The Indiana Pacers have had some close games recently. Three of their last four games have been decided by ten points or less. The bad news is that they only won one of those games. Part of the reason for this is Rick Carlisle’s coaching throughout the sequence.
Let’s be clear: Carlisle is one of the best coaches in the game. I’m pro-Carlisle and I think he is the right man to lead the Indiana Pacers. He uses his wealth of experience to get the most out of a team that has only one superstar and is devoid of another.
Despite this, there have been some mistakes in the last few games that a coach with this kind of experience should not make. These errors also happen late in matches, during critical periods, making the situation even worse.
Let’s start with Minnesota. Despite a blatant foul that was not reported, the Pacers still had a chance to win at the end of the match. After a missed free throw with less than eight seconds left, the Pacers had a chance to tie or win the game. Carlisle left his timeout in his pocket and let the Pacers go. Aaron Nesmith ended up having his layup blocked to end the game.
Wednesday night against the Bulls, he made multiple blunders. During the fourth quarter, he left Obi Toppin until there was only 1:59 left to play. When Myles Turner finally checked in, he hit two big threes in a row. What took him so long to reinstate Turner?
With five seconds left, Carlisle had the Pacers foul Demar DeRozan by three. It is very good. I actually like strategy. The only problem is that Aaron Nesmith fouled him. It was his sixth foul. The Bulls got an intentionally missed free throw and DeRozan made the tying shot because Nesmith wasn’t there to guard it.
The worst part was that he couldn’t keep it for the entire overtime. At the end of overtime, DeRozan missed another free throw as the Pacers were down three. Once again with a chance to tie the game, Carlisle opted not to call a timeout. Tyrese Haliburton hit a three to lose.
Carlisle had to call timeouts in both of those games. He also needed someone else to commit to DeRozan in this situation. These are mistakes a veteran coach can’t make with a young team. These two losses are on him, not on the team.
Following. Next story. The Pacers need to bring this player back in free agency. dark
Carlisle should be better over the period. He’s too good a coach to keep making mistakes like that.
