Head coaches have been known to motivate their players and also discipline them when needed. That said, Rick Carlisle showed on Monday that he can do the latter, even if it means he has to yell expletives to his backup center.
After getting ejected from the game, a fired up Salah Mejri went to their bench and exchanged a few words with the veteran head coach. Carlisle then responded by reminding him how many points he’s only scored in the game and told him to head straight to the locker room.
Rick Carlisle to Salah Mejri after he gets ejected: “you’ve got 2 fucking points! Get the fuck outta here!” pic.twitter.com/z8hLZpGZ8x
— sharif (@sharifx25) January 23, 2018
Mejri’s outburst started when Carlisle called him out for some mistakes during the game, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. After rejecting a shot and scoring on a putback, the Tunisian international center then shouted expletives of his own during a timeout, which could explain why the champion coach gave him a dose of his own medicine.
Salah Mejri was upset that Rick Carlisle was getting on him and he responded by taking that anger out in the next two plays: blocking Wall's shot, then cleaning up a shot on the other end.
Walked to huddle screaming an expletive after giving Dallas the 22-20 lead
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) January 23, 2018
This is definitely concerning for the Mavs and their fans as a rift could start between Mejri and Carlisle. However, both of them have been professionals for quite some time now and they can only hope that the two will not take it personally and even put their differences aside.
If there’s any good news for the Mavericks on the night, they were able to win, as they blew out the Washington Wizards, 98-75, to improve to 16-31 for the season. Their opponents on the other hand, lost for the third time in four games and saw their record drop to 26-21.
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