Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle intentionally breaks an NBA rule in blowouts so he can get extra time to talk to his players
According to SB Nation's Tim Cato, Carlisle has several times this season called a timeout even when he doesn't have any left in games.
Carlisle was asked about the practice on Thursday and said it's a tactic during blowouts, when he doesn't care about the penalty for calling an "excessive" timeout, so he can talk to his team.
"You don't ever really run out of timeouts, they just have a price" Carlisle said.
According to Cato, Carlisle will call an extra timeout when he sees a "teaching moment" he wants to share with his team. He's done it five times this season and admitted he's done it in the past.
As mentioned, the penalty for calling a timeout when there aren't any left is a free throw for the other team and possession. But when it's a blowout, one extra point and an extra possession isn't a huge deal to Carlisle, so long as he can share a message with his team.
For the struggling 4-17 Mavs, this situation has probably happened more than Carlisle would prefer, but if he sees something he wants to share, he'll take the penalty to talk to his team.