Dallas Mavericks: Making Sense of Chandler Parsons and Rick Carlisle

Rick Carlisle has never been orthodox, but could his less than usual ways cost the Mavericks a star?

Chandler Parsons season has been like a roller coaster ride at Six Flags Over Texas. Fans knew it would start slow as he recovered from surgery. However, it has ended up taking a little bit longer to get to the end than many people expected. It would seem that Parsons roller coaster of a season has finally smoothed out, or are we just now climbing the first hill?

In the last 14 games, Parsons has averaged 18.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg and 2.4 apg. During that time he has shot 53.6 percent from the field, and a staggering 51.5 percent from three. Despite Parsons above average numbers, Carlisle says that he looks heavily at plus/minus and players efficiency, an area that has not been favorable to Parsons.

Against Houston last week Parsons had a season high 31 points, but was minus 30. That night, after the game Carlisle said, “there’s a lot more to the game than just putting the ball in the basket, obviously. If a guy scores 31 points and we’re minus-30, I’ve got to coach him better in other areas. I think it’s pretty clear, because if you’re scoring that many points, there must be other holes that we’ve got to fill.”

This summer Parsons has the ability to opt out of the final year of his contract. The question is, will he? And should the tension between Parsons and Carlisle cause the Mavericks front office to be nervous?

Last night, during the Mavericks loss to the Heat, Parsons sat from 6:05 in the 4th to .17.9 left in the game. Afterwards Carlisle told ESPN.com, “the best players should always want to play in crunch time,” Carlisle told ESPN.com well after the players had left the American Airlines Center. “The reality is that until Chandler is fully recovered there are gonna be some struggles. He has to continue to work hard, and I have to continue to keep working with him to push through.”

Parsons made it obvious that he didn’t like being benched and that he doesn’t agree with Carlisle’s focus on plus/minus.

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While Parsons has yet to fully meet expectations with his role on the team, he remains a cornerstone of the Mavericks foundation as Dirk Nowitzki transitions to retirement.

The Mavericks have only won three of their last eight games and are in dire need of a change. Even though he has struggled of late, Nowitzki remains the only shining spot for the Mavericks. He had a 28 points in the loss last night.

It would appear that the Mavericks can still make the playoffs, but with the all-star break just around the corner that might be a bold and premature prediction.

Next: Blockbuster Trade Proposal That Lands Mavs Mike Conley

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