Carlisle needs to make Mavs tougher

With Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitski, there’s no way that Dallas shouldn’t be major players next year and one thing Rick Carlisle had done in previous stops is get his team to play tough on the defensive end. The first Pistons teams he took to the playoffs basically did it with smoke and mirrors on offense and a defense that stayed intense longer than its opponent. The main knock on Dallas is and will continue to be its defensive toughness. The Mavericks just don’t intimidate people. The Pistons had that toughness and so did the Pacers until Ron Artest was traded for Peja Stojakovic, one of the softest players in the NBA and Jermaine O’Neal couldn’t stay healthy. The only issue is whether the team is going to respond to Carlisle better than it did Avery Johnson. Carlisle has been perceived by the media as abrasive.