DALLAS -- There are certain battles Mavs players are not going to win. Like battles with coach Rick Carlisle.
There are other certain battles that Carlisle insists they must win. Like Chandler Parsons' "Battle of the Bulge.''
"He looked tired out there tonight to me, and his shot is short," Carlisle said after Dallas' preseason loss to OKC on Friday. "He's working on losing some weight. He's a little bit heavier than he's been. He's up over 230, and we want to see him get down to at least 225. That's a work in progress, and tonight's one of those nights where I think the extra weight was a hindrance."
That would be fine if it was the end of the battle. But ...
Parsons, who signed a three-year, $46 million deal to come to Dallas, doesn't necessarily agree with the coach's assessment, as he's been focused on bulking up his physique this summer.
"His opinion of 'heavy' is different than mine," said Parsons. "We kind of go at it every day about it.''
Is this the start of a long-running problem between coach and budding star? Probably not. They often speak admiringly of the other, and Carlisle runs this show, not the players.
But Carlisle made note of this issue at the start of camp, as the 6-foot-9 Parsons -- who usually plays at between 215 and 220 pounds -- showed up nearer 235. At that time, the coach noted that "one man's 'bulking up' is another man's 'not-quite-in-shape-yet.'''
It's probably time to heed that message.
"An increase of 18 to 20 pounds is just too much," Carlisle said on Friday. "We talked about it today. We talk about it a lot. He'll get there. ...
"I don't mean to call him out in public or ridicule him, but it's just a fact. He's an important guy for us. We just need him to get to his right conditioning and weight level so he can play his best, because we're going to need him to play a lot of minutes over the course of 82 games."
Ultimately, Parsons appears to understand that this particular Battle of the Bulge is not one he can win.
"At the end of the day, I respect (Carlisle's) opinion,'' Parsons said. "After training camp, my weight fluctuates. I'll get it down."
