Rick Carlisle on Mavs' Win over Heat: 'We Haven't Done S--t. We Really Haven't'

Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle threw a wet blanket on his team's 93-83 win over the Miami Heat on Friday at American Airlines Center.

"We haven't done s--t," Carlisle told reporters. "We really haven't. We've showed up in two out of five games."

The Mavs have been hot and cold through their first five games. 

Dallas has now beaten the reigning Eastern Conference champions and have a 51-point victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. However, it also lost to the Los Angeles Lakers by 23 points on Christmas Day and suffered a 19-point defeat at the hands of the Charlotte Hornets. It also lost its season opener against the Phoenix Suns.

In general, this is shaping up to be an odd season. The majority of teams had an abbreviated offseason, and the schedule is both condensed and shortened. In a 72-game campaign, a short stretch of results—positive or negative—will have larger impact on the final standings.

Maintaining the kind of focus and perspective to which Carlisle alluded will be important for franchises with playoff ambitions to enjoy some sort of consistency.