Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle continues to voice his displeasure about the officiating during the Eastern Conference semifinals between his side and the New York Knicks — so much so that he and the Pacers are sending 78 plays that they believed were officiated incorrectly to the NBA’s offices in New York to be looked at further.
With it, he suggested that his team is in an 0-2 series hole because it was not getting favorable calls due to their standing as a small-market team. New York is the No. 1 market in the NBA while Indianapolis ranked 22nd in the NBA in 2022 (h/t Hoop-Social).
“Small-market deserve an equal shot,” Carlisle said after Game 2. “They deserve a fair shot, no matter where they’re playing.”
The problem with his accusation is that two of the last three NBA champions derived from smaller markets. The Milwaukee Bucks ranked 26th in 2022 while the Denver Nuggets ranked 15. Granted, both teams have two of the most marketable faces in the game in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic. The Pacers lack that star power even with Tyrese Haliburton becoming a premier point guard.
After putting together 29 calls he deemed questionable in Game 1 on Monday, Carlisle initially opted not to send them into the league. Game 2, however, put him over the edge.
Among his largest gripes was a shove from Josh Hart on Tyrese Haliburton late in the third quarter with the Knicks up five. Carlisle also cited an alleged double-dribble by New York center Isaiah Hartenstein with 1:19 left in the game that the officials initially called with the Knicks up six, 124-118. However, following a short conference, the crew overturned the call without a review, prompting Carlisle to explode off the bench toward the officials where he was ultimately ejected.
“I’m always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials,” Carlisle said. “We deserve a fair shot. There’s not a consistent balance and that’s disappointing. Give New York credit for the physicality that they’re playing with. But their physicality is rewarded and ours is penalized, time after time.”
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