The Ridiculous and Unnecessary Rant of Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle

Understandably, the Indiana Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle was upset that his team lost to the New York Knicks 130-121 and are now down 0-2 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. 

With Julius Randall and Mitchell Robinson both out for the season, Jalen Brunson missing the second quarter, and OG Anunoby out for the fourth quarter, you would think the Pacers' finesse style would be able to handle a totally depleted Knicks team. Maybe that’s why Carlisle was so upset, but his rant about small-market teams not getting calls in the playoffs made me wonder if he is friends with Antonio Brown.  Actually, I bet even Brown would say that's a ridiculous argument, Carlisle.

“Small-market teams deserve an equal shot,” Carlisle said. “They deserve a fair shot no matter where they’re playing.” 

“I’m always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials … but we deserve a fair shot,” Carlisle said. “There’s not a consistent balance, and that’s disappointing. Their physicality is rewarded and ours is penalized.”

It seems Carlisle may not be aware that the NBA and its officials implemented changes after the All-Star break. These adjustments were aimed at reducing the number of calls in a game and, to some extent, encouraging a more physical style of play. Furthermore, historically, the NBA playoffs have been considerably more physical than regular-season basketball.

Carlisle, who has been around the NBA for 30+ years and has had a pretty successful coaching career, should not be pulling the small-market teams deserve better card because it's simply not true. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder, which are both smaller-market teams, are not going on rants about big markets getting calls. Plus, the last time I checked, the Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA title in 2021. 

The rant, as entertaining as it was, had nothing to do with small vs. big markets. It had everything to do with the league allowing more physical play when his team was built to play finesse basketball.

Yes, bad calls happen in every game, and yes, sometimes it feels as if the NFL scriptwriters have a hand in the outcome of some NBA playoff games, but for Carlisle to play the small-market team card is an absolutely ridiculous waste of a rant about bad calls by NBA officials.