Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle unleashed criticism towards the referees after a Game 2 loss against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Carlisle, who was tossed from the game for arguing with the officials, expressed dissatisfaction with how the game was called, revealing that the Pacers identified almost 30 wrong calls in Game 1, but chose not to submit them to the NBA.
“After Game 1… we always go through the film and games where it felt like the whistles weren’t balanced and we pull the clips and there’s a way you can submit them to the NBA office,” Carlisle said postgame. “In the playoffs, when you submit things, the other team sees what you submit.
“There were 29 plays in Game 1 that we thought were clearly called the wrong way. I decided not to submit them because I just felt like we’d get a more balanced whistle tonight.”
Carlisle hoped that Game 2 will be more balanced in terms of officiating, but was disappointing that it wasn’t.
“It didn’t feel that way,” he continued. “Couple examples: 5:08 to the third the whole world knows that Haliburton’s got a bad back and Hart comes up and shoves him in the back and it’s all over Twitter right now because a few people have showed it to me.
“[Referee] J.B. DeRosa is looking right at. You can see him he’s got vision of the play and he shoves Tyrese in the corner and there’s no whistle. Right in the back. That was shocking.
“There are many others, but I can promise you that we’re going to submit these tonight. New York can get ready. They’ll see them too. I’m always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials, but we deserve a fair shot. And it’s just 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 just penalized. Time after time. I’m just really disappointed. The two technicals, you got to make a stand for your guys, you got to stand up for what’s right and what’s not right. And that was it.”
“Small market teams deserve and equal shot. They deserve a fair shot no matter where they’re playing,” the coach added.
