DALLAS -- Coach Rick Carlisle wasn't in the mood Monday night to discuss where his Dallas Mavericks fit in the mix of Western Conference contenders.

"I'm happy we won playing like crap," Carlisle said without cracking a smile after the Mavs' 91-82 home win over the Indiana Pacers. "Really, we played poorly. This was not winning playoff basketball. The last three games, we have had ourselves playing at that level."

And those comments came after a victory that was comfortable enough to let 36-year-old point guard Jason Kidd rest the entire fourth quarter, saving his legs for Wednesday's showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Center.

Hey, the standards were raised in Dallas after the seven-player blockbuster deal with the Washington Wizards. The Mavs wouldn't have done the deal, which came with an eight-figure price tag for Mark Cuban, unless they thought it gave them a legitimate shot to challenge the Lakers.

The early results are certainly encouraging. After coming out of a break with a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas has reeled off four victories in a row, its longest winning streak since mid-December. That run includes double-digit wins over the Phoenix Suns and Orlando Magic.

"You can tell there's new energy in this locker room," Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said.

Brendan Haywood -- the key to the trade, from the Mavs' perspective, despite Caron Butler's being the bigger name -- has fit phenomenally well in Dallas. And the timing of the trade couldn't have been better, considering that Erick Dampier suffered an open dislocation of his right middle finger against the Thunder, sidelining him for up to a month.

The 7-foot Haywood, who had 20 rebounds against the Pacers, has more than filled Dampier's shoes, averaging 12.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in his four starts. He's anchored a defense that has reverted to its early-season form, when an active, healthy Dampier helped the Mavs build a lead in the Southwest Division race.

The Mavs like the swagger and toughness Butler gives them. At some point, they believe he'll also provide points in bunches. With the exception of a 20-point performance in Saturday's win over the Heat, that has yet to happen.

Butler, who shifted to shooting guard in the Mavs' starting lineup, has struggled to find a rhythm with his new team. That's understandable, considering the ex-Wizard's first full practice with the Mavericks will come Tuesday.

"I haven't even reached the surface of what I'm capable of doing," said Butler, who has averaged 14.4 points on 37 percent shooting since the trade. "I'm happy that we're winning and we're not even all the way clicking yet. That's a good thing."

Butler, Haywood and reserve swingman DeShawn Stevenson were ecstatic to escape what had become a bad situation in Washington. The newcomers arrived from Washington willing to be complementary players to a core that features future Hall of Famers Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki.

The Mavs were thrilled to get good value for Josh Howard, who had fallen out of favor in the last two seasons and no longer was a good fit for the franchise.

"At least everybody is fired up and on the same page," Nowitzki said. "We'll just see how it goes." We'll see whether the remodeled Mavs are good enough to really challenge the West's best, getting a glimpse Wednesday night.

Tim MacMahon covers the Mavericks for ESPNDallas.com and is a regular Daily Dime contributor.

Dimes past: Feb. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6-7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 21