ESPN

The Mavericks aren’t in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, so we have to find something to fill the time this spring. Might as well keep up with the players from the Mavs’ title team who are scattered throughout the postseason. We’ll have daily updates as long as Mavs championship alums are still alive in the playoffs.

PODCAST
ESPN.com senior NBA writer Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to touch on the storylines in the NBA playoffs and offer a Mavs perspective. Listen

Jason Terry: JET’s best work since signing with Boston has come since the Celtics’ backs were pinned against the wall.

Terry followed up his Game 4 overtime heroics with a 17-point, four-rebound, three-assist, no-turnover, multi-wing performance in the Celtics’ win over the Knicks that forced the series back to Boston. Terry’s 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range was critical to the Celtics building a double-digit lead that was too large for the Knicks to overcome.

"I'm a 14-year veteran," Terry said on TNT moments after the win. "If you don't know who I am by now, you will after this series."

That was apparently in response to Knicks sixth man J.R. Smith, who was suspended for Game 4 because of an elbow that connected with Terry’s head and stunk it up in Game 5, claiming that he didn’t know who Terry was.

Of course, JET has always been one of the league’s best at jawing. Case in point: He repeatedly referenced the Red Sox’s comeback from a 3-0 deficit against the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series, quoting “the great Kevin Millar” about the pressure shifting with a Game 5 win.

Jason Kidd: Mouthy sixth man Smith’s miserable performance got a lot of attention, but Kidd didn’t exactly bring much off the bench, either.

In fact, this ranked among the worst playoff performances of Kidd’s Hall of Fame career.

The 40-year-old went scoreless in 21 minutes, missing all four shot attempts. His only other stats: two rebounds, one block, one turnover and one foul. No assists. His plus-minus was a team-worst minus-14.

Tyson Chandler: Having chipped off rust and worked his way back into shape after a neck injury caused him to miss 16 of 20 games entering the playoffs, Chandler came up with a typical Chandler outing.

The big man had eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, 11 rebounds and three steals in 34 minutes. The Knicks were plus-8 with the 7-footer on the floor.

"I felt great," he said. "This game is probably the best I've felt. I felt lively, my legs felt good."

DeShawn Stevenson: Stevenson played a grand total of 16 seconds in the Hawks’ tie-breaking Game 5 loss to the Pacers. He did manage to get up a shot that he missed.

Ian Mahinmi: Mahinmi played only 9:27 in the Pacers’ win. He probably would have seen more minutes if he didn’t pick up five fouls. He finished with two points, two rebounds and a block.

The Mavericks aren’t in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, so we have to find something to fill the time this spring. Might as well keep up with the players from the Mavs’ title team who are scattered throughout the postseason. We’ll have daily updates as long as Mavs championship alums are still alive in the playoffs.

DeShawn Stevenson: He dropped out of the rotation when the series went to Atlanta. After a DNP-CD in Game 3, Stevenson played 45 seconds in Game 4. He did at least manage to avoid a trillionire stat line, grabbing one rebound in the Hawks’ series-tying win.

Ian Mahinmi: Mahinmi got his most playing time of the series, logging 12 minutes in the Pacers’ loss. He had three points, four rebounds, a block, a turnover and four fouls.

The Mavericks aren’t in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, so we have to find something to fill the time this spring. Might as well keep up with the players from the Mavs’ title team who are scattered throughout the postseason. We’ll have daily updates as long as Mavs championship alums are still alive in the playoffs.

DeShawn Stevenson: Stevenson hit one of his two 3-point attempts and grabbed five rebounds during 19 minutes off the bench in the Hawks’ lopsided loss to the Pacers. The problem was the defensive stopper couldn’t stop Indiana star Paul George, who torched the Hawks for 27 points.

That’s a two-game trend. According to NBA.com, George has 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting in 53 minutes against Stevenson this series. George has scored 42 points on 14-of-37 shooting in 106 minutes when Stevenson was on the bench.

Ian Mahinmi: Mahinmi made his Pacers playoff debut, checking in with 3:10 remaining and Indiana up by 33. He had a dunk and three rebounds during his garbage-time stint.

The Mavericks aren’t in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, so we have to find something to fill the time this spring. Might as well keep up with the players from the Mavs’ title team who are scattered throughout the postseason. We’ll have daily updates as long as Mavs championship alums are still alive in the playoffs.

DeShawn Stevenson: Stevenson had six points, four rebounds and an assist in 25 minutes off the bench in the Hawks’ loss to the Pacers. He busted out the 3 monocle twice, knocking down both of his shot attempts. His most memorable plays, however, were a couple of hard fouls.

Ian Mahinmi: DNP-CD.

NEW ORLEANS – Maybe the fourth time will be the charm when it comes to breaking the Mavericks’ .500 failures.

Some call it the Curse of Omar the Barber, whom O.J. Mayo publicly welcomed to shave those scraggly .500 beards when the Mavs got their first shot at the break-even mark late last month. Believe what you want, but there’s no denying that the Mavs are 0-3 when they’ve had a chance to get to .500, and their performances in those games have been uglier than their facial hair.

The 39-40 Mavs have another shot to shave Sunday evening, when they’ll face the New Orleans Hornets in that franchise’s final home game before officially becoming the Pelicans.

“We’ve been chasing .500 for a long, long time,” said Dirk Nowitzki, the bearded face of the franchise and one of six Mavs participating in the pact. “Every time we’re right there, we take a big L. We have another chance Sunday and it’s a big, big game for us.”

The Mavs were 11-11 the last time they were .500, way back in mid-December when Nowitzki had yet to play a minute this season while recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. They dipped as low as 10 games under .500 on Jan. 9, when they were 13-23 after a miserable stretch of 13 losses in 15 games. The .500 beards pact began at some point in late January.

For most of the last two and a half months, those beards have been a warm, fuzzy story. That ended March 28, when the Indiana Pacers blew out the Mavs by 25 points at the American Airlines Center and boasted about keeping Omar’s clippers from buzzing.

The Mavs’ second shot at shaving didn’t go much better. They let the Los Angeles Lakers blow them out by 20 at the Staples Center on April 2, all but ensuring that Dallas’ dozen-year playoff streak would end, which it did when they were officially eliminated eight nights later.

The third strike might have been the biggest embarrassment for the Mavs. The Phoenix Suns snapped a 10-game losing streak with an 11-point win Wednesday at the AAC, causing Shawn Marion to question his team’s effort and Vince Carter to admit the Mavs took such a terrible opponent for granted.

Well, there’s no better place to break a curse than the Big Easy. (That’s a voodoo reference, not a dig at the 27-53 Hornets. With a different kind of curse, coach Rick Carlisle warned that only an “f------ idiot” would take a Mavs win for granted the morning before the stinker against the Suns. We’ll only make that mistake once this week.)

But the Mavs at least have recent history of breaking a possible curse here. They’d lost 11 in a row at New Orleans Arena, dating the Hornets’ quick dismissal of Dallas in the 2008 first round, before winning two of their last three in this building.

If the Mavs can win Sunday evening, they can get rid of their beards and remain focused on the post-elimination goal of finishing with a winning record.

Another loss, and Omar’s invitation will rank right behind the city of Dallas’ 2006 parade plans among the Mavs’ most regretful premature celebration plans.

Omar, get your clippers ready. You ought to be busy Wednesday night.

The third time better be the charm for the Mavericks’ bearded bunch earning the right to shave by getting back to .500. After all, all the Mavs need to do is win at home against the West’s worst team.

Dallas has had tough draws the previous two times over the past couple of weeks that it has had a chance to get its record to the break-even point again and reach for the razors. The Mavs got blown out on both occasions.

The Indiana Pacers barked a bunch about all the talk about beards and the barber providing them bulletin-board material for their 25-point rout March 28 at the American Airlines Center. However, as Dirk Nowitzki noted, the Pacers won convincingly because they’re much better than the Mavs, not due to a healthy dose of motivational fodder. There’s a reason the Pacers are the East’s third seed.

The Los Angeles Lakers have more talent than the Mavs, but there’s no doubt Dallas laid an egg last week when it had a chance to reach .500 and really make the fight for the West’s final playoff seed interesting. That 20-point loss left the Mavs clinging to mathematical playoff hope, but really playing for pride.

They’ve played with enough pride to put themselves in position to hit .500 in the 78th game of the season.

And here come the Phoenix Suns.

On the butt end of a back-to-back.

After the Mavs will have had two days off.

NBA wins don’t come much easier than this. Call that disrespectful if you want, but the Suns have lost nine in a row and 13 of 14 entering their Tuesday night game in Houston. They have the West’s worst record by four full games.

Realistically, all that stands between the Mavs and shaving is showing up Wednesday night wanting to win.

DALLAS – There’s no denying the fact that the Mavericks came up with a terribly timed dud, getting blown out by the Indiana Pacers on a night that they could have made up a game on the Los Angeles Lakers.

Elton Brand called it “disheartening.” Dirk Nowitzki used a more simple term: “It sucks.”

PODCAST
Rick Carlisle joins Galloway & Company to discuss getting Dirk Nowitzki more involved in the Mavericks' game plan and much more. Listen

It’s the kind of loss that could linger with a mentally weak team.

The Mavs have many flaws, but mental weakness isn’t among them. For better or worse, they’ve proven that they can get past an awful loss.

“I think we have plenty and plenty of tough losses this year,” Nowitzki said. “We should know how to recover from it and flush it and maybe watch some of this stuff [Friday]. … It’s the same way we flushed all the other 40 losses and come back ready to play Saturday.”

Just look at how the 35-37 Mavs responded to their last blowout loss, when they were humiliated in Houston on March 3. They beat the Rockets in a rematch a few days later, starting a four-game winning streak and a stretch of nine wins in 12 games.

In this case, the Mavs must bounce back against a different set of East bullies before heading on a road trip that begins with a potentially pivotal game against the Lakers.

For now, the Mavs’ focus is firmly on the Bulls, who they face at 1 p.m. Saturday. They’re well aware that Chicago is just as capable of kicking their butts on the boards as the Pacers were.

Indiana, the league’s top rebounding differential team, had a 55-34 edge on the glass Thursday night. The Mavs rank 28th in rebounding differential.

“It was a wipeout inside as far as the rebounding,” Carlisle said. “That’s been a challenge for us and we’ve got to get ready for it again on Saturday, because Chicago’s got the same kind of team.”

That requires a quick flushing and refreshed energy for a Mavs team fighting for a chance to sneak into the playoffs.

DALLAS – Remember how high folks around these parts were about Rodrigue Beaubois’ potential back in the summer of 2010?

That was right after his rookie season, when Rick Carlisle was heavily criticized for not giving the kid more minutes, especially after Beaubois went on a scoring flurry to give the Mavs a chance to steal Game 6 during the only significant playing time he received in Dallas’ one-and-done playoff run.

PODCAST
Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the historical perspective of Miami's 27-game win streak, the Mavericks' playoff push, the job Rick Carlisle has done this season and if it's a good idea for the Mavs to shave their .500 beards. Listen

The Mavs’ front office had plenty of company in terms of being tantalized by Beaubois’ talent. Despite Mark Cuban’s declaration that Beaubois was essentially “untouchable,” Donnie Nelson’s cell phone rang often with offers for him.

One such offer occurred on draft night, as Nelson revealed after Cuban paid $3 million for the rights to select Dominique Jones with the 25th overall pick. A team dangled a lottery pick, Nelson said with a smile, but the Mavs weren’t interested due to their major plans for Beaubois.

Why is that relevant right now?

That team was the Indiana Pacers. They settled for selecting Paul George with the 10th overall pick.

Beaubois watched from the bench with his surgically repaired left hand in a cast while George dominated the Mavs on Thursday night. George lit up the Mavs for 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals to lead the Pacers to a lopsided win that bumped the Mavs to two games under .500.

“He’s right now approaching being a top-12 or -15 player in this league, which means he’s a top-12 or -15 player in the world,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s that good.”

The oft-injured Beaubois, on the other hand, is approaching an uncertain future as a free agent this summer. He certainly never sniffed the star status envisioned for him after his flashes-of-brilliance rookie season, ending up as a fringe rotation player.

The 22-year-old George is one of the league’s most versatile wings. He’s a phenomenally athletic 6-foot-8, 210-pounder who does a little bit of everything, averaging 17.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals this season, earning his first All-Star bid.

In other words, George is exactly the type of young talent the Mavs would love to pair with Dirk Nowitzki. Of course, that’s what they thought Beaubois would be back during his untouchable days.

Having said that, Cuban claims he has no regrets whatsoever about not selling high on Beaubois.

“That’s like saying, why didn’t I sell this stock or that stock in 2006?” Cuban said recently. “Why didn’t I short all the mortgages and banks in 2007? I might be rich. No, I don’t look back on things like that. Ever.”

It was hard not to while watching George go off Thursday night.

A few more notes from the blowout that will keep the Mavs’ beards growing:

1. Lost opportunity: This loss stung even a little more when the Mavs learned that the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Milwaukee Bucks

Had the Mavs won, they would have been even with the ninth-place Utah Jazz and only a half game behind the Lakers in the fight for the West’s final playoff seed. But the Mavs got blown out instead.

“Terrible time to have a dud,” Elton Brand said. “It’s disheartening. So many ups and downs in the season. It’s one of those games that [if] we win, you see the Lakers lose and feel great about yourselves. To have a dud on your home floor is definitely disheartening.”

Added Nowitzki: “Knowing the Lakers lost now, we had an opportunity to cut into their lead. And it sucks. It sucks.”

2. Off game for James: Mike James, the 37-year-old journeyman guard, has been an unlikely catalyst for the Mavs’ recent success. They were 9-3 with James in the starting lineup entering Thursday night.

Make that 9-4 after James’ worst performance as the Mavs’ starting point guard.

James was scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting and had as many fouls (four) as assists. The Mavs were outscored by 22 points in his 21 minutes, giving him the worst plus-minus of the night.

“Whatever happens, there’s no excuses,” James said. “I’m not going to make no excuses about my play. I didn’t play a good game tonight. I know my team needs my energy, so I’ll get myself ready tomorrow to play on Saturday.”

3. Playing in pain: O.J. Mayo shrugged off a question about his sore left shoulder Thursday morning, saying it was “just a little swollen” and would be OK.

It’s clearly somewhat of a concern, considering that he wore a harness to protect the shoulder against the Pacers. He injured it when he crashed into the courtside seats while chasing a loose ball late in Tuesday’s win over the Clippers.

“He’s wearing that thing, so it’s bothering him some,” Carlisle said. “He hasn’t missed a practice or a game all season, so he’s going to keep battling.”

DALLAS – The Indiana Pacers heard all the buzz about .500 beards and Omar the barber.

They made sure Omar’s clippers didn’t do any buzzing in the Dallas Mavericks’ locker room Thursday night.

PODCAST
Rick Carlisle joins Galloway & Company to discuss getting Dirk Nowitzki more involved in the Mavericks' game plan and much more. Listen

“We wanted to shut that s--- down,” big man Roy Hibbert said after the Pacers’ 103-78 blowout win, which guaranteed that the bearded Mavs won’t be shaving on this homestand.

During the Pacers’ morning meeting, coach Frank Vogel made a point to mention that the Mavs planned to have a barber at the American Airlines Center in preparation for a potential postgame shave for the six players who made a pact a couple of months ago to let their beards grow until Dallas’ record reached the break-even point.

That little tidbit was leaked to the media by shooting guard O.J. Mayo upon playful questioning following Tuesday night’s thrilling overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers. He meant no harm, but it was convenient fodder for an opponent looking for a little extra juice on the second night of a back-to-back.

“I don’t think anything was meant by it as far as disrespect to how good the Pacers are,” Mavs center Elton Brand said. “We knew that wouldn’t be a cakewalk by any means. We knew that.”

Just in case there was any doubt, coach Rick Carlisle gave the Mavs a stern reminder after the morning shootaround. His message: You better be ready after all this talk about razors and barbers.

The Mavs hung in for a half, and then it got uglier than Dirk Nowitzki's neck hair. The Pacers outscored the Mavs by a 34-17 margin in the third quarter, when All-Star wing Paul George scored 13 of his game-high 24 points, and the Pacers rolled to the rout.

As Nowitzki so eloquently put it, the Pacers kicked the Mavs’ butts in every facet of the game.

Some facets were worse than others –- the 55-34 rebounding differential definitely stands out –- but this is as thorough a beating as the Mavs have taken in a while.

To be precise, they hadn’t lost by 25-plus points since March 3 in Houston. The Mavs had won nine of 12 games since that humiliation, putting them a win away from shaving before being pounded by the Pacers, who moved up to second place in the Eastern Conference with the win.

“I think a team like that blatantly brings out our weaknesses and shows our weaknesses,” said Nowitzki, whose 21 points on 10-of-20 shooting was one of the only things that went well for the Mavs. “That’s why they won. I don’t care if they didn’t want us to shave or not, but they’re a better team.”

That left the Mavs with a 35-37 record about two months after they started growing those beards, which they’re frankly tired of talking about now.

Carlisle started a personal ban on beard questions after addressing the issue with his team Thursday morning.

Mayo didn’t have much to say on the subject after the morning shootaround, either, and he didn’t address the media after his seven-point, 3-of-10 shooting outing in the loss.

Sixth man Vince Carter believes all the beard talk has grown out of control.

“The whole motivation of it was to really get everyone on board, and it’s been wonderful,” Carter said. “It’s kind of a little too magnified. They’re making a big deal about it now, as far as everything that’s been magnified the last couple of days.

“I’m glad everybody is on board. More than anything, the idea and concept was just to keep us all together. It’s done wonders. The longer the hair on the faces has grown, I think the more together we’ve been. After that was done, we’re here. It’s not about that anymore.”

It’s about fighting for a playoff berth, and the Mavs missed out on an opportunity to make up ground on the eighth-place Los Angeles Lakers, who are still a game and a half ahead of Dallas despite losing in Milwaukee.

The earliest the beards can get buzzed now is Tuesday night. If that happens, the Mavs will be in decent shape heading down the stretch.

It would require the Mavs to wrap up this six-game homestand with a win Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls, another bunch of East bullies, and then beat L.A. at the Staples Center.

“Hopefully they can get going and get rid of it,” Pacers power forward David West said, smiling. “None of them look good.”

The Mavs hadn’t looked this bad in a long time. And that had nothing to do with those beards.

How it happened: By the end of the third quarter, the Dallas Mavericks had long faces. It was apparent by then that their long beards weren’t getting whacked Thursday night.

The Mavs’ defensive deficiencies, which had been masked recently by Dallas’ remarkable efficiency on the other end, got exposed in the third quarter, when the Pacers turned a halftime tie into a lopsided lead by lighting it up for 34 points in that frame. Indiana shot 70 percent in the quarter, hitting 14 of 20 shots from the floor.

PODCAST
Galloway & Company discuss the latest with the Mavericks, including them closing in on .500 and getting to shave their beards. Listen

The Mavs, meanwhile, shot 30 percent (6-of-20) and barely managed to outscore Indiana’s Paul George in the third. The Mavs had 17 points in the quarter; the Pacers’ young All-Star wing had 13 of his game-high 24 points.

The Mavs trimmed the lead to 10 points early in the fourth quarter, but they never made a serious run.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points on 10-of-20 shooting, but this was otherwise a dreadful offensive night for Dallas against the NBA’s stingiest scoring defense. It was the first time the Mavs failed to score at least 80 points since a Dec. 14 loss to the Toronto Raptors.

The Mavs were physically overmatched against the bigger, stronger Pacers all night. Indiana had a 55-34 rebounding advantage and a 50-34 edge in points in the paint.

What it means: The Mavs aren’t shaving on this homestand. More importantly, they didn’t make up any ground on the Los Angeles Lakers, who lost in Milwaukee. Dallas (35-37) is a game and a half behind the eighth-place Lakers and a game behind the Utah Jazz, who were idle Thursday.

Play of the game: A miserable third quarter for the Mavs ended with ex-Dallas big man Ian Mahinmi throwing down a two-hand dunk. Pacers backup guard Orlando Johnson found a cutting Mahinmi wide open in the paint for the way-too-easy bucket.

Stat of the night: The Pacers are an NBA-best 14-7 on the second night of back-to-backs. The Mavs fell to 12-3 at home against teams that played the previous night.

DALLAS – Mike James has every reason to believe that the Dallas Mavericks are a playoff-caliber team.

PODCAST
Galloway & Company discuss the latest with the Mavericks, including them closing in on .500 and getting to shave their beards. Listen

After all, they are 22-14 since the 37-year-old journeyman guard joined the Mavs on a 10-day deal in January. They are 9-3 in games that James has started.

“Maybe I’m the rabbit’s foot,” James joked after Thursday’s shootaround.

James is completely serious when he discusses Dallas’ opportunity to earn the right to play in the postseason and the potential to do some damage if they get there.

“We know we’re a playoff team,” James said. “But because of our record and how slow we started, especially before I got here, we’ve had to dig ourselves out of a hole. Let’s just say if the season started in January and you take away the first half of the season and just talk about what we’ve done from January to now, we’re one of the better teams in the NBA.”

That’s not an exaggeration.

James’ first game with the Mavs was Jan. 9, when he played five seconds in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers that dropped the Mavs to 10 games under .500 for the first time in a dozen years. The Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers are the only teams that have a better record since then.

“Were we a playoff team early? No,” James said. “But are we a team that could really make a lot of noise in the playoffs? Yes. I believe that if we get in, we’re going to be dangerous for any team to play against because we’re going to be playing our best basketball.”

A fistful of statistical nuggets before the Mavericks play host to Indiana on Thursday night:

PODCAST
Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the historical perspective of Miami's 27-game win streak, the Mavericks' playoff push, the job Rick Carlisle has done this season and if it's a good idea for the Mavs to shave their .500 beards. Listen

The Pacers have held 20 of their past 21 opponents under 100 points, including nine straight.

The Mavs’ 37-percent shoting from the floor in a 103-83 loss at Indiana on Nov. 16 is tied for Dallas’ third-worst shooting effort all season.

Dirk Nowitzki is shooting 53.8 percent from the floor during the Mavs’ 9-3 surge. Nowitzki shot 43.7 percent from the field in his first 30 games this season after knee surgery.

The Mavs, according to the excellent @mavstats Twitter feed, are trying to become just the third team since 1989 to make the playoffs after falling 10 games below .500 at 13-23. The Suns and Clippers both did in the 1996-97 season.

One leftover from Tuesday night’s win over the Clippers: Chris Paul was hounded into seven turnovers for the second time in a span of nine days by the Mavericks. Paul endured only five games with seven or more turnovers in his eight-season career to that point ... and none since February 2011.

DALLAS – As far as off nights go, it wasn’t a good one for the Dallas Mavericks.

PODCAST
Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the historical perspective of Miami's 27-game win streak, the Mavericks' playoff push, the job Rick Carlisle has done this season and if it's a good idea for the Mavs to shave their .500 beards. Listen

The Mavs’ two prime competitors for the West’s last playoff seed both won. The Los Angeles Lakers held on for a 120-117 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Utah Jazz cruised to a 103-88 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

The Mavs woke up 1.5 games behind the eighth-seeded Lakers and a half-game behind the Jazz. Good thing scoreboard watching and standings studying aren’t pursuits that the Mavs consider worthy of their time and mental energy.

“We’ve all got to focus on what’s here in front of our nose and not look out into the wild blue yonder,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “If we do that, we’ll win our share. And if we’re supposed to get in, we’ll get in.”

The Mavs have plenty on their plate today anyway with the 45-27 Indiana Pacers in town.

The good news: Indiana is on the second half of a back-to-back, having won in Houston on Wednesday night. The Mavs have excelled at taking advantage of tired teams, going 12-2 at home against teams playing for the second consecutive night. However, the Pacers are pretty tough with no rest, as evidenced by their 13-7 record on the back end of back-to-backs.

All of the Pacers’ starters played at least 32 minutes last night, but reinforcements are reportedly on the way. According to the Indianapolis Star, Danny Granger and David West are expected to return from extended absences to face the Mavs.

Granger, who had emerged as the Pacers’ franchise player in recent years, has been out since March 6 due to soreness in his left knee and has missed all but five games this season. West, the former All-Star power forward, has missed the past six games with a lower back sprain.

UPDATE: The Pacers announced this afternoon that Granger will undergo season-ending knee surgery.

After the Dallas Mavericks' win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Feb. 6, several players agreed to forgo shaving and grow beards until they reached the .500 mark.

The Mavs were 21-28 at the time but now are just one game (35-36) from putting their razors to use.

Dallas hosts the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night, and O.J. Mayo's barber will be at the game ready to shave away those beards if the Mavs can walk away with a win.

The Mavs are coming off an overtime victory over the Clippers and have the seventh-highest winning percentage in the NBA since Feb. 6, better than 10 current playoff teams. Only the Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Clippers have fared better over that span.

What do you think? Will the Mavs get to shave after the Pacers game?

DALLAS -- Rick Carlisle doesn’t want much made of him becoming the 28th coach in NBA history to hit the 500-win milestone.

He wasn’t in the mood to celebrate after the Mavericks opened a gotta-win homestand with a 105-99 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. It’s never been Carlisle’s style to puff out his chest about his individual accomplishments, but that’s especially true when his team is seven games under .500 and trying to scrap its way back into the Western Conference playoff picture.

Carlisle didn’t even acknowledge the public-address announcer’s congratulations after the buzzer sounded Wednesday night at the American Airlines Center. And he tried his hardest to blow off congrats from players in the locker room after becoming the 11th-fastest coach in NBA history to win No. 500.

“It’s meaningful, but I’m not into those kinds of things,” said Carlisle, who is 500-353 in his career and 219-142 during his Dallas tenure. “I’m into the day-to-day stuff. One relief I have is I think after tomorrow I won’t have to hear about it again for a while, so that’s good.”

Oh, might as well cancel the champagne order.

Carlisle, who had only one losing campaign in his first 10 seasons as a head coach in Detroit, Indiana and Dallas, much preferred to discuss the difference in the Mavs’ defensive performances in the first half and down the stretch.

The Blazers lit up the Mavs for 61 points before halftime, when Carlisle stressed the importance of intensity against a depth-deprived opponent. Portland scored only 38 points in the second half, including 17 in the fourth quarter.

“We did a couple of other things defensively,” Carlisle said, “but mostly it was just disposition and attitude.”

That kind of sums up Carlisle’s success as a coach.

He’s widely considered among his peers to be one of the elite X’s and O’s minds, an offensive innovator who is also committed and creative when it comes to defense. Dirk Nowitzki refers to him as a “film freak” and “gym rat” who tends to be overprepared.

But, if we’ve learned anything during Carlisle’s four-plus seasons in Dallas, it’s that strategy doesn’t matter if the attitude and disposition aren’t right.

“Coach is all about winning,” said veteran forward Elton Brand, who has immense respect for Carlisle despite having to accept a reserve role after arriving in Dallas this summer. “I definitely think that’s what makes him a great coach. That’s all he cares about. He doesn’t care about stats, ego, what management wants. He wants to win.”

The Mavs haven’t won nearly enough this season for a variety of reasons, starting with a potluck supporting cast struggling to click and Nowitzki missing the first two months of the season after undergoing knee surgery. If anything, that has just hardened Carlisle’s resolve to figure out ways for the Mavs to be competitive.

The 53-year-old Carlisle isn’t the kind of guy to back down from a challenge. He didn’t do it after the “Malice at The Palace” forced the 2004-05 Pacers to play long stretches without suspended starters -- and Indiana ended up winning a playoff series that season. He’s not about to do it now.

Shawn Marion, one of only two players remaining on the roster who contributed to the Mavs’ 2011 title run, says Carlisle has shown an aggressive, in-your-face approach this season that he hadn’t seen from the coach before. Young guards Darren Collison and O.J. Mayo has been frequent tough-love targets.

“Rick’s made the best out of it,” Nowitzki said. “He’s been hard when he needed to. … I just think he tried to push us all the time. He got in people’s faces, which I hadn’t seen the first couple of years. He needed to be tougher on those younger guys and he definitely did.”

Added Brand: “It’s frustrating for him. He’s a winner. He’s pulling out the stops. He’s challenging guys. He’s taking it to us and he’s trying to find ways for us to win. When your leader’s doing that, it makes you want to step up.”

Carlisle keeps pushing with the hope that the Mavs, who are five games behind the eighth-place Houston Rockets, can make a playoff push.

It’d please Carlisle if we’d all just shut up about his 500th win and let him focus on getting ready for Saturday night when the Golden State Warriors come to town.