Rick Carlisle threw himself under the bus after the Dallas Mavericks lost their game on Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs. The game was down to its last possession with the ball in DeMar Derozan's hands and, according to Carlisle himself, he called single-coverage, which ultimately left DeRozan knocking down a heartbreaking step-back jumper.
“In hindsight, we should have gone, but we didn't,” Carlisle said when asked about double-teaming DeRozan on the final shot (via Brad Townsend of Dallas Morning News). “That's on me.”
Rick Carlisle returned to the Zoom camera to clarify that while the Mavericks discussed potentially double-teaming DeRozan on the last shot, the ultimately decided not to. "In hindsight, we should have gone, but we didn't," he said. "That's on me."
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) April 12, 2021
The Mavs were playing catch-up down the stretch and it was Luka Doncic once again trying his best to keep his team in the game. After making two free throws, Doncic then converted a floater to tie the game at 117-117 with under 20 seconds left. This set the stage for a dagger from DeRozan which he knocked down right in the face of Dorian Finney-Smith.
Doncic had one last chance to tie or even win the game but 0.5 seconds was clearly not enough for Carlisle and the Mavs to draw up a miracle.
It's been a rocky April for the Mavericks so far after dropping two important games against their in-state rivals. Prior to losing against San Antonio on Sunday, Dallas also lost to Houston just a couple of nights ago. Coincidentally, those wins from both the Spurs and the Rockets were their only wins so far this April and it had to come at the expense of the Mavs (via Tim MacMahon of ESPN).
Mavs' two losses in April are to the Rockets and Spurs. Those are the only wins so far this month for Houston and San Antonio. Think that eliminates the Mavs from Texas state championship contention.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 12, 2021
That's gotta sting a bit.
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