Rick Carlisle said that the Mavericks "have guys whose natural tendency isn't to bring it all the time." As a consequence, Carlisle has been extra demanding as he tries to infuse his team with some much-needed energy. "He had to be tougher this year than he's ever been," said Dirk Nowitkzi, who pinned some of the problems on Jason Kidd's departure. "He's been hard on [O.J.] Mayo and [Darren] Collison, and they've responded and gotten better." In addition to his two young guards, Carlisle also hasn't seemed pleased with Chris Kaman's performance this season.