Players knew weeks ago that Cuban is ticked off

Players said this morning after the shootaround that they knew a long time ago that Mark Cuban is not happy with the level of effort given on a consistent basis by the Mavericks.

While several players said Cuban has voiced his displeasure before, Jason Terry summed it up best.

"He said that ... months ago,'' Terry said. "The Sacramento game (on Jan. 11). He came into town and had a big speech. He said it and he meant it.''

Right now, Terry said, the Mavericks are like a lot of ordinary people in this troubled economy.

"Everybody's on pins and needles around here,'' he said. "But this is the time of season for it. You got to be amped up and feel like everything's on the line. I think we play our best when we have that mentality.''

Added Jason Kidd about Cuban's comments: "He's right to say. We didn't play well in our last game.''

In a few hours, we'll see if the players are as mad about things as the owner is. Tipoff is shortly after 8 p.m. against the Spurs.

--Eddie Sefko