Rick Carlisle has not been a happy man since the NBA's second season started for his Dallas Mavericks last Saturday. With his team in an 0-2 hole on the back of two game-winning last second shots from the second-seeded, Oklahoma City Thunder, Carlisle has got to be frustrated with how things are playing out.
However, thats not the only thing thats getting under his skin. Following a chippy Game 2, Carlisle voiced his concerns about the way the Thunder were guarding his star player, Dirk Nowitzki.
Nowitzki and Thunder center, Kendrick Perkins engaged in a shoving match in the first quarter of Monday night's Game 2 that required officials to break it up. Both players received technical fouls on the play. This was the second time that quarter that Nowitzki had been roughed up, as Serge Ibaka had made contact with his face earlier in the stanza.
Carlisle expressed his displeasure with the events. Here's his comment via USA Today:
"I love hard-played, clean, competitive playoff series," Carlisle said to reporters. "You throw the ball up, may the best team win. The dirty (expletive) has got to stop. We don't want anybody getting hurt out there either way."
It certainly should make things interesting as the series heads back to Dallas for Game 3 on Thursday.
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