Pacers Coach Ejected from Knicks Game, But Was He Right?
It’s stressful to be the head coach of any professional team, especially during the oh-so important playoffs. Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was ejected from the Pacers vs. Knicks game Wednesday (May 8) after being less than happy with the referees. After the game, he went on a rant about the lack of respect he feels for “small market teams.” Is he right?
Pacers Coach Ejected from Knicks Game
The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks played the second game in their playoff series Wednesday at inside Madison Square Garden. Throughout the game, the Pacers were notably upset by the lack of calls going their way. Pretty much every call seemed to be against the Pacers, and they were getting frustrated, as was Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. The last straw was when the officials signaled Isaiah Hartenstein for committing a double dribble with just over a minute left in the game. At that point, the Pacers were down 124-118. However, officials overturned the call, instead claiming it was an inadvertent whistle. So, New York kept possession, and they went on to win the game. Carlisle was so upset that I don't know if I've ever been as mad at someone in my life as Rick Carlisle is at Marc Davis. pic.twitter.com/uOHRixrUvv
After the game, Carlisle didn’t hold back in the Pacers’ press conference. He said that there were 29 plays in Game One that he and his team thought were clearly called the wrong way. “I decided to not submit them because I just felt like we would get a more balanced whistle tonight. It didn’t feel that way,” the Pacers coach said. After giving some examples, he also made the Rick Carlisle on the overturned double-dribble call toward the end of Q4 tonight:
"That's small beans compared to everything else. Small market teams deserve an equal shot. They deserve a fair shot no matter where they're playing" pic.twitter.com/BxfdHspfXt
I feel you, Carlisle. Also, as a Detroit Pistons fan, I saw some bad calls this season. Sometimes it’s not about the size of the market, but if a team isn’t deemed “good,” calls might tend to go against them. It’s something Pistons coach Monty Williams talked about in a post-game press conference, in which the game-making call against the Pistons turned out to be the wrong call. I realize there will be bad calls on both sides, always. But, I would love to see all professional sports work harder to make sure things aren’t lopsided for favorite teams.
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