The NBA announced that Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has been fined $35,000 for criticizing officiating following his team's Game 2 loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. Specifically, Carlisle was fined for "public criticism and questioning the integrity of the league and its officials" after going on a rant that suggested the Knicks were getting favorable calls because they are a big market team.
This comes a day after the Pacers filed 78 complaints with the league office about what they believed to be missed or incorrect calls by the officials through the first two games of the series. After Game 2, Carlisle shared that the team didn't initially submit a videotape to the league because they thought they would get a "balanced whistle" in Game 2, but they didn't feel like they did.
"After Game 1, We always go through the film in 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. "In the playoffs when you submit things, the other team sees what you submit. And so, 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, you know, we'd get a more balanced whistle tonight. It didn't feel that way."
Carlisle called attention specifically to a play in which Tyrese Haliburton was shoved in the back by Josh Hart in transition, but the officials didn't call a foul.
"The whole world knows that [Tyrese] Haliburton's got a bad back," Carlisle said. "And Hart comes up and shoves him in the back. It's all over Twitter right now because a few people have shown it to me. JB DeRosa is looking right at it, you can see, he's got vision of the play and he shoves Tyrese into the corner, and there's no whistle. Right in the back. That was shocking, and there were many others. I can promise you that we're gonna submit these tonight. New York can get ready, they'll see them too."
Regarding what the league felt like "questioning the integrity of the league," towards the end of Carlisle's press conference, he suggested that because Indiana was a small market team, they weren't getting fair calls.
"Small-market teams deserve an equal shot," Carlisle said. "They deserve a fair shot no matter where they're playing."
Despite Carlisle's passionate remarks, several of the Pacers players didn't share the same sentiments as their coach. Haliburton said they just got outplayed by the Knicks, and TJ McConnell said, "We're not going to sit here and blame officials."
It's not surprising in the slightest that Carlisle received a fine. Criticizing officials is a big no-no in the NBA. And while he may feel like the game officials missed some calls, it's nothing he or the Pacers can control. Instead of focusing on that, they need to figure out how to slow down Jalen Brunson and the Knicks as this series shifts back to Indiana on Friday night.
