On Wednesday night, the Indiana Pacers fell to the New York Knicks to go down 2-0 in their Eastern Conference Playoffs matchup, and head coach Rick Carlisle was clearly absolutely furious with the referees during and after the game.
Carlisle was actually ejected in the final minute of the game after he picked up two technical fouls for arguing with the referees. And after the game, Carlisle continued to blast the officiating in his postgame press conference as he made it clear that the team would be submitting calls to the NBA office that they felt were incorrect.
“I can promise you that we’re going to submit these tonight,” Carlisle said after the game according to ESPN. “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.”
Carlisle heavily implied that he believed the Pacers were being unfairly officiated because Indianapolis is a smaller media market than New York City.
“Small-market teams deserve an equal shot,” Carlisle said. “They deserve a fair shot no matter where they’re playing.”
We’ll have to see whether or not Carlisle’s complaints lead to any changes from the NBA.
[ESPN]
