The Dallas Mavericks need to start playing better…or else.
Those are words the 2015-16 Mavericks must start living by, because they’re the words—albeit not the exact words—of head coach Rick Carlisle.
Dallas’ head honcho was understandably upset following his team’s 103-99 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. The Mavericks fell behind by as many 18 points in the first half, and though they scrapped and clawed their way back within striking distance, the Raptors withstood every run. And a furious comeback attempt wasn’t enough to quell Carlisle’s displeasure, per ESPN.com’s Tim MacMahon:
Rick Carlisle on "embarrassing" first half: "If it's gonna be like that, these guys won't be Mavericks very long. I can promise you that."
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 23, 2015
Was Carlisle just playing Mr. Big Stuff for the cameras and recorders?
Perhaps.
Except he wasn’t.
He passed along a similar message to his players:
I didn't get the vibe that many guys in the locker room took Rick Carlisle's threat too seriously. He said same thing in locker room.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 23, 2015
Many of these players, truthfully, may not be Mavericks long. A few them are (Zaza Pachulia) or can become (Chandler Parsons) free agents this summer, and Dallas perpetually tinkers with its roster in order to become a free-agency aggressor. And as we saw last season, the Mavericks aren’t afraid to mess with team personnel midseason.
So perhaps these Mavericks should take Carlisle’s threat seriously.
That, or maybe they should just pick up on the groundwork he’s laying.
This team needs to be better.
