Rick Carlisle revealed why he benched Pacers starters early in the Game 2 defeat to the Celtics.
Rick Carlisle explained why he withdrew his starters early: The Pacers began the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals with a 13-point disadvantage. While the notion of a comeback seemed daunting, especially on the road in Boston, the outcome was far from certain.
So it came as a surprise to Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle when bench player Doug McDermott, who had not played significant minutes since the start of the playoffs, was on the floor to start the fourth quarter. He later substituted numerous additional starters, giving bench players (including McDermott, who played the whole quarter) more opportunities.
When asked after the 126-110 defeat why he removed his starters so early, Carlisle insisted that it was not a white flag.
“To look at some guys that I thought needed a look,” Carlisle told Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “McDermott got in there and performed effectively. Isaiah Jackson showed a lot of fight in the game. Jalen Smith hadn’t had much of an opportunity to play in the playoffs, so I wanted to see where he stood.
“We weren’t giving up,” Carlisle asserted, “but it was a chance to get some energetic new guys in there to fight.” “They did some good things.”
Indiana had its highest point total of the game in the fourth quarter (30), but it fell short of Boston in the same period (33).
Forward Pascal Siakham, who appeared to have anything he wanted offensively, with 28 points on 13 of 17 shooting, was particularly notable in his absence over the last 9:25 of the game.
“The guys who had played to that point, Pascal was very tired,” Carlisle stated.
Trivia: The Celtics initially picked Rick Carlisle in the third round of the 1984 NBA Draft. Can you name the number one overall choice that year?
(The answer is at the bottom.)
Carlisle’s Virginia Cavaliers were defeated in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament before to that year’s draft by this player and the Houston Cougars.
Scores and Schedules:
The Celtics defeated the Pacers 126-110 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, securing a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 will take place at Indiana on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
Tonight, PWHL Boston will travel to Minnesota for Game 3 of the Walter Cup Finals at 7 p.m. The series is tied 1–1.
Tonight, at 7:10 p.m., the Red Sox open a three-game series at home against the Brewers.
