The Indiana Pacers have done nothing but defy expectations throughout the season. The team went under the radar for much of the regular season, so fans were understandably surprised when they put up an impressive performance against the Celtics.
Game 1 was a revelation to fans not familiar with their game. While the Celtics eventually snatched the win from the Pacers, some may have felt like it was more of a game the Pacers lost.
Rick Carlisle most likely felt this when he talked to the press after the game where he absolved his team of any shortcomings that might have impacted the results of the series opener.
Rick Carlisle takes responsibility for the Indiana Pacers’ Game 1 loss to the Boston Celtics
It was clear throughout Game 1 that the Pacers would hold their own against the C’s. They even had a chance to clinch the win when they were up by three with only seconds to spare in regulation.
However, a costly turnover saw Jaylen Brown tie the game. The Pacers didn’t make the right adjustments and lost the game in overtime.
While Carlisle could have taken the easy way and asked more from his players in the presser, he instead took the brunt of the blame and credited his players for sticking to the game plan.
Per NESN’s Greg Dudek:
“I loved the way our guys fought in this game,” Carlisle said. “This loss is totally on me. With 10 seconds in regulation, we should have just taken the timeout, advanced the ball and found a way to get it in and made a free throw or two and ended the game.
“It didn’t happen and we made some other mistakes. But our guys just need to concentrate on fighting the way they fought in this game from start to finish and we’ll be back Thursday.”
A quick peek at the box score verifies Carlisle’s claims. Tyrese Haliburton had an outstanding outing with 25 points, three boards, 10 assists, three steals, and a block. Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner both had at leat 20 points and 10 rebounds to their name.
The rest of the Pacers also put in decent work during the game. The team bought into Carlisle’s game plan and executed it as well as they could.
It’s now up to Carlisle and the coaching staff to make the necessary adjustments and play better in Game 2.
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