Surging Dallas Mavericks have turned things up on defensive end

For a team that’s made a living off an offense bordering on glamour, the Dallas Mavericks have flipped the switch and are suddenly down in the mud getting their hands dirty while making a living with their defense.

After losing to Sacramento 133-111 on March 27, the Mavs went back in the lab and systematically manufactured a new game plan. A new plan that consists of forcing a faster tempo when necessary, but a plan that consists of playing defense as if the next meal depended on it.

The result: The Mavs are 5-0 since the 22-point debacle to the Kings. And they’ve held all five opponents to less than 90 points, one game shy of the franchise record set from Jan. 7-16, 2012 when the Mavs held six straight opponents under 90 points.

Selling the normally fast-breaking no-defense Mavs on the new game plan wasn’t difficult.

“It’s not a hard sell; our guys want to win,” coach Rick Carlisle said a day after the Mavs edged the Houston Rockets 88-86. “Coming off that game in Sacramento we were all embarrassed, so we knew we needed some drastic change.

“We’ve adjusted some things, but we adjusted our mentality and we know that defense is our key to getting into the playoffs. And to be better defensively, our tempo has got to be adjusted, so we’ve done that a little bit.”

Getting run out of the gym by the Kings was an eye-opener for the Mavs. They knew if they kept playing that way, the chances of them qualifying for the playoffs would have been slim at best.

“I think at the point when we decided to go to this [defensive attack], I don’t think anybody really cared how we played as long as we got the win,” guard Devin Harris said. “I think we were at our lowest point of the season — out of the playoffs at that point and time, so I think everybody is willing to try anything to get the job done.”

Defensively, the Mavs started hustling more, rebounding better, defending harder, and diving on the floor more. But the challenge on offense was being more patient while trying to fall in love with a grinding attack that’s as much fun as watching paint dry.

“I don’t think it’s hard; we just had to slow ourselves down,” Harris said. “There are times when we kind of want to get fast and there are times when [Carlisle] does open up the offense throughout the game.

“But it’s just not a thing where we just want to push it all the time.”

While the Mavs (40-38) are enjoying their newfound success, they will tweak it some when they host the Memphis Grizzlies (42-36) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at American Airlines Center. That’s because a grind-it-out game favors the Grizzlies.

“We’re going to play with some pace against these guys,” Carlisle said. “Otherwise, they can hold you into the 60s.

“It’s a very big physical challenge, and again we’re going to have to work for every inch on the court both offensively and defensively.”

The Mavs know that maintaining their own version of playing hard and fighting on every possession must become their mantra. Otherwise, they can kiss a playoff berth good-bye.

“We just got to keep studying the games that we’ve played and keep showing our guys the keys and keep showing them the things that are important, correct mistakes and things that we’re doing that go away from the philosophy for success,” Carlisle said. “We just got to keep pounding away, that’s what we’ve got to do.

“There are some things we got to do better on offense to help each other with our spacing and screening and some other things, and we’ve got to get that stuff cleaned up better for tomorrow because we didn’t do a very good job last night. It’s a situation where we’ve got to be narrowly focused on the keys for us to keep going the right way. Smart offense and tough defense is where it’s at.”

This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Surging Dallas Mavericks have turned things up on defensive end."