“Rick Carlisle, don’t take timeouts when you don’t need them”: Luka Doncic was incandescent with Mavs’ head coach for untimely timeouts in Game 6

Mavericks star Luka Doncic lashes out at head coach Rick Carlisle close to the end of game-6 against the Clippers. 

Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks have been far better than advertised for the second postseason in a row. That being said, however, after playing impressively for most of the series, the franchise squandered their big chance to send the Clippers home. And now, both franchises will be entering game-7 because of it.

Many already know how competitive the Slovenian can be. It is a massive reason behind the star being as incredible as he is already. However, it is that competitive drive that can sometimes work against him and the team as well. And one such incident happened very recently.

With the opposition up by 5 early on in the fourth, Doncic wanted to bring the ball up. However, unbeknownst to him, head Rick Carlisle chose just that moment to take a timeout. And in response, the star had some really unappetizing things to say.

Also Read: When the Bulls legend lost his cool and threw a chair on court after an ejection

Luka Doncic was less than happy with the time-out called by Rick Carlisle 

Before we get into the specifics, we need to be fair to the Mavericks star as well. He has an incredible IQ for the game. It is justified for the player to strongly believe that a different course of action should be taken at a critical time.

Even with that in mind though, the player needs to start acting with some constraint. Here is his reaction to the time-out being called.

“You take a timeout when you don’t need it”.

“Pediste tiempo muerto cuando no lo necesitabas”.

Luka bastante caliente con Rick Carlisle en un tramo del partido.pic.twitter.com/8WS1TrrRLT

— CLUTCH TIME ⏱ (@ClutchTimeArg) June 5, 2021

After eventually sitting down, with an exasperated look on his face, Doncic screamed this at Carlisle.

“You (don’t) take a time-out when you don’t need it!”

Based on who you ask, the answer between who was right between the star player and the head coach could differ. Personally, we believe it was the latter, since the Clippers were on an incredible run at the time, and the momentum needed to be stopped somehow.

Even if Luka Doncic is right here though, he is still out of line. Yes, it is easy to get caught up in one’s emotions during these times. However, a calmer, more productive way of saying the same thing was absolutely possible. And we believe that is what should’ve been done.

But, perhaps now is not the time to be wondering about what could’ve been done. With game-7 approaching, the Mavericks have too tall a task ahead of them, to be wondering about the past.

Also Read: How to Watch Eastern Conference Semi-Finals Without r/nbastreams

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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