Rick Carlisle: Pacers’ Defensive Performance “Not Acceptable”

The Pacers lost their fourth consecutive game on Monday, giving up 151 points to the Clippers in a performance that head coach Rick Carlisle referred to as “ugly” and “not acceptable,” per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

While Indiana’s high-powered, fast-paced offense had led the NBA in scoring, Carlisle isn’t happy with what he has seen from his club on the other end of the court. No team has given up more points per game (127.0) or has a worse defensive rating (121.4) than the Pacers, and Carlisle believes that his top players need to do a better job setting an example on defense.

“Our best players have to understand, and they have to believe, that the little things are important,” Carlisle said. “That concentration and focus are extremely important. … That creates the culture that we need to have here and obviously, we’re not there yet.”

As exciting as the Pacers’ offense, led by dark-horse MVP candidate Tyrese Haliburton, has been so far this season, Carlisle suggested after Monday’s game that he’s willing to alter the team’s style of play if it will help Indiana improve defensively, Dopirak writes.

“The Pacers aren’t sneaking up on anybody, and if our mindset has shifted to just simply trying to outscore teams and away from any kind of emphasis defensively, that’s got to stop,” Carlisle said. “If it means massive lineup changes, then that’s what will happen. If it means playing a slowdown game, that’s what will happen. At some point, there aren’t any excuses.”

Haliburton is enjoying a career year offensively, putting up 24.9 points and 11.9 assists per game while posting a scorching-hot shooting line of .507/.429/.869, but he’s aware the club needs to improve on the defensive end.

“Something has to be figured out, I don’t know what it is,” Haliburton said. “It’s pretty obvious it’s been awful for 25 games. That starts with our first unit.”

As Dopirak observes, there’s not necessarily one obvious change the Pacers could make to their starting lineup. Haliburton almost certainly won’t be moved to the bench; Myles Turner (who missed Monday’s loss) and Bruce Brown are solid defensive players; Buddy Hield provides crucial floor-spacing; and Obi Toppin has made a league-best 76.9% of his two-point shots this fall (and is hitting 38.3% of his threes too).

It’s possible Carlisle will make a move involving Hield or Toppin. During his media session on Monday, he didn’t specify his plans or guarantee that a lineup change is coming, though he did single out a pair of reserves whose defensive effort he appreciates.

“We had two guys tonight who have a reputation for always competing at a high level,” Carlisle said. “(Aaron Nesmith) was a flat zero in a plus-minus and (T.J. McConnell) was a +16. So there you go. Those guys are setting the kind of example that we’re gonna stand for here.”

As Dopirak observes, while players like Brown and Nesmith are solid wing defenders, neither one has the size to match up with bigger scoring forwards. That’s presumably one key reason why the Pacers have been linked to potential trade targets such as Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby as of late. But with no guarantee of acquiring an impact forward in a trade by the February 8 trade deadline, the team will focus for now on internal improvement.

“We’re gonna practice (on Tuesday), we’re gonna tape up and we’re gonna go,” Carlisle said, referring to players taping up their ankles. “We’re gonna go hard. We’re gonna get back in the gym and compete. We haven’t had a taped practice in, I don’t remember the last time. And we desperately need it.”