Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability (at Utah Jazz) | January 15, 2024

Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability (at Utah Jazz) | January 15, 2024

I thought uh I thought we we got off to a poor start um you know we we did not have the defensive mindset that we needed to have at the beginning of the game their guards uh bullied us into the paint scored repeatedly um did a lot of substituting

And but they just got going and it was just hard to stop their entire team so you know starting off games I don’t care if we’re back toback I don’t care if it’s altitude or any of that stuff we just we have to have the right mindset the

Right uh competitive attitude and uh didn’t have it at the beginning of the game and it carried through um but the young guys in the fourth quarter did a nice job up until the last couple minutes where they just ran out of gas but all in all very disappointing night

Got a couple guys banged up um don’t know the severity but hope it’s uh hope it’s not serious you mentioned young te start I liked I liked how all of them competed really for the most part again except the last two or three minutes you know they just let go of the Rope

Because I you know I’m going to say it’s probably fatigue um in Utah I had some fresh guys in there but that’s just you know the way that goes um future is very bright I like all these guys and uh CHS has some some special abilities and uh

He showed a lot of those tonight his his vision his playmaking um been shooting the ball well in the G League um and you know he was he was uh he was out for a couple days with an illness and joined us late on the trip

So all that considered I thought he did a good job no you mention well these other guys got to defend better you know I mean I’m not going to name names but it was ugly okay it was ugly and you know um it just just just it just

Wasn’t it wasn’t what we’re building and trying to do so it’s disappointing I understand been around this leag 40 years I understand about off nights and all that but when it clearly is more about the offense than the defense and the defense is the thing that you’re really focusing

On and that’s not a good thing so um you know we’re going to to turn the page we’re going to we got two days until we play again we’re going to have to try to get healthy we’re going to have to try to get um our our Edge back um it’s a tough

You know it’s tough two games no no doubt about that you know you’re at Denver at Utah two teams that are playing very well and um in altitude so you know um but just wanted to see more of you know what we saw the first eight

Or nine seven or eight nine minutes of that fourth quarter throughout the entire game yeah yeah I mean they’re doing it in a similar way that we’re doing it and uh you know so uh give will a lot of credit for uh how how they’ve rearrange things you know they’re taking

A guy Chris dun who’s been out of the league you know who’s who had you know some injury problems over the years but has fought his way back and you know the guys that are the fighters are getting rewarded you know and that’s that’s that’s what we have to be

About as well Joseph sir obviously you got a you know ton of minutes tonight because of everything what did you what did you like about your performance what did you not like I mean just what’s kind of your overall this sort of personal assessment um I feel like I I played

Okay did a couple things well I feel like didn’t shoot the ball the greatest but just did my best to get my teammates involved make the right decisions um on offense and defensively I feel like I was pretty pretty solid in the right spot um always rebound better

Um defend better but so on to the next one what’s just the challenge I mean it seemed like you were more comfortable when you got in with the guys that you’ve been playing with with Ben and you know with Oscar and those guys it seemed like you were trying to took a

While to kind of find your footing with the Vets what was that like for you to kind of get used to where you’re supposed to be and how to play around those guys um I mean I just touched the B left so when I’m with that with the first group is just

More just playing a role and then when I’m with that last group I feel like she just kind of the balls in my hand more so I have more opportunity to make plays what’s so I guess what’s that take man obviously B part the spacing and trying

To figure out okay this guy’s going there I need to go there it’s what all what all goes into just having an idea of just where on the floor you’re supposed to to to be when you don’t have the ball in your hand um really just space and know always ready to move

Whether it’s a blur a chest screen um just cut to the basket s ball screens really just wherever wherever that is just a random movement just try to get myself involved I think there was one play where I think Buddy drove and I think you sort of stayed where you were

At you had an open look from where you were at but I think there was some bodies in front of that you think you threw a pass ended up in the first row and he SM the motion into you was that was that kind of a lesson learned I

Guess so when you wear to Drive where to space when a guy’s driving um yeah yeah for sure just just um and like the more I play with my teammates Tom be able to pick up on where they want me and where they deliver the ball at to so

Everything will come with time when you’re playing with the v a little more is there a point where it becomes more instinctual or do you find yourself maybe thinking about plays a little bit more than in your Ro um no I mean I’m going just I’m going just Hooper guard

So I mean it’s not it’s not terms of thinking or overthinking or anything like that just more opportunity with the Vets I would say because obviously they’re more ball dominant and they make decisions and they make the right read so when the ball’s in their hands just

Be in the floor space or just being able to knock down open shots but but also play my game what uh you mentioned having the ball you hand seemed like that what got you going when you had that one pass to Miles when you H him

Him low I guess when did that really kind of help you start to get a flow I guess when you were able to make an easy read and and you know get him a layup um yeah for sure just anytime I get my teammates involved it’ll always get me

Going I mean that’s one of my favorite things to do is just share the ball move the ball watch my teammates eat so whenever I can do that it definitely get me going for sure got four steals tonight I think uh you know obviously I think we talked before about gambling

And and the idea of when to gamble when not to gamble uh did you feel like you had a pretty good you know pretty good reads on that tonight is that something you feel like you’re getting better at as far as knowing you know when to

Attack the ball and when to you know kind of stay in a stance yeah it was a good night at blackjack good gam good gambles tonight but um all jokes aside just just being able to read that um and then just KN who we’re playing against as well so just making

The right reads being in the right spots but I would say most of them would just came from being in the right spot honestly what you mentioned the shooting go two for five it hit hit the first couple rickus just said you know that g League you’ve been shooting it better

Better and the numbers obviously show that I mean just how much more confident do you feel just over the last couple months with how you’re shooting the ball from outside yeah I mean I just been getting more and more confident and just the more time time I’ve been spending in

The gym as well um especially um on the road off days just really whenever I can just being able to get in the gym just get some shots up just find that touch but I mean I’m definitely confident in my jump shot and my work I put in what’s

Just the just last thing for me I guess what’s um the time you have had in the G leag the back and forth I mean just how how valuable has that piece in just to make sure that you are still getting a lot of minutes a lot of run in between

Um it’s been great it’s been great because that’s exactly what it is just just men and running and hooping so just being able to hoop and just get those rep and um just being able to read the game make decisions have the ball in my hands

Down there so I mean it’s it’s always a good time when I’m when I’m down there with the guys and last one I forgot to ask you obviously had the flu at the I the beginning of the week I was not sure what you had exactly but how were you

Feeling basically what how long it take it just to feel back to normal um I mean I’m still a little under the weather but I’m definitely feeling definitely feeling a lot better than I was before defensive fire was where you guys wanted it to be just what was your kind of read

On you know the start and how it kind of went sideways on you got get a good start and we was able to down like five the first quarter after that know Markin is tough covered play they play really good basketball they move a lot they play you

Mark a lot uh Colin and uh Colin was able to got loose a little bit you know and uh just got to got forg out way to sto that what uh I mean marg’s tough cover to start with when you don’t have Aaron when you don’t have Bruce just how

Much that make it harder to find an answer I guess for a guy that’s got that kind of size and skill I mean like I don’t know size he put everybody we can put on him you know I don’t know how much Aaron and Bruce would have done

Differently but he’s a tough cover in the league and we all know that he’s an Allstar player he’s one of those guys one of ones that can score well you know and uh sometimes when he’s going you tip your hat to them and uh we just never

Like get the game going in our favor how we wanted to go but uh it’s got watch F and adjust how much was fatigue a factor tonight you know coming off a game at Denver we didn’t care fatigue we we’re basketball players man that’s what we do

We want to play every day just didn’t get execute obviously the young guys got a bunch of run out there uh seemed like jarus did some interesting things just what do you think about what you saw from him I guess in this them to Showcase what they got and um and you

See D shows a lot of flashes he’s it’s going be really good in this league and uh you know and uh sometimes you get opportunities with that and uh sometimes you you got forgot to we the storm tough road trip you forgot to we the storm try

To get one sack on Thursday and uh calm things down and uh it’s another back to back too so it’s fun thing about this league you always get another night to prove yourself what’s it seems like he’s still trying to get his footing I mean I think there was one point where you

Drove and you were kind of expecting him to be to kind of shift a little bit uh to get to a spot where you threw it I mean just how much is he kind of figuring out just kind of how to read and react when you guys don’t you know

You do a lot of that you don’t necessarily run you have a lot of practice time with jar too like you know but you know and that comes after that and uh we didn’t we we all have aity but it’s not an excuse you know uh sometime

We get caught watching the ball thinking the guy’s going to do something but uh comes with grow I did it a lot of times nice rookie he hasn’t played a lot yeah so it’s not his fault he’s trying to still learn the game he’s 19 18 years

Old so it comes with being out there and he’s never out there as much so like now when he get out play he knows and uh and U next time he watch film He he’ll be better

Rick Carlisle, Jarace Walker and Buddy Hield speak with the media following the Pacers loss to the Jazz on Monday night.

0:00 – Rick Carlisle
4:22 – Jarace Walker
8:53 – Buddy Hield