DALLAS -- Rick Carlisle didn't like the phrasing of a question about how things have changed in his second season at the helm of the Dallas Mavericks.

"I don't like the word 'comfortable,'" Carlisle said. "You don't want to be comfortable. If you're comfortable, then complacency and things like that can creep in.

"I think you've got to maintain a healthy uncomfortableness every day. You’ve got to have the right kind of mindset to come in every day and try to get better. It’s tough when you're in a stretch when you're winning some days, but with a veteran team, we've got to challenge ourselves to do that."

Maintaining that "healthy uncomfortableness" can be tough on a coach's toes.

Jason Terry said the biggest difference in Carlisle this season is that he kicks more tables. Greaseboards and laundry bins have also felt the wrath of Carlisle's foot when he felt he needed to be a bit more demonstrative to get his point across.

"This year, he's getting a lot more comfortable and he's kicking things," Terry said, perhaps using a poor choice of words. "He's got a little bit of Avery in him."

Considering that ex-coach Avery Johnson's rants fell on deaf ears in his final season in Dallas, is that a good thing?

"That's a great thing," Terry said.