Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability (vs. Minnesota Timberwolves) | March 7, 2024

Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability (vs. Minnesota Timberwolves) | March 7, 2024

Pretty clearly lost in the first quarter um the first quarter was a dud we didn’t didn’t come out with attit attitude or presence um dug a big hole we poured defensively and from there it was it was uh an uphill climb third quarter was great um

But you know when you when you start the game as poorly as we did you leave so much to chance um I mean second half they hit it they hit a three where the ball hits the back of the rim bounces up eight feet and

Goes in I mean two plays where the ball bounces off goar’s hand and just goes in the basket for n1’s I mean if you’re not right at the beginning of the games um basketball guys are are not going to be kind so we just got to keep learning from

This stuff this stuff was very reminiscent of the San Antonio game which is extremely disappointing because you know the Dallas game shows so much promise uh but this is where a young team’s got to learn and grow and get better you mentioned the San Antonio game this one New Orleans scored 48 in

The first quarter last Friday is there been a theme to you of these starts is something leading to these first quarters that aren’t going your way so much recently it’s it’s just you know at the beginning of the game we just our our physical guys weren’t physical you know we just didn’t

Have the kind of attitude you need to have against a physical highlevel team like Minnesota and uh you we just we paid a heavy price for it um you know halftime was pretty animated and you know we we talked about you know physicality and we had a sellout crowd

And we got to we got to get these these people dying to get into the game and and we jumped into the the third quarter but it can’t it can’t be just when you’re getting punched in the mouth every time so we just got we got to

Learn from it got to learn from it you know nothing’s given everything’s got to be earned so hard lesson guys titer took the lead a few times in the final couple minutes what did you see as the difference in the end and what did you think of your team’s performance in

Those last few minutes well I mean edwards’ shot making was was you know next level and even when we double teamed him he got away from us so look he’s a great player and that’s why you know that’s why it’s you know every second of every minute of the

Game matters you know anything you can do to get e get even slightly ahead or stay even or stay close to even to start the game um you know makes a big difference in the long run so um you know just it’s a it’s a tough lesson but one that we

Got to take our medicine to learn from you talked at the beginning about how important Pascal was for keeping you guys just afloat while Tyrese was out it seems like there’s been a lot of occasions where when you might be struggling he’s a guy that keeps you in

It I guess how important is he in situations where things aren’t going the way that you want them to go he’s a guy that gets you a shot and kind of buoys you and keeps you in games yeah second quarter was a good example you know we’ve been playing him with the second

Unit some the last couple games and uh he did just that he got to the rim got the ball in the basket um you know helped helped the team stay afloat during some dry spells and so he’s very very valuable what uh you know Tyrese seems like he’s just continuing his ability to

Create I think he was seven of eight from inside the arc today I mean like how much do you like what he’s doing even when the three isn’t necessarily falling find a way to get him some offense and and you know Finding other ways to get the ball in the basket and

Create yeah he’s a great player I what what else you want me to say I mean yeah he can do all that I mean um yeah you obviously sure you moved nard onto onto Edwards uh in the second half just what’ you like about the presence there obviously Anthony still made some

Incredible shots what would you like he played him like he was pissed off you know I mean his big difference um and you know Edwards is a physical player and you got to play physical players physically um you know the whistles weren’t going our Direction

Tonight so you know but so we needed to do something to to to dictate what was going on second half we did first half we we didn’t and so um again it’s just you know it’s a tough it’s a it’s a tough learning thing on the last play

Did you just like the the angle n Smith had is that the reason you decided not to call time out out there did you just see a clean Lane and say that’s good we got we get the best point guard in the game and i’ i’ I’d rather have the ball

In his hands without them calling timeout and being able to set their defense and you know I mean Aaron decided to go to the basket he there were a couple things he could have done uh a two-point game he could have he could have driven one drill pulled back

And shot a three and won it you know um so but I trust TR Tyrese in those in those situations um you know playing against a set defense late in games is very very difficult and so you know we we take this approach on way more occasions than not and have

And have had success with it so you know it’s look I take responsibility we didn’t score in last possession that’s on me fine um but you know the the first quarter you know we got to we got to do better and that’s on me too I got to I

Got to do a better job I got figure out a way to convince these guys that that hard play is is going to carry the day in this league in in every game down the stretch cuz we’re we’re playing all teams that are playing for something you know um and you know

Minnesota’s you know at the top of the West Dallas is is playing for positioning you know Orlando on Sunday we know we know where that’s what that’s all about and um Oklahoma City Chicago these teams are all they’re all fighting their butts off so um we’ve we must we must do the

Same just uh I don’t know I mean I just think our starting lineup has to do a better job of Starting Games it’s kind of been a reoccurring theme um at times so we just got to do a better job uh starting quarters and finishing quarters as a

Group uh all four quarters guys had a lead tied game a few times late what did you see as the difference in the in the final minutes even Beyond an just going crazy yeah uh felt like we got some good looks uh offensively um I mean and obviously made some

Special shots that’s what he does and they’re a great defensive team uh last play you know I feel like we got a good look and they just and there was a special defensive play by an he just made special play after special play down the stretch um but yeah I

Thought there were some interesting um interesting no calls some interesting uh decisions there by by the by the refs but uh I mean Kudos that you know one of the best teams in the NBA for a reason they they play hard they guard um there’s a really good team you what did

You get hit in the left tip did you fall on it I could tell you were kind of feeling at it a few times yeah Aaron accidentally need me uh during a rebound Pascal obviously was able to keep you guys I think he had 14 in the

First half was was taking a while for you guys to get going just how important has he been in some of these stretches where maybe everything isn’t working that he’s able to kind of get you guys a shot and and you know continue to kind of create his own offense in no scenar

Yeah I think when things slowed down he just is uh calm and steady and proven and makes play after play down the stretch um I thought he did a really good job for us getting us uh buckets when the game kind of slowed down there um we just didn’t make enough plays

Defensively as a group just you mentioned the good shot the shot you got at the end I mean just what what all goes through your mind in that entire stretch what are you looking for what do you you know what tells you just attack rather than you know try to pull back

And you know call a timeout or anything like that yeah well I mean I didn’t know if was if we didn’t know if a I mean didn’t anticipate a missing the free throw when he did I just saw Aaron behind the defense and saw like an

Advantage for us um and I think coach trust us trust us and trust me to make the right play and I felt like that that was the right look for us um you know him behind the defense attacking a you know a defense scrambling to get back

There so uh just again k them on just making a hell of a play at the end of the game what uh uh how do you think you’re sort I guess continuing to prove as when as you’re continuing to of move through the shooting thing I think you

Were seven of eight from two you know obviously 13 assists certainly able to create in a bunch of other different ways and how are you just kind of continuing to to sort of figure out your offense as this goes along yeah just keep being aggressive trusting the work

That I put in and it just takes some time uh but but I’m getting there I’ll get there um yeah I don’t know I don’t know what it is but um I know that we got to figure it out um just can’t start games like that uh it’s on all of us the

Starters we got to just come in with way better energy obvious I mean we missed a couple of shots but I just thought like our energy wasn’t wasn’t great in the beginning um especially I mean against every team but especially against a team like them you know they first in the west

So you got to you got to come get be be ready you know and like for those type of games especially you know like those are tough matchups so just not not really a good start from us but I thought you know we bounced back

From it um and we we we give a pretty good effort would you put it all on energy or was there some execution things you felt like didn’t go right yeah I mean I think I think we missed some shots like I I mean I thought like

I we had a little couple turnovers um that usually it’s not great especially in the beginning of the game get the other team going they get easy baskets like um and then we just didn’t get into anything like really like good at that time you know like we just not just slow

Um and and that can’t happen in the beginning of the game um so we just yeah we got to have a way better energy than that like starting games um and I think the guys you know understand that so we should be better next game guys tied it

Up or a few times in the final couple minutes but couldn’t quite get it done obviously an was crazy in the final couple minutes but why do you feel like you guys couldn’t quite get over the up at the end um yeah they made some tough

Shots he made some tough shots credit to him like you know um like really good defense and some of those shots like he just just made some tough shots like um sometimes a player like that gets going um and and I thought we we we executed well like we

Got some of the stuff that we wanted to get um but yeah just just couldn’t get real stops for real just you you know you obviously talked about the slow starts at the beginning it seems like when the offense isn’t clicking as well uh early in game

Sometimes you’re able to get going and just find a way to to create some of your own and get some momentum started I guess do you kind of see it as a responsibility for you in that case especially offensively to get things going and what do you think about your

Skill set makes that work yeah no I mean I think like again obviously like the way we play like is just you know like we go out there we play and and we move and um but you know I always feel like you know when things get a little

Stagnant or you know whenever we need an answer or something you know I feel like you know I can always get something going um but you know just early on in the game I know I miss a couple of shots and things like that but I always feel

Like again I can always get a good shot down the floor especially when we need a bucket so um just got to continue to to work on that and within whatever we do is just find a way to you know just naturally without you know like stopping

The offense or like you know stopping everything that we do just just getting the ball and and in a position to be attacking so um just got to continue to figure those things out what uh is what in particular you think you guys got better at defensively in the third in

Particular when you I just thought we had better pressure like I mean if you look at the film like I thought in the first half you know there was a lot of rejects like they was getting to the rim like they had layups like um I thought

In the second half they didn’t didn’t do that you know it was pressuring way better um helping block shots I think Miles got like four blocks um like it was just more connected like I I thought um then then in the first half which again I think our

Defense can be way better if we we just connected play together help each other um and pressure um a lot better just be the aggressive ear or they came in and and we got hit first so um it’s tough to respond it’s get us a team like that

That’s that good um cuz we we got great runs and we was able to come back but you know it seemed like that gets going it’s tough you know I think Andrew got switched on to to Edwards in in the third I think what what impression you

About what he did that’s obviously a tough assignment especially with with what Anthony doing late but it seemed like he was bringing a lot of presence I mean he’s tough man he’s tough like um when I look across the board just every single night like he’s he’s guarding

Somebody tough like and um he’s making plays he’s making it tough on them like the league is hard like you have off you know obviously got it towards offensive players you know like trying to guard somebody that’s going to take what 35 shots you know I mean like you can you

Can get stops but he they going to score also but I thought he was really tough like and he’s been tough all year like U especially since I’ve been here like just seeing him like every single day no matter what how many minutes he’s playing he’s out there like guarding the

Best player um fighting on every screen pressuring like I mean that’s that’s very special like a lot of not a lot of players can do that um and he’s able to do that every single night Pascal when it comes to understanding the caliber player that somebody like Anthony

Edwards is when he’s able to take a game over the way he did in that kind of fourth quarter what is it about his game that allows him to find success in those moments I mean he’s a true three level scorer like he can he can get to the rim

He can score mid-range he can shoot threes like I mean that says it all right there like you know it’s kind of hard um some players you can Gap them or whatever but he can make shots he can make threes he can make jumpers um midrange jumpers he can get to the room

He’s one of the most athletic players in the league so um so yeah he’s he’s definitely a tough cover um with with towns being out tonight what was kind of the game plan of a of a attack to to go after the post um no I mean I think they like they what

Number one see for reason like they got a lot of players they got guys that come in that are ready to play um I didn’t think our our game plan you know like change or anything is just they I mean they got Nas Reed that’s coming in like

He’s he’s an elite player like um he does what they want to do like what they need so so well and um obviously I’m sure they miss you know uh C but like they they have death and and they’re really good team

Rick Carlisle, Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam speak to media following the Pacers 113-111 loss to the Timberwolves on Thursday night.

0:00 – Rick Carlisle
6:35 – Tyrese Haliburton
9:24 – Pascal Siakam