Rick Carlisle Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Drummond, Pistons, Bucks, Rivers, Garland, Carlisle

October 18th, 2024 at 11:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixers center Andre Drummond spent the first seven-and-a-half seasons of his NBA career in Detroit, earning a pair of All-Star nods and leading the league in rebounding four times during his tenure with the Pistons. Even though the team only made the playoffs twice during that time and was swept out of the first round in both instances, Drummond looks back fondly on his stint with the franchise and hopes to eventually return.

“I call Detroit home to this day,” Drummond said on the Run Your Race podcast (YouTube link). “I still have a house in Detroit, just because of the connection that I have with the city. I feel like I became a man in that city. … I grew up so much there. I met some of my best friends there. I built a relationship with the fanbase and the community in Detroit.

“I’ve always said it, I want to finish my career there. The year I’m trying to retire, I want to finish in Detroit. Because that’s where I started and I want to finish there.”

Drummond is the second all-time rebounder in Pistons history, behind only Bill Laimbeer. He also ranks third in blocked shots on the franchise leaderboard.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Sam Amick of The Athletic spoke to Bucks stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard and head coach Doc Rivers to get a sense of why the team is confident it will be better in 2024/25 than it was in ’23/24. “This year, a challenge for me is to be healthy,” Antetokounmpo said. “A challenge for me is to play in the playoffs, to get out of the f—ing first round. Assert myself even more. Every year for me is important because one day, I’m going to be 35 or 36 or 38 and I’m going to be like, ‘Oh, my prime just went, and I wasn’t able to do something.’ So dominate.”
In a separate interview with Eric Nehm of The Athletic, Rivers spoke about his enthusiasm for the upcoming season with the Bucks and defended his coaching record, pointing out that he’s constantly been in situations where he knows he’ll be criticized for anything less than a championship. “If you look at my path since leaving Boston, I’ve intentionally put myself in win-or-failure positions, knowing that in a lot of cases that if we fail, it’s on me,” Rivers said. “But if I’ve learned anything from my journey with Boston and how long it took me as a coach to get there, I want that position more than the, ‘Well, we can be fifth seed if some things go right’ position.”
After a trying 2023/24 season that included the death of his grandmother and a broken jaw that left him drinking out of a straw for weeks, Cavaliers guard Darius Garland says his “joy is back” ahead of the 2024/25 campaign. Chris Fedor has the story in a subscriber-only feature for Cleveland.com.
A resolution has been reached in a civil lawsuit filed by former agent Jarinn Akana against Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Akana alleged that Carlisle breached their contract by refusing to pay the full commission owed to the agent as a result of his 2018 extension with the Mavericks. A trial had been scheduled for April 28, 2025, but that court date will be avoided as a result of the resolution (the terms of which are confidential).

Mavericks Notes: Kidd, Doncic, Irving, Green, Porzingis

June 6th, 2024 at 9:15am CST by Dana Gauruder

Jason Kidd was fired as the Bucks’ head coach in 2018 and said that he grew from that experience. Kidd has now guided the Mavericks to the Finals after getting another shot as a head coach following stints in Brooklyn and Milwaukee.

“Coaching is not easy in this industry,” Kidd told Andscape’s Marc Spears. “There is always movement. There are only certain coaches who are cemented in their place — well-deserved, with Pop [Gregg Popovich], Spo [Erik Spoelstra]. After that, there has been a lot of movement. You just hope that you can win and do the right thing for as long as you can … The thing about being let go or fired was I wasn’t up to their standards. So, that’s how I thought about it. Then I thought what is the best way to get better.”

Kidd, who was given an extension after the regular season, said he learned from Popovich, Rick Carlisle and Frank Vogel in between his time with the Bucks and Mavs. He was a top assistant under Vogel with the Lakers.

“I’ve always given Frank his flowers for helping me understand better and seeing what things to worry about and what things not to worry about,” Kidd said. “What I learned from Frank was that the stars are going to be stars. There are a lot of things going on, but just really focus on what you can control. And I thought Frank did an incredible job with that.”

We have more on the Mavs:

Former head coach and current TV analyst Stan Van Gundy stirred a debate in the conference finals by calling Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving the best offensive backcourt in league history. Van Gundy isn’t backing down from that assertion. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a backcourt with two guys like that, who you can just give the ball to either one of them and then they can go create offense for you—for themselves or for their teammates,” Van Gundy told Howard Beck of The Ringer. Beck goes on an in-depth statistical journey to evaluate how the Mavs’ duo stacks up against other great backcourt tandems.
Josh Green has adjusted his game to complement Doncic and Irving, making sacrifices along the way, he told Olgun Uluc of ESPN. “Honestly, it’s a tough adjustment for anyone,” Green said. “But, I think for me personally, I want to win first. It took time to get used to it, and it took time for me to realise what I need to do to be out on the court. You can tell it’s appreciated from guys like Kyrie and Luka. They know the work that the role players put in. They know that it’s not like the role players can’t do more; but we have Luka and Kyrie and there’s certain things that we need to do in order for our team to win, and we’re willing to sacrifice for the team. That’s why we’re in the Finals.”
The love fest between LeBron James and Irving goes both ways. James stated on a podcast that “I’m so f—ing happy and so proud to watch him continue his growth. I’m so f—ing mad at the same time that I’m not his running mate anymore.” Irving said his relationship with the Lakers’ superstar has flourished in recent years. “Definitely miss him,” Irving said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “Man, when he says comments like that, I think back to us having those moments where we’re down in a series, up in a series, we’re really demanding greatness from each other. Off the court, our families meshing well. … I definitely think about those times.”
After Doncic refuted a claim by former NBA player Chandler Parsons that he disliked playing with Kristaps Porzingis when they were teammates in Dallas, Porzingis weighed in on the topic too, telling reporters he has no ill will toward Doncic or his former teammates as he prepares to face them in the Finals, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “We had some good moments. We had some decent moments, but overall it just didn’t work for both sides. It wasn’t perfect. But I would say everything — teammates, locker room — I know at that time there were some rumors that there was something in the locker room. It was never like that. It was all just noise at the end,” Porzingis said. “It just wasn’t perfect for us playing together, and it didn’t work out. And that’s it. There’s no ill will, I don’t think from their side. For sure, [there is not] from my side. I don’t think there should be. It just didn’t work out, but I have nothing but love for Dallas and for my teammates and for everybody there.”

Central Notes: Pacers, Haliburton, Bickerstaff, Bulls

May 25th, 2024 at 6:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has a couple of options to rearrange his starting lineup with the absence of Tyrese Haliburton, who will miss tonight’s Game 3 due to an injured left hamstring, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

One obvious choice is backup point guard T.J. McConnell, who would provide a second ball-handler to pair with Andrew Nembhard. Dopirak notes that they have logged a lot of minutes together this season. McConnell finished seventh in the Sixth Man of the Year voting, and he leads all bench players with 76 assists during the postseason.

Dopirak states that Carlisle could choose to go with power forward Obi Toppin or rookie guard Ben Sheppard instead to get more size in the starting lineup. That would keep McConnell in a reserve role and may provide more minutes for Doug McDermott, Jarace Walker and possibly Jalen Smith, who were all used in Game 2.

There’s more from the Central Division:

In his pregame press conference, Carlisle told reporters that Haliburton lobbied to play tonight, but the medical staff determined that it’s best for him to sit out, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “He very much wants to play. Desperately wants to play,” Carlisle said. “But the decision on tonight was taken out of his hands earlier in the day. It was determined that tonight was not an option. He’s feeling better and we’ll see where he is on Monday. And that’s it.”
Carlisle, who serves as president of the NBA Coaches Association, reached out to J.B. Bickerstaff after the Cavaliers fired him on Thursday, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Carlisle said Bickerstaff did “an amazing job” with a “culture makeover” in Cleveland, but all NBA coaches understand the realities of their jobs. “I have great respect for him. I’ve been in touch with him,” Carlisle said. “In our profession, no one likes it, but teams, ownership, they can hire and fire who they want to. Our business has got to be a very resilient one. And he’s been through a lot in his career and he’s grown so much as a coach. J.B. will be fine and he certainly will be a head coach again, sooner than later.”
Even if executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas makes the changes he has promised this summer, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times is skeptical that the Bulls can rise very far in the Eastern Conference standings. Cowley looks at the eight teams that finished ahead of Chicago this season and concludes that they all have staying power.

Pacers Notes: Game 1 Loss, Haliburton, Turner, Carlisle

May 22nd, 2024 at 5:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

Numerous late-game mistakes cost the Pacers a chance to take an early lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. Coach Rick Carlisle told reporters that “a lot of things had to go wrong for us and right for them” for the Celtics to escape with a victory in Tuesday’s Game 1, but as Collier details, that’s exactly what happened.

Indiana held a three-point lead with 27.1 seconds left in regulation when Tyrese Haliburton accidentally dribbled the ball off his foot for a turnover. After a defensive stop, the Pacers had a chance to close out the game with free throws, but they gave up the ball again on an errant inbounds pass, setting the stage for Jaylen Brown‘s three-pointer that forced overtime.

Pascal Siakam said he intended to foul before the final shot, but Brown was squared up when he caught the ball and Siakam didn’t want to risk giving sending him to the line for three shots.

“We showed our age a little bit tonight,” Myles Turner said. “Being a youthful team and being in this high stakes of a game, those uncharacteristic mistakes just made their way out.”

There’s more on the Pacers:

Haliburton is optimistic despite the meltdown because his team proved it can compete with the heavily favored Celtics, relays Eric Nehm of The Athletic. The All-Star guard noted that the Pacers haven’t won any of their playoff series openers, but they found a way to get past Milwaukee and New York. “We know we can play with these guys,” Haliburton said. “We know we belong. I think it’s discouraging just because of the plays that that happened down the stretch. We feel like we were in position to win the game and just didn’t win the game.”
One obvious advantage for Indiana was Turner’s dominance with Kristaps Porzingis unavailable due to injury, notes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Turner had 18 points, four rebounds and four assists in the first half against Al Horford and Luke Kornet before Boston started guarding him with wings after halftime. “Usually when fives are on me, that’s usually my time to get loose and what not,” Turner said. “Teams pick up on that and start guarding me with other men, threes or fours and sometimes guarding me with guards. That’s when I have to make my way in the paint and make my hay there. There were definitely some more things I could have done in the homestretch to be more aggressive.”
The Pacers were unhappy with the imbalance of fouls as they shot just three free throws in regulation, per Joe Vardon of the Athletic. Indiana wound up with 10 total attempts from the line compared to Boston’s 30, but Carlisle, who was fined $35K for criticizing the officiating in the Knicks series, was careful with his post-game comments. “My daughter already has to sit out one semester of college — I can’t have her take a whole year off,” he joked.

Eastern Notes: Carlisle, Knicks, Anunoby, Claxton, Stewart, Wizards

May 10th, 2024 at 6:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle‘s comments about the officiating following Wednesday’s Game 2, which earned him a $35K fine from the NBA, were “disrespectful” to the Knicks, according to New York forward Josh Hart. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Hart said Carlisle’s insinuation that the Knicks are winning because of the officiating “discredit(s) how we’re playing,” according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Hart also laughed off Carlisle’s claim that the referees are favoring the big-market team in the series.

“That’s so stupid, bro,” Hart said. “I mean, we’re going to say the big market always wins? The Knicks ain’t won a [championship] in 51 years. So obviously that don’t hold much weight. I don’t fully understand that. Sorry, New York, for the reminder [about the 51-year drought]. But I think that’s just idiotic. At the end of the day it’s who’s playing the best. I’ve never seen a ref shoot a free throw or make a three or miss a rotation.”

According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), the Knicks have their own complaints about the referees through the first two games of the series, with members of the organization upset by how Jalen Brunson is being officiated. Those Knicks officials believe Brunson is being grabbed and hit “up and down the floor” and it’s going unnoticed by the refs.

Meanwhile, Carlisle was asked on Friday about his response to the $35K fine and suggested he didn’t have any regrets, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link).

“I’m gonna support my players and our fan base, and our ownership, 100%, and I’m done talking about it,” the Pacers’ coach said.

Here’s more from around the East:

Knicks forward OG Anunoby, who is dealing with a left hamstring strain, traveled to Indianapolis with the team for Games 3 and 4. While that means he could theoretically play on Sunday if he makes a quick recovery, that seems unlikely. The main reason he’s traveling with the club is because the medical staff is in Indiana, according to Begley, who tweets that Anunoby is getting treatment three times per day.
It looks like the Nets are going to do whatever it takes to re-sign free agent center Nic Claxton, and that’s the right call, according to Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily, who argues that even if it costs $25MM per year, that’s a fair price based on the growth of the NBA’s salary cap. For what it’s worth, $25MM will be approximately the same percentage of the cap in 2024/25 that $20MM was three seasons ago.
Keith Langlois of Pistons.com recaps Isaiah Stewart‘s season and looks ahead to what’s next for the Pistons big man, who will begin a four-year, $60MM extension this July. Despite being the longest-tenured Pistons player, Stewart will still be just 23 years old next season, Langlois points out, arguing that his transition from center to forward this past season increases his versatility and value.
The Wizards will own a top-six pick in this year’s draft, and while the general consensus is that the 2024 class lacks star-level talent at the top, general manager Will Dawkins says he doesn’t necessarily subscribe to that line of thinking, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “I think people hold their cards tight to their vests strategically, so I definitely don’t agree with the narrative,” Dawkins told Robbins. “I think people realize how good this draft is, and in any draft, I’d rather have the power of choice to make the decision than be left with other players on the board that I might not feel as good about. So for me and the Wizards, we’re ones that would always want the highest pick possible if you have an option to choose a player.”

Pacers’ Rick Carlisle Fined $35K For Criticizing Officials

May 10th, 2024 at 10:10am CST by Dana Gauruder

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle has been fined $35K by the NBA for public criticism of the officiating, as well as questioning the integrity of the league and its officials, the league’s communications department announced (via Twitter).

Carlisle was ejected late in the fourth quarter of the team’s Game 2 loss to the Knicks on Wednesday. Then, during his postgame media session, he criticized the officiating in both games of the series, claiming that “small-market teams” don’t get the same calls as the big-market clubs.

“I’m always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials,” Carlisle said. “But we deserve a fair shot. There’s not a consistent balance, and that’s disappointing. Give New York credit for the physicality that they’re playing with. But their physicality is rewarded and ours is penalized. Time after time. I’m just really disappointed.”

The Pacers reportedly submitted 78 plays to the league on Thursday, covering the first two games, that they felt were incorrectly called.

Pacers Notes: Carlisle, Officiating, Disputed Calls, Haliburton, Turner

May 9th, 2024 at 9:32am CST by Dana Gauruder

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle downplayed some controversial calls in Game 1 of his team’s series against the Knicks, saying “We’re not expecting to get calls in here (at Madison Square Garden).”

He struck a much different tone during and after Indiana’s Game 2 loss on Wednesday. Carlisle was ejected late in the fourth quarter of the Pacers’ 130-121 loss, then ripped the officiating in the postgame press conference, claiming that “small-market teams” don’t get a fair shake.

“Small-market teams deserve an equal shot,” Carlisle said, per Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “They deserve a fair shot no matter where they’re playing.”

Carlisle pointed out a number of instances where he felt his team got an unfavorable whistle or a no-call on a Knicks foul.

“I’m always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials,” Carlisle said. “But we deserve a fair shot. There’s not a consistent balance, and that’s disappointing. Give New York credit for the physicality that they’re playing with. But their physicality is rewarded and ours is penalized. Time after time. I’m just really disappointed.”

The Pacers have submitted 78 plays to the league, covering the first two games, that they felt were incorrectly called, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports. That includes 49 calls from Wednesday’s contest. As part of NBA protocol, the clips will also be shared with the Knicks.

We have more on the Pacers:

While Carlisle and the Pacers front office may be incensed with the officiating, their players were less critical. “Let’s not pretend like [officiating] is the only reason we lost. We just didn’t play good enough,” Tyrese Haliburton said, according to Windhorst. “We just got to be better.”
T.J. McConnell said afterward in a video posted by SNY TV (Twitter link), “We love Rick showing that type of energy on the court, but that’s not the feeling that we have in the locker room. We’re not going to sit here and blame officials. We gotta be better. It’s just that simple.”
One very positive development for the Pacers was the play of Haliburton. After scoring just six points in Game 1, the All-Star guard poured in a game-high 34 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 7-of-11 on three-point attempts, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. “I just shot more shots, took what the defense gave me,” he said.
Meanwhile, Myles Turner pulled a disappearing act, Peter Botte of the New York Post points out. The Pacers’ starting center was held to six points and was minus-21 in 31 minutes after scoring 23 points in Game 1.

Central Notes: Pacers, McConnell, P. Williams, Pistons

May 8th, 2024 at 8:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pacers had two tough calls go against them in the final minute of Game 1, but coach Rick Carlisle refused to blame the officials for the loss, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. The first came with 52 seconds remaining when Aaron Nesmith was called for a kicked ball violation, even though the ball appeared to hit his hand rather than his foot. The other one happened when Myles Turner was whistled for a moving screen with 18.4 seconds left to play. Carlisle challenged the call, but the replay crew upheld it and that decision was confirmed in the Last Two Minute report.

“There’s so many events in an NBA game,” Carlisle said. “They’re always a sharp focus on the last minute, but there were things that happened with five or six minutes left that really hurt us. We had one play where one of our guys took a wild run to try to gamble and steal the ball, and it turned into a four-point play for them. I think we had a five-point lead at the time, and so, it’s not just the last minute or two. It’s a whole game. The whole fourth quarter. So this is a great experience for our guys. It comes at a cost. It’s so fun. But we’re gonna have to learn some things for Game 2.”

With the series resuming tonight, Nehm states that Indiana will need improved play down the stretch from Tyrese Haliburton and more attention toward keeping Josh Hart off the boards and the free throw line. Hart collected 13 rebounds in the opener and scored 10 of his 24 points in transition.

“He’s probably one of the best rebounder wings in the league, if not the best rebounding wing in the league,” Haliburton said. “You got to match his intensity there when he’s crashing. He was getting downhill, getting to the free throw yesterday. And then just in transition, when he gets the ball, I think everybody in the world knows he’s going left to right, Euro step. Still, he gets to it.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Speaking to reporters before tonight’s game, Carlisle talked about how difficult it was to coach against Pacers guard T.J. McConnell before they joined forces, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Carlisle recalled a game in which his Dallas team turned the ball over 16 times in the first half against McConnell’s Sixers. “To me, he was always such an effective player,” Carlisle said. “… He was just an enormous annoyance when you’re trying to play them.”
Bulls forward Patrick Williams turned down a four-year extension offer worth about $64MM before the start of the 2023/24 season, sources tell K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Johnson adds that Williams, who is headed toward restricted free agency, is expected to make a full recovery well before training camp after having surgery on his left foot in February.
It has been more than three weeks since the Pistons announced that they plan to hire a new head of basketball operations, but there have been no reports of any interviews in that time, Keith Langlois of NBA.com notes in a mailbag column. Langlois expects the interview process to get underway soon so that draft preparation can begin in earnest.

Knicks Notes: Brunson, Hart, Randle, Toppin

May 4th, 2024 at 9:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

The last time Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle were together in a playoff series, they were on the same side, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. It was 2021, long before Brunson became an All-Star, and he saw just 10 minutes off the bench in a Game 7 loss to the Clippers that turned out to be the end of Carlisle’s tenure in Dallas. Asked about that experience after Saturday’s practice, Brunson said there are no hard feelings and it won’t factor into his preparation for the matchup with Indiana.

“In all honesty, I said this last time, you’re in the playoffs now, there is no extra motivation,” Brunson said. “It is what it is. The past is the past. Rick welcomed me into the league and helped me become the player [I am today] and helped me grow from Day 1. Coaches got to make decisions that better suit their teams. Whatever happened, happened, and we’re moving forward from there.”

Brunson’s game flourished after Jason Kidd replaced Carlisle with the Mavericks, enabling him to get a huge offer from the Knicks as a free agent in 2022. Carlisle also said there’s no point in focusing on the past and acknowledged that Brunson has become one of the league’s top players.

“Jalen Brunson is a guy you would never bet against,” Carlisle said. “You just don’t bet against that guy. I don’t know if anybody saw this coming, what he’s achieved for two years now, but if you know him and you know his character, you’re not surprised. You’re not shocked.”

There’s more from New York:

Comments that Josh Hart made about Indiana in February are being revisited ahead of the Knicks-Pacers series, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Hart was critical of the Hoosier State on a “Roommates Show” podcast with Brunson, saying, “If I don’t have to play the Indiana Pacers, I’m not stepping foot in that state. I don’t want to be in Indiana for any All-Star break, for anything. I am not an Indiana guy.” Hart added that he enjoys a couple of Indianapolis food options, but otherwise called the state “bottom of the barrel.”
Even though the Knicks were able to get past Philadelphia in round one, Hart said they’re not the same team without Julius Randle, relays Ian Begley of SNY. Randle has been out of action since separating his right shoulder in late January. “He’s an All-Star. He [averaged] 24-9-and-5 or whatever it is, so that play-making, shot making, is something that we’re missing,” Hart said. “It’s funny: when people talk about us they somehow forget the big void we have of 24-and-9 gone. It’s not like he’s out there with us 70-80 percent. He’s not out there. So that’s something that’s a big void that we knew was gonna be hard to fill; but his play-making, his shot making, his energy is something that we definitely miss.”
One of the storylines of the upcoming series will be the presence of Obi Toppin, who was Leon Rose’s first draft pick after taking over as president of the Knicks, Botte notes in a separate story. Toppin was stuck behind Randle in New York, but he posted career-best numbers after being traded to Indiana last summer for a pair of second-round picks.

Bucks Notes: Giannis, Lillard, Portis, Middleton, Horst

April 29th, 2024 at 11:05am CST by Arthur Hill

Trailing 3-1 in their series with Indiana, the Bucks‘ best hope for a comeback rests with the return of injured stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, writes Jim Owczarski of The Journal Sentinel. Both players sat out Sunday’s loss, but neither has been ruled out for the series, which resumes Tuesday night in Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo, who has been sidelined since suffering a calf strain April 9, has been listed as doubtful for the first four games. However, there’s cause for optimism after the former MVP completed an intense workout Sunday morning.

“It went well,” coach Doc Rivers said. “He moved, he shot, he’s running now with no resistance. So those are all very good signs.” Rivers said he’s “optimistic” about Antetokounmpo’s chances to return at some point, adding, “Like I think there’s a chance for him to play in this series. I really do.”

Lillard aggravated his right Achilles tendon late in Game 3. He wore a walking boot for Saturday’s film session, but didn’t have it on as he sat on the bench for Sunday’s contest. He was officially listed as out with tendinitis in the Achilles tendon.

“Not shutting him down,” Rivers said. “That’s a fact. I can say that much for sure.”

There is “obviously pessimism” about the status of both players with a quick turnaround for Game 5, Shams Charania said this morning on Run It Back (video link).

There’s more on the Bucks:

Milwaukee lost an important part of its rotation on Sunday when Bobby Portis was ejected seven minutes into the game for an altercation with Andrew Nembhard (video link), notes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Although Nembhard pulled Portis’ arm, the officials determined during a video review that Portis’ push and open-handed strike were two separate hostile acts, meeting the standard for an ejection. “The emotions got the best of him,” Khris Middleton said. “I thought, for the most part of the year, he’s done a great job flirting with that line and not crossing over it. Tonight, it just crossed over at the worst time for us.”
Middleton played 40 minutes on Sunday despite pain in both ankles, Nehm adds. The veteran swingman was dealing with a sprained right ankle entering the game, and he hurt the left one when Myles Turner landed on it during a third quarter collision.
Sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer there’s a legitimate chance that general manager Jon Horst will leave the Bucks this summer to become head of basketball operations for the Pistons. Horst wasn’t on board with either of the team’s coaching hirings over the past year, according to O’Connor, as he preferred Nick Nurse when the organization opted for Adrian Griffin to please Antetokounmpo and he pushed for Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson when Rivers was brought in at midseason. O’Connor notes that Horst is a Michigan native who got his first front office job with the Pistons, and he might be more comfortable building a young team than refining Milwaukee’s aging roster.
Kelly Iko of The Athletic looks at the strategic adjustments made by Rivers and Indiana’s Rick Carlisle that have helped to shape the series.