Making the climb

Dirk Nowitzki summed up the team’s slow start and recent improvement.

“The month of November was not ideal for us,” he said. “We lost a lot of games we feel we should have won. We even lost some games at home to Eastern Conference teams that we usually win, so I think that month of November left a lot of room for improvement.

“The month of December is a lot better so far. We’re a little sharper defensively, we’re moving the ball pretty good offensively and making shot. I think we’re slowly getting there where we want to be.”

The Mavs are 19-9 after winning seven of their last eight. Dallas will have its longest winning streak of the season (six) if it beats Utah tonight. Avery Johnson called the upswing part of the continual building process. Sort of like climbing that ladder or mountain.

“We’re right where I envisioned,” said the coach/prophet. “We actually got off to a little bit better start early in the season than what I anticipated. We’re right where we need to be and we still have some big areas of concern, some minor areas of concern and things we have to address on a daily basis. And we hope that day-by-day, month-by-month, week-by-week we can knock off an area and improve, and be playing our best ball at the right time.”