Carlisle puts Mavs' struggles into perspective: 'We could be digging ditches'
The Dallas Mavericks have been a paragon of consistency and competitiveness since the turn of the millennium - they haven't finished below .500 since the 1999-2000 season.
The Mavs have made the playoffs in all but one season since, and have won at least 50 games in 12 of them. But so far 2016-17 has looked like the start of a new, less prosperous chapter.
Their season is just 13 games old, but the Mavs - a league-worst 2-11 - have already dug themselves a sizable hole. Things could be worse, of course. As head coach Rick Carlisle points out, at least they've only done so in the figurative sense.
"Well, we could all be digging ditches," Carlisle told reporters Tuesday, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
That's one way to put your team's struggles in perspective.
There's also the hope that star forward Dirk Nowitzki, who's been out for nearly three weeks with an Achilles injury, will return soon. Nowitzki should be able to help the Mavs climb out of the NBA cellar, but expecting them to turn things around in time to make their 16th playoff appearance in 17 years is probably wishful thinking at this point.
If the Mavs are unhappy with their lot, though, well, the world needs ditch diggers too.