "We had a good practice (Tuesday), and it’s good that guys are talking about the things that are going wrong. That helps you address it both as players and coaches," Coach Rick Carlisle said. "Today, we’ve got to face the music, because it’s been a disappointing stretch, a lot of losses in a row and effort that’s really been beneath what we’ve stood for all year. So, now we’ve got to circle the wagon."

At times, the Lakers looked lost and lethargic but things have turned around over the last two weeks. The ball is spreading around now; Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are dominating as a duo. You have better consistency with Lamar Odom and Derek Fish. Additionally, Andrew Bynum is rounding into shape after missing the first part of the season due to injury. The Lakers will not have any pity for the Mavericks; they will still have that killer instinct and view the Mavericks as the team that started the year on a tear. Dallas is hopeful that they can regain their form just as the Lakers did.

It was a rather eventful day on the Mavericks practice court as the team was prepping for their game against the Lakers as Owner Mark Cuban made a cameo appearance and Caron Butler appeared to give encouragement to his struggling teammates. Things are incredibly rough for the Mavericks right now and it's time to take a look at the issues.

you can read the rest at http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2011/1/...-tough-stretch