Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability (vs. Phoenix Suns) | January 26, 2024

Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability (vs. Phoenix Suns) | January 26, 2024

What a game um thing that I think everybody likes about our team right now is that they’re is becoming more and more of a defiant competitiveness with the group uh these last two games are you know inexplicably hard uh tonight’s especially backto back they arrested uh going against three guys and

You know Booker obviously had a had a special game but uh the way our guys hung in the way everybody supported each other was was huge so really happy for for our guys and our fans fans just you know in the last minute and a half two minutes it was bedum in

There uh Phoenix’s quarter scores 40 40 3417 uh just to see what Booker did to see what all those guys did to get starting for you guys to come up and Pacers basketball is 48 minutes it’s not 36 you know that’s how we got to look at it and

Um you I I’ve been around this a long time seen a lot of guys having huge nights um and we were doing some some unconventional things with Booker and and Durant flying around and in the fourth quarter our guys just decided that that we were going to make one

Additional effort on each defensive play and find a way you know to hang in and give ourselves a chance and we did eron n Smith obviously took on that assignment obviously like he does took it personally obviously that wasn’t the only guy covering him I know it’s a team

Effort and everything but uh looked like he really made him work which I know is what Aaron does but just how impressive was just what Aaron did down the stretch there yeah n Smith is as good a competitor as we have um he’s earned everything that he’s gotten in this league everything that

He’s gotten on our team um and you know there is a defiant competitiveness in everything he does on the floor and so he sets a great example for our entire group you know I there are a lot of guys I mean Obi toppen tonight was just tremendous um unusual situation where

You got to play smaller because of the um the geometrics of the game they put the death lineup out there it’s just very very difficult and he made he made plays both ends of the floor and uh believe he he hit hit the game-winning shot right yeah yeah I mean so that’s

You know Monumental stuff just to keep going on Obi I mean obviously you bring in a guy like Pascal and and that’s a situation you can look at say oh man you know that means less time for me but obviously you guys W put put a lot of

Lineups out there with those two together um and you’ve said already just how good he’s been at dealing with changes in roles and whatnot but I mean just what’s just overall just impressed you about how he’s approached everything uh about this season well Obie toppen is

In his fourth year and he has he has graduated to the point where he has become an NBA Pro um he knows who he is he knows how he plays he plays to his strengths um he’s able to put things behind that go wrong and he he plays

With a pure heart um you can’t ask for anything more than that last onec another day of just sort of growth for him this what did you kind of see how do you see him just take another step with this group Pascal sakam is is a great fit with our team our

Organization our city I mean he’s just he just oozes Pacer Nation you know he just along with really fitting in with the pieces that we have on the team and I think at this point he realizes that you know we need more from him right now you know with Tyrese still

Being out so uh boy he he raised it to um you know a seismic level tonight and we needed every bit of it what made you uh trust Andrew Nimar just down the stretch you know put the ball in his hands and let him go make a play

You know he buil he’s built up a lot of trust and Equity uh with his teammates and with the coaching staff over the last year and a half um he’s tough he’s unafraid of the moment um he competes um and you know he he’s just he’s come

Through a number of times um Maybe not maybe not in in in a stage like tonight against this level of competition in a game that was so back and forth but you know they they put so many good Defenders out there um you you’ve got to attack and you’ve got to take the

First possible strong move that results in a good shot that you can and he was the guy down the stretch put in two or three huge shots it was probably three or four um and then defensively you know he’s been one of our best Prem Defender

Since he you know walked in the door of June of 22 then with going back to Aaron you know he comes to the league supped to be a shooter obviously gets traded here what do you think it takes for a young player to kind of redefine

Whatever they have to do to get on the floor get minutes and and produce in winning basketball like he does on the defensive end well eron n Smith and Pascal cakam are great examples for jarus Walker Ben Shepard Ben Maan I mean these guys were um first

Round picks um I’m pretty sure that Aaron played some g-league games I don’t know that for a fact Pascal sakam was in and out of the g-league for two years and at one point was assigned to a to a month-long trip on the road and um Pascal has earned the position

That he has in the NBA now two times all League two time All-Star Aaron Smith has earned being a starter on this team um and he’s a starter because of his skill but even more so because of his competitiveness and so I think the guys in our roster are seeing that the guys

That are guys that are playing the minutes are the guys that consistently play with energy toughness and selflessness and that’s that’s just that’s how we’re going to do business that’s how we have to do business your former player Luca Don had 73 tonight uh Booker went for 62 tonight and beat at

70 like what do you think of just the offensive state of the league right now having think four it’s very healthy I would have to say that it’s very healthy um look Lucas you know Luc is just so great he’s just so good um Booker the same thing you know and

Booker’s Booker’s developed a Defiance about how he plays um particularly at the offensive end but really at both ends and so you know this is this is compelling stuff in the NBA and you know if you’re a defensive coordinator in this league good luck you know it’s uh it’s very very difficult

And defense defense has evolved now to a point where um it’s a it’s a different set of chess pieces out there I mean we needed a point so so um our objective was just to get the ball whether or crash the board whether it

Was a make or Miss U I think Ben drove and he tried to finish over somebody and then Pascal caught it missed the layup and then the ball just bounced right in front of me I just grabbed it and put it in so uh so yeah what do you think it

Says about this team obviously Booker goes off in the first quarter you see that he’s he’s going off throughout the game but you lock down that fourth quarter to hold him to 17 points and he got a win yeah uh shout out to B he great player but um that last fourth

Quarter uh we decided to to hit and send another def Defender to get the ball out his hand and just scramble out of that and whole fourth quarter we did it they didn’t they didn’t like at at all I think that was their worst their worst quarter yeah they scored 17 that quarter

Um and so it was just junking up their their offense we know who they wanted to go to we knew who had the high hands and we just had to make sure that to get the ball out his hand and allow somebody else to do their job saw Aaron n Smith

Take a shot below the belt yeah stays in the game gets a stop at the end of the game shout out to the to him for that stop that charge and the resiliency that he has to go out there and just keep fighting no matter what yeah Aaron is a

Dog like he he’s going to go out there and do all the little dirty things to help a team help our team win um started off with that with the charge um forget who it was on uh Grayson Allen yeah yeah uh that charge was huge change changed

The game um then game winner uh book tried to get the ball and great defense on him um and got the block so shout out to him he great defender great great for our team obviously you’ve had you’ve seen your role change a bunch you know

So far in the course of this year in the course of this thing and obviously when they go get Pascal that’s somebody who at least you know nominally plays your position I mean what did what was your sort of reaction to that how have you approached it and obviously you were on

The floor with him you it seems like you certainly looked looked to say hey how else can I uh contribute just what’s been your focus in terms of just trying to find a way to contribute how you can yeah having Pascal here is is amazing like he’s going to help our help our

Team tremendously like um we we trying to accomplish something uh that we haven’t been to the playoffs in a little while uh and we feel like we can really fight to to get far in the playoffs so and so basically having him is is uh

Great for us um I was I was super excited to have him come here but like I said and always say like anytime I’m on the court like I’m going to play my basketball same exact basketball um the the basketball that the coaches wanted me to play for for bringing me here so

Um whether I’m starting when I’m coming coming off the bench I’m just going in there having fun and hooping does it seem like bringing him in has actually kind of opened up more competition I guess because Rick seems to be interested in in playing with any kind of lineups moving guys around in

Different places that they haven’t been um willing to go bigger willing to go smaller I mean has it instead of it being like okay well this guy’s getting those minutes does it actually look like you get more of a chance now everybody gets an opportunity to kind of remake

Their case yeah bringing Pascal he just he brings the offense like obviously he plays defense but uh he brings like a offens offensive skill set like he can go get a bucket we can get him the ball and he’ll just go get a bucket whenever

We need it um and we needed another guy like that and so having him uh that’s great for us and and and me like I’m the type of player to play off of other guys like I’m screening rolling uh sitting in the corner waiting for a shot or I’m

Crashing the board trying to get offensive rebound I’m doing the little things I wouldn’t say I’m coming down isoing a guy but he’s he’s that type of player you can give him the ball in the post you can give him the ball on the

Wing top of the key and he’s going to go get a bucket for us which we needed so how long were you waiting to do the between the legs dunk and how nice did it feel to finish that thing uh I didn’t know we was down uh but I just heard

That we I we was down when I did that so if I would have missed that that would have been bad but glad I made it for sure what was the reaction like I thought I saw tyres like covered his mouth for like what everybody told I

Just was like thank God I made that because I looked up at the scool I’m like Opie that that was part of a stretch in the second quarter where I think you scored 10 straight just getting out and transition and having some success and kind of brought you

Guys back into the game was that kind of a mentality for you at that point in the game just trying to create something off the bench um for sure I always come in and try and give give give the team energy uh I feel like that’s my that’s

Been my job past four years um so I just I I go out there uh try to bring the crowd into the game obviously that between the leg dunk uh was for the crowd to to Get Hype um and having the crowd in there is helpful helpful for us

Because we we feed off of that and so um doing little things like that helps us speaking of the crowd how electric was the atmosphere tonight down the stretch that we have we have the best fan B in the league right now um today was crazy

It felt like a play in the fourth quarter uh we kind of switched up the scheme in the fourth quarter uh kind of Switched the lineup up had a lineup in that we haven’t really played was for them uh say all season and uh it was

Just a different look kind of threw them off a little bit random traps um and we played hard we picked it up obviously the traps are a big part of it but you had the primary assignment on Devon after I mean I guess early in the 1 I

Mean just what was it like to pick him up at a point where he was going off as much as he did you obviously you try to be as physical with him as you could be um just I guess sort of take us through that assignment just what was it like to

Kind of play off of that guy over the course of this time I mean he he had already gotten he had already had gotten it going and you know when a player of that caliber gets going like that it’s extremely hard to stop um so I just

Tried my best to be as physical as I could be without fouling uh make him work for everything Tire him out um but he made he made tough shots time after time and he played a phenomenal basketball game today obviously you took the one particular shot that you don’t

Get a foul called for I guess how did you I don’t know if the word is move on from that say Obviously you took the one shot below the belt as it were you were on the ground I’m trying not to be too explicit about that but um just

Basically you know was it like to take something like that and then have to sort of move on from it did you did it I guess in any way motivate you I guess going forward and you know how did you handan it woke me up it woke me up a little bit

Um I mean he didn’t mean to do it you know we talked to him talked to him after the play came up make sure I was all right so um I know there was nothing behind it um but happen move on won the basketball game that’s the important part you you

Mentioned you know the lineups you haven’t played with I mean it seems like just it’s another kind of case of the addition of Pascal allows you to do some things with lineups and size that maybe you haven’t had a chance to do I know at least one point you’re out there

Basically you’re at the two and you’ve got Obi Pascal and Miles all out there together I mean just um how is that sort of open things up for you we already talked about how it doesn’t make you play as much for but um how much just

Does it allow you guys to play with size really from two to five I mean like that like a team like that you got to try different things you know send different things at them make them make different reads um tonight we usually play you

Know smaller ball we had to play long um you know rebound the basketball uh you know show them length and that that change definitely bothered him and you know made a difference just guess last thing for me just what suppos just come back Wednesday just about the

Grid of this team I mean you know it’s been there for a long time but you guys were down 17 you obviously are going up against a guy that that’s going off in the middle for 62 and obviously you hung in there just how what does it to say

For this group of guys I mean we got players on this team you got people who care people who play hard uh people who play the right way people who want to win basketball games and do something special Aaron what do you do to condition yourself I see you running all

Day in the game and you don’t seem to get tired so what does it take to play at that level sustained level of energy on defense besides just obviously having the mentality to do it uh well I mean I’ll tell you this I do get tired so it

Is tiring um but it’s just all summer preparation work um even during the season make sure I stay in shape make sure I eat correctly uh feel my body correctly um and just the the will to not stop if I stop they gonna keep going and attacking then what is it like to

See all of that you know maybe stuff you did in the summer to train for moments like tonight pay off in that final stop against Deon Booker um yeah it’s good it’s good to see stuff like that come to fruition and especially a big time game like this big time wins this one

Yesterday um um it was good it was good Obie mentioned that it felt like a playoff game did you feel that when you know you like he gets the huge bucket you get the Stop and the crowd is going nuts you can’t I don’t know if you hear anything

Or you’re screaming they’re screaming like what what is that like I’ll would tell you the second half definitely picked up the intensity uh from pretty much the entire second half ever since that play um you know the below theout play I think the crowd got into it we

Got into it uh we started playing with more of a chip on our shoulders started playing more aggressive more physical um and honestly I think it helped us win the basketball game and the last one for me what do you think of the way Andrew NIMH hard control the game on offense

Down the stretch I mean you’re in a game with KD Durant Booker and he’s the guy scoring down the stretch to get you all over the hump I mean Andrew is a phenomenal player I’m a big fan big big fan he plays with great Pace great Poise

All the time he’s never rushed he makes the right play it’s a great defender um you know he’s important to what we’re doing here um and when the ball in his hands we all trust him to make the right play down the stretch he did made tough

Baskets got tough stops helped us won the ball game Aaron Obie obviously had the gamewinner but the way he played all night he really kind of brought you guys single-handedly back there in the first half with getting down in transition what do you can you say about the way he

Played Off the Bench tonight uh Obie energy bringer you know he makes big time he makes big time Tommy plays um and uh he makes a lot of plays that that get the bench involved you know and I’m happy for him happy with the way he played tonight what you had double

Double like come on man cuz good stuff yeah I mean I ain’t got nothing to say Obie being Obie that’s what we need from him every night just this he had his role change and you know what that’s like as well but um obviously Pasco comes in it’s you know

Technically his same position but seems like he’s stuck out and sort of look for ways to continue to impact uh just what’s it been like just to see the way he’s approached the changes and the moves that that he’s had to go through just in this first season of the

Team yeah he’s had a couple changes this year um but I mean Obie’s a professional like he knows he’s been around the league for a while now um he’s been on a playoff team before so he knows how lineup changes can happen you know some nights some guys might be needed more

Than others um like tonight we really needed him other nights you know Pascal might play more it just depends on any given night he’s a professional and when his number is called he always shows up you think of the between the legs dunk you everybody went off all I’m

Gonna say is I’m glad he made it kind of like example up that and and and guys just just kept fighting um we know how tough the other team was but I think I like I just like our mentality it’s like no matter what’s happening they just keep playing our pace and our

Basketball um and and yeah that’s how we got to keep keep keep keep going every single night we know that we can hang with any team out there so we just got to have that mentality from the jump I think their quarter scores were 40 34

347 I guess just what got that much better for you guys um I think just just get them to do things I did not used to you know was was a lot of trapping a lot of rotation I think again it’s it’s easy to just say oh we just going to trap But

After those traps I thought we we did a good job just rotating and and and guys was flying around um and and that’s special like a lot a lot of teams can’t do that um especially when a guy like like gets going like like like dein got

Got going today like um it’s EAS to just hang your heads and and I thought you know the guys just did a good job is just stick into the game plan and continue to work how do you think Aaron maybe just set that tone obviously he

Gets hit below the belt and then then gets to stop at the end of the game bounces back yeah no he’s been he was awesome like just again you play against those type of players is it’s hard um every possession to get the ball you got

To defend him um and and I thought he did he did excellent tonight just Contin to fight um just working hard every possession and and again we did as a team too just helping out but but I thought Aaron you know he he he did awesome you’ve close games out in your

Career but what was it like to kind of be in a little bit of a deferral mode see Andrew NIMH hard go want and get some huge yeah I mean I thought I thought we just attack like whatever we felt like was an advantage and he had

That you know like he he he made tough moves at the basket and and he can do that so um I thought it was it was good you know like just to recognize those those mismatches and and attack them and and I think that’s the luxury of this

Team you know like we’re going to have multiple guys that can make plays and and I think that’s what makes a team you know kind of special if if everyone knows what the ball is going you know it’s kind of tough sometimes but um I

Thought you know he did he did well just attacking the mismatch making the right you took some time to thank the fans on the court at the end there what what was the atmosphere like for you tonight and and what’s the reception been like for

You yeah no it’s been dope man it’s been dope like just just being a part of you know something again like I can just I can tell like it’s just it’s just basketball fans like like like Ro basketball fans I think for me like I I

Enjoy that like just like they they you can tell they understand the game like you know like and and they get in the game in the moments where it’s needed and it’s just it’s awesome like I I um and and just the love it’s been it’s been incredible I’m going keep I feel

Like I’m going to keep saying that but that’s just how I feel you know like it’s it’s it’s pretty awesome you talked about that they they obviously you guys used some lineups that they haven’t used before you got here I mean I think you know I think Aaron was playing some two

Tonight when I think it was you and Obie together in Miles um just what’s it see like Rick’s for one thing is experimenting a lot you know with you to to see just different kind of combinations and flipping things around was it to see that those groups kind of

Come together no it was good it was good I think again like Obi had a amazing game like and and you know like he just brought like a lot of boost to the team and U even when came with that second unit it was it was just a lot of energy

Like fastpac and I thought you know he carried it into that lineup and and and again that lineup has a lot of length you know like we we we able to to guard those guys a little bit better like help a little bit more and um you know I

Think it was working tonight and I thought you know Kudos is a coach to just know go with it like a lot of coaches probably can’t do that so I think um it’s just a testament to like and he’s been in situations and and he’s experienced ask you’ve been in those

Zones before getting scoring big games all those things what is it like do the opp side of it and try to like break the Zone another person’s in it’s tough it’s tough um cuz again like he was making a lot of touchot I think I thought early

Like he had like a couple of like just easy like wide open threes and and getting a player like that like like you can’t really give him that and once like his confidence get going like the baskets just get bigger and bigger like um

And it is tough it is tough I thought we you know like we tried to do a couple of things and and and you know he just he was fast like he was really fast to get into spots and scoring and um yeah some Sometimes It’s just tough and and just

To see that I thought again at the end of the day we got the win so which you can you can sit back and be like hey I took the win you know but um yeah it’s tough last one what do you think of just

The state of the scoring in the NBA as of late even the last I know 5 years look over 73 tonight don’t it’s crazy I was just saying like I feel like somebody’s going to score 100 points you know like it feels crazy um but the

Talent is getting better like I mean I know we can get into oh like how it was back in the day or this or that but just guys are just better like guys are just the skill level is is it’s like a all-time high and and and you can see

From different teams and and different players BS guards like it’s just it’s just everywhere just just shows like how how the game has just evolved and and how guys just get better yeah no I think um last two games we really it was a really big team effort we um were down

At times and and just kind of stayed together and kept pushing and um made some plays down the stretch and I think the one thing that you guys have done you look back at the record last year without Tyrese halberton you guys are a much different team this year without

Him you guys have a lot of confidence don’t you yeah D definitely I think we got a lot of confidence I think everybody that played last year is even more comfortable in their roles and playing in the system and then we brought some guys that that can hoop too

So um we we I think we have a chance on any given night 19 points and eight assists on Thursday night against Philadelphia was a different game you guys led by as many as 27 and then Friday night against Phoenix 22 points eight assist and you guys had to Rally

From a 17-point deficit what was the key in the comeback yeah I think just staying together and trusting what we do I think in those times you might get frantic or think uh scared to take a shot maybe but I think we just got to stay

Stay um commit even more to what we do and I think that’s what we did down the stret on defense and on offense just keep attacking yeah you hit some big shots down the stretch you like that match up with Grayson Allen didn’t you no definitely definitely I like I like I

Like that match up I like my myself honestly that went down the stretch um and I felt like the ball was ball was going my way and um had a lot of space out there so so much is made about you guys on offense you guys lead the NBA

You gave up 80 points in the first half but in the fourth quarter Phoenix scored just seven and shot 30% from the field what was the key defensively in the fourth yeah I think U we we changed up a coverage a little bit we ended up hitting them and doubling a little bit

More and it kind of just took them out the Rhythm and I think we just did a good job of flying around and trying to make up for that uh for that and just too hard play honestly this is your second year playing in Indianapolis what about the crowds I mean uh sellout

Crowds it seems night after night they really love the way you guys play yeah hell yeah we’re um it’s been it’s been nice it’s been really fun to play in here all season we have a fun group and a fun Arena to play in great fans who

Love Hoops so we just want to keep giving them good performances and continue to grow this organization all right finally you have a chance to end the home stand on Sunday with a win against p uh Memphis what will be the key against the Grizzlies I think

Um doing what we do I think it’s it’s one of those games where if we do what we do play our best that um we’ll win that game we just need to um lock in be mature about that all right honestly just um no quit and you know there were

Moments of the game where you know they got up and and we just continued to fight back and and we needed every single guy tonight um and it was uh just it was fun to see you know Drew stepped up in a huge way and played played an

Awesome game and um you know it took us home to have games like this nights like this when you don’t have Tyrese halberton what does it do for this team he’s key to what you need to do down this stretch but to have nights like

This one yeah I mean I’ve said it you know numerous times when we don’t have Tyrese it it’s a collective effort at that point um because no one can replicate what he brings to the table for us and that’s what it was for us tonight and since he’s been out I think

The phrase that Rick Carlile used was a defiant competitiveness it’s something you’ve played with your whole career how have you kind of seen the rest of the team take on that embodiment too yeah it’s honestly they just kind of a refus to to lose mentality and um you know

Playing a full 48 minutes is what it took tonight and being defiant and competitive and not taking no for an answer is um something this group needs to continue to play with and you know when we do we’re we’re pretty tough to beat quick look at Memphis what do you

See when you look that direction a team that’s playing very well right now um you know they’ve had injuries obviously but that doesn’t mean anything um they’re incredibly well coached and they got a lot of good players over there and we need to be ready for them

Rick Carlisle, Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell speak with media following the Pacers win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

0:00 – Rick Carlisle
7:57 – Obi Toppin
13:07 – Aaron Nesmith
19:57 – Pascal Siakam
25:03 – Andrew Nembhard
27:28 – T.J. McConnell