Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle rips team after loss to Suns
Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle ripped his team after a 98-92 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, calling the team's effort in the first half "an embarrassment.”
Phoenix led by 15 points at halftime and Dallas shot just 39 percent for the game, despite having six players score in double figures.
“The first half, we were a no-show as a team — coaches, players, everybody,” Carlisle said, according to the Dallas Morning News. “It was an embarrassment, flat out. The second half, we got angry and played harder, which we have to do all the time. But we made too many mistakes."
[daily_cut.nba]Mavericks guard Monta Ellis only scored 11 points, going 4-22 from the field. Dallas was up by six points with five minutes remaining in the game and couldn’t seal the victory.
“This is not a Monta Ellis shooting problem,” Carlisle said. “This is a Dallas Mavericks, hard-play problem. We don’t play hard all the time, all right. And that’s the problem. And it’s pretty clear. We got to be a more together team. And I believe we can do it. We did it in the second half.”
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When asked why the team is playing so inconsistently, Carlisle told reporters to go ask the team.
“I have my theories, but I’m not going to air it out publicly,” he said. “I aired it out at halftime. In terms of the soul of the team, you got to ask those guys.”
Dallas (44-27) is 5-5 in its last 10 games and has slipped to seventh place in the Western Conference with 11 games remaining in the regular season.
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