Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle has ripped his players after they fell to a 98-92 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday as he was furious with their display.
READ MORE:
Stoudemire has right to criticise Mavs: Chandler backs teammate’s approach.
Stoudemire rips Mavs for recent form: New recruit hits hard at team.
Rondo open to staying with Mavs: Rondo becomes a free agent this summer.
Carlisle labelled the first half of the game a “no show” and “an embarrassment, flat-out” as the Mavs trailed their opponents by 15 ahead of the break.
That prompted the coach to unleash an angry rant at the players in the locker room, and he wasn’t done there as he aired his feelings with the media after the game too.
“This is a Dallas Mavericks hard-play problem, all right?” Carlisle said, ESPN reports.
“We don’t play hard all the time. And that’s a problem.
“It’s pretty clear that’s where our inconsistency is, and we’ve got to get better. We’ve got to be a more together team. I believe that we can do it. We did it in the second half, but it’s work. It takes effort. It takes effort in the locker room, it takes sacrifice and we’ve got to be willing to do those things.”
Dallas have gone 8-8 since the All-Star break and seven of their losses have been decided by a double-digit margin which begs the question as to why the players are falling into a tendency of switching off.
Amar’e Stoudemire criticised the team earlier this month for their lack of effort, but it doesn’t appear as though it made much of an impact as the Mavs continue to struggle with just over 10 games remaining before the playoffs start.
Carlisle had no answers as to how he could get the players to consistently play with effort, and directed reporters to ask them to find out the answer.
The Mavs are now 44-27 for the season which leaves them in seventh spot in the West, and with Carlisle questioning their “soul”, it doesn’t look good ahead of the post-season.
COMMENTS