Carlisle questions Mavericks’ ‘soul’ after ‘no-show’ against Suns

Following yet another no-show Sunday night by the Dallas Mavericks, coach Rick Carlisle questioned “the soul” of his team.

The Mavs slept-walked through the first half against Phoenix, and then appeared to grab a pillow late in the fourth quarter and really go to sleep as the Suns rallied and rose up to grab a 98-92 victory at US Airways Center.

It was the second straight loss for the Mavs (44-27) and the third game in a row where a meltdown became the order of the day. The lack of positive energy was so bad that Carlisle blew his stack and heavily criticized what has become way too many mundane performances by a team many picked to venture deep into the upcoming playoffs.

“What happened in the game was that the first half we were a no-show as a team — everybody, coaches, players, everybody,” a dejected Carlisle said. “It was an embarrassment, flat-out.

“The second half we got angry and we played a helluva lot harder, which we have to do all the time. But we made too many mistakes.”

Despite the mistakes, the Mavs overcame a 17-point deficit early in the third quarter to lead 86-80 with　7:14　remaining. But the Suns (38-33) ended the game on an 18-6 run while the Mavs couldn’t find the basket with a telescope.

The Mavs, who saw guard Devin Harris leave for good in the second quarter with an illness, missed three free throws that could have bumped their lead up to nine. But after they built that six-point cushion, the Mavs finished the game just 1-of-14 from the field with a layup by Rajon Rondo being their lone bucket.

The main culprit was guard Monta Ellis, who missed all seven of his field-goal attempts down the stretch, and went 0-of-8 from the field with no points in the fourth period. Normally a pretty reliable closer for the Mavs, Ellis wound up just 4-of-22 from the field with only 11 points.

Although Ellis was in the midst of a forgettable night, Carlisle defended the fact that he kept going back to him again and again and again — with absolutely zero results.

“We’ve got to get shots,” Carlisle said. “He’s the one guy that can get clean shots, and he’s getting good looks.

“I always believe he’s going to make the next one. My responsibility as a coach is to make sure that we get shots.”

When approached by a media member in the locker room for comment, Ellis walked right on to the team bus with his headphones on and the music blasting.

“This is not a Monta Ellis shooting problem,” Carlisle said. “This is Dallas Mavericks’ hard play problem.

“We don’t play hard all the time, and that’s the problem. It’s pretty clear. That’s where inconsistency is and that’s where we’ve got to get better.”

The Mavs, who also lost at home Friday to Memphis, got their share of field-goal attempts — 96 compared with the Suns’ 76.

But Dallas shot only 38.5 percent from the field and was just 5-of-19 from 3-point territory. Phoenix, which was on a back-to-back after winning Saturday in Houston, made 51.3 percent and looked like the fresher team.

“We should have been the team that was more aggressive and put them on their heels, but that wasn’t really the case,” said Dirk Nowitzki, who had 11 points and seven rebounds. “We made some errors, was a step slow to everything and that hurt us.”

With their closer Ellis a nonfactor, the Mavs looked lost on the court.

“We just had a tough time closing,” said center Tyson Chandler, who had seven points and 11 rebounds. “For whatever reason shots that we normally make and that we’ve been making, we didn’t make tonight.”

That was particularly true in the first half when the Mavs fell behind by 17 points in the second quarter and ended the half making just 17-of-50 shots while trialing 57-42. That prompted Carlisle to give his team a piece of his mind.

“I aired things out in there at halftime and I’ve said enough for one night as far as that goes,” Carlisle said. “If you’ve got questions about strategies and specific things, I’ll answer them.

“But in terms of the soul of the team, you’ve got to ask those guys. The basketball gods are going to get you when you don’t show up and play for 24 minutes, and that’s what happened tonight.”

When asked why his team isn’t showing up and doing what it needs to do on a consistent basis, Carlisle said: “I think that’s a question you’ve got to ask [the players]. I have my theories, but I’m not going to air it out publicly.”

When Chandler was aksed about “the soul” of the Mavs, he said: “I don’t know the answer to that question. That’s a deep question — is something wrong the soul.

“That is a question that I cannot answer.”

Chandler also said he can’t put his finger on why the Mavs looked so motionless in the first half.

“We definitely lost the game in the first half,” Chandler said. “We fought our [butts] off in the second half.

“I don’t know what it is. I’m pushing guys, I’m pushing myself.”

The Mavs got back in the game by going on a spirited 14-0 run in the third period. But when they needed a key bucket down the stretch, they were missing in action.

“They were more hungry than us tonight,” said Chandler Parsons, who had a team-high 19 points. “They wanted it more than us.

“We put ourselves in situations to win the game and we didn’t, and they made plays down the stretch.”

Now the Mavs come home facing a dire situation. Not only do they face the defending world champion San Antonio Spurs in Dallas on Tuesday, but they also face them Friday　night in San Antonio.

Doubt could start creeping in, especially after the no-show against the Suns.

“We’ve got to be a more together team,” Carlisle said. “I believe that we can do it.

“We did it in the second half, but it’s work and it takes effort. It takes effort in the locker room, it takes sacrifice and we’ve got to be willing to do those things. The second half we were, the first half we weren’t.”

The Mavs know they must concentrate and bring maximum effort in both halves. Otherwise, what happened against the Suns will happen many more times before this season ends.

That brings it back to Ellis, who missed his first six shots before drilling a 12-footer at the halftime buzzer.

“We can’t go places where clear shots are not going to be generated, and he’s been too good in these situations all year long,” Carlisle said. “So hey, he had a bad shooting night — that’s the way it goes.

“But if we show up in the first half and play like we’re capable, we’re not talking about a bad shooting night. We’re probably winning the game and doing what we’re supposed to do.”

This story was originally published March 22, 2015 at 11:22 PM with the headline "Carlisle questions Mavericks’ ‘soul’ after ‘no-show’ against Suns."