Why did the NBA fine Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle $35,000 after Game 2 loss to New York Knicks?

Whether we’re talking basketball, football, or soccer, there is always a backlash when it comes to a critical call in a key moment that doesn’t go the way of one of the teams involved. Is it bad luck, favoritism, or simply a case of one side should have done better? The debate will continue for sure, but here and now the NBA has made it clear that it won’t tolerate any questioning of its officials. Is that right?

NBA fines Pacers’ Rick Carlisle $35,000

According to an official announcement from the NBA, Indiana Pacers head 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. To be more specific, Carlisle was fined for “public criticism and questioning the integrity of the league and its officials” after making his feelings known during a post game press conference in which he suggested that the Knicks received favorable calls because they are a ‘big market’ team.

As you would likely have seen in our previous report, the Pacers followed that up by filing some 78 complaints with the league office about what they deemed as calls that were either missed or incorrect during the first two games of the series. Indeed, it was after Game 2 that Carlisle disclosed that the team didn’t submit an initial videotape to the league on the grounds that they believed they would receive a “balanced whistle” in Game 2, only to find - in their opininon - that they did not.

“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.”

OK, but what comes next for Rick Carlisle & the Pacers?

To be fair, that’s hard to say. At this point, what we can acknowledge is that there were a few calls where can sympathize with Carlisle’s frustration. If we get into specifics, there was the shove that Tyrese Haliburton received from the Knicks’ Josh Hart during the transition which was not called. It was a critical moment in the game, and as you can imagine, Carlisle was not pleased.

“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.” That is of course where things got somewhat touchy, as Carlisle went on to suggest that the reason behind such decisions was due to the fact that Indiana is a ‘small market’ team compared with the New York which is not. “Small-market teams deserve an equal shot,” Carlisle said. “They deserve a fair shot no matter where they’re playing.”

Interestingly, Hart himself had a response to Carlisle’s comments - you can see it above - and it’s plain to see that he believes this is more bark than it is bite. What’s also interesting is that some of the Pacers’ own players appeared to focus more on the Game itself rather than the referees, seemingly disagreeing with their coach. Haliburton himself stated that they were simply outplayed by the Knicks, while TJ McConnell placed the fault squarely at the feet of his own team. “We’re not going to sit here and blame officials,” he said. Ultimately, we can all agree that Carlisle was always going to get fined for his comments. This is after all the NBA, a league that does not tolerate any critique of its officials. Yet, while we can all agree that any team in any sport must first and foremost focus on its own performance - it’s the only thing they can control - is it not acceptable to question the decisions made against you when there seems to be a trend? Whatever the case, the Pacers and Knicks will lock horns once again in Indiana on Friday night. Don’t miss it!