Mavericks’ Rick Carlisle put tape over his mouth at press conference
By Mike Dyce
Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle showed up to the post-game press conference with tape over his mouth.
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The Dallas Mavericks were able to avoid elimination at the hands of the rival Houston Rockets on Saturday night. After the game, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle showed up to the press conference and put tape over his mouth when asked about officiating.
When asked about the officiating tonight, Mavs HC Rick Carlisle put a piece of tape over his mouth. pic.twitter.com/UItDkr3Lmm
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 27, 2015
For those out of the loop, this might seem like a bizarre tactic from Carlisle. But it isn’t quite as out of the blue as it might appear.
Carlisle was fined $25,000 for criticizing the referees after Friday’s 130-128 loss.
“My hope is that in Game 4 — the one play that’s kind of an image stuck in my mind, and I just looked at it six times on the film, is the first play of the fourth quarter,” Carlisle said, according to the Dallas Morning News. “We’re scrambling like hell defensively, and Devin Harris is going to get the ball, and Dwight Howard throws him into our bench.”
“That stuff’s got to stop,” Carlisle added. “The officials [have] got to get that stuff under control, because there’s too much physical stuff going on. Howard is throwing people all over the place. And that can’t happen in Game 4.”
“They’re a more physical team,” Carlisle said, “but this series has got to be played within the rules.”
Criticizing the referees is a time-honored tradition with the Mavericks, as is getting fined for those comments. Carlisle can’t afford to get fined as frequently and heavily as billionaire owner of the franchise Mark Cuban, so he had to take different measures to prevent that from happening again.
[UPDATE:] Watch the press conference below, via The Cauldron:
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