The Indiana Pacers believe officials have wronged them in the first two games of their series against the Knicks, and they are letting the league know about it.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Pacers have sent NBA offices video of what they claim are 78 missed calls by referees officiating the games.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle made headlines Wednesday after getting ejected while arguing a double-dribble call during Indiana’s 130-121 loss to the Knicks.
Reggie Miller: How is it inadvertent? I heard it. I heard the whistle and the call.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 9, 2024
Brian Anderson: And the signal.
Miller: Right. And the signal. He signaled, double-dribble.
Bizarre sequence that ultimately led to Pacers coach Rick Carlisle getting ejected. pic.twitter.com/hxEupXzJfE
In the post-game press conference, Carlisle said there were 29 missed calls from Game 1 and 49 from Game 2 and that all the calls would find their way to the powers that be.
“I can promise you that we’re going to submit these tonight,” Carlisle said after Game 2. “New York can get ready. They’ll see ’em too. I’m always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials, but we deserve a fair shot.”
#Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle opens his postgame press conference with over two minutes talking about how this game was not fairly officiated. The team will be submitting disputes to the league. @WISH_TV pic.twitter.com/e8q7j8xYcv
— Angela Moryan (@AngelaMoryanTV) May 9, 2024
Carlisle specifically mentioned one play involving what he thought should have been a foul on New York’s Josh Hart.
This is the play Rick Carlisle cited in his press conference as an example of poor officiating. No foul was called. pic.twitter.com/2hittaQDMQ
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) May 9, 2024
Interestingly, Carlisle’s own players blamed themselves and not the officials.
“Let’s not pretend like [officiating] is the only reason we lost; we just didn’t play good enough,” said Pacers forward Tyrese Haliburton. “We just got to be better.”
“We love Rick showing that type of energy on the court,” guard T.J. McConnell told the Indy Star. “It’s unfortunate that he got ejected, but that’s not the feeling we have in the locker room. We’re not gonna sit here and blame officials. We gotta be better. It’s just that simple. They smashed us on the boards again tonight and just brought more energy than we did. We gotta fix that.”
Carlisle isn’t wrong to say that some calls that would have benefitted his team were missed. However, the Knicks could also probably send the league a few dozen, which should have gone their way as well.
Here’s the reality: the Pacers weren’t good enough.
You cannot shoot 58.8 percent from the free throw line and 44.1 percent from 3-point land – while getting out-rebounded – and expect to win. That won’t even work in the regular season, let alone the playoffs. Carlisle would better serve himself and his team by focusing on that instead of the refs.
Game 3 is Friday night in Indianapolis.
