Article: Diop gets Avery's vexed message: Johnson's benching of backup center sent clear signal.

Byline: Eddie Sefko

Feb. 7--The subtle hints weren't working on DeSagana Diop. Avery Johnson had waited long enough. A little drop in playing time wasn't getting the backup center's attention. So in Toronto on Jan. 13, Johnson excluded Diop from several drills in practice. Then, he held him out of the game against the Raptors the next afternoon, only the second "did not play-coach's decision" that Diop has had in two seasons with the Mavericks. Sometimes, it takes a full-blown call-out for a coach to get his point across. "It was a strong message," Johnson said. "Subtle is if you're playing 30 minutes and maybe you play 12. It's not subtle when you get ...

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