Indiana Pacers Media Availability | March 15, 2024

Indiana Pacers Media Availability | March 15, 2024

Ohol how you seen that evolve and what kind of conversations have you had with him about what that’s going to mean for him well whatever the situation calls for um when you play with multiple goall handlers you have the luxury of being able to take a guy like Tyrese off the

Ball um and put other guys on um you can use him as a movement guy you can use him as a screener um but sometimes you move him into catches where the defense now has to move to adjust so um Ty Tyrese understands how to play off

The ball he’s done it he did it quite a bit in Sacramento before before he was traded here and it’s another one of his strengths more has that more been done because of his shooting ability because he is so talented with the ball I find the right balance of when he should have

It and should be doing off ball stuff well we’re a much better team when the ball moved and um we love having the ball in his hands a lot but not too much because um then our team can get bogged down a little bit in the last two home

Games our number of passes is way down than the previous three rook and so you know we’re still leading the league a number of passes per game but that’s got to be something that is in our stream of conscious we we’ve got to keep the ball moving it it makes just

Much harder to guard how are you seeing him get a better game to game at basic how are you seeing him improve as a screener as a when it comes to Off the Ball movement where do you see him grow from you know time yeah

He he reads situations well um a lot of this began in Earnest in the Dallas game um and we just it was clear that we we needed to keep developing uh mechanisms to keep the game moving keep Tyrese moving around not allow other teams to just simply take him out of the

Game and you know we we’ve made some progress with it but it’s you got to work on it you got to work on it all the time well it’s it’s like it’s like a great marriage great marriage is work s over yeah I do that’s where I get my marriage he

Isri coach we’re doing special story on Jenny for women’s History Month you’ve been such a champion of hers for when did you know that she had the potential of being a fantastic coach in the NBA well she she asked to come to one of our training camps in Dallas back in

2014 I believe and she wanted to come in for the entire month to see how we started from day one and put in a system offensively and defensively and being around her for that month um gave me strong Clarity that she could not only coach in the NBA but she could

Be a very high level coach in the NBA she’s proven that to be accurate she does a lot of stuff with our defense now um she’s a decisionmaker on the sideline when it comes to defensive coverages and matchups and you know I’m I’m real proud

Of her because she is Paving the way for uh other girls and women that that that will follow her what is so unique and special that she brings to this team this year that you’ve seen that helps the team improve well she has great experience she’s been a head coach two different

Times um she has great relationship skills and she builds trust with the players and she understands and mean she played the game at a high level and so you know there’s a reason that right now she’s the only female on the front of the bench of the entire NBA and she’s

She’s earned that position I was going to ask about Doug obviously how’s he how’s he coming along obviously he’s doing better he’s he uh practiced he’s getting close any other injury up there so be a to change from last G I don’t know is z m on the list no I

Mean Ben’s on the list but yeah he’s having surgery today is it today okay yeah it’s probably over with by now um I haven’t heard but I’m sure was successful and you know everything went well yeah um obviously he’s a great player and great players make tough

Shots um you know it’s he had a incredible night I mean I think he’s had multiple incredible nights in this building um um but that’s as tough a shot as it gets Falling Away um at the end of the clock got to live with that

One um I mean I was right there to contest it if prob were maybe an inch or two taller May been able to affect it a little bit better but you know there were stuff that we could clean up but that one was a tough one for sure there

Was an article on ESPN today with talking about you and then also the combination with Tyrese How has that progressed and how effective are you playing alongside right now it’s easy to play with Tai um kind of just let him do his thing when he has the ball and then

He’s so selfless that you know he’ll be like you bring it up and and we’ll run this action to get us going that’s just the type of teammate Tai is so um playing in the group alongside him is quite easy to be honest are you aware of

Some of the onoff numbers with the Twan numbers with you and Tyrese you even look at things like that not really I’m not a huge numbers guy but but I would imagine they’re good cuz he brings so much attention and and you know it’s all him they’re just trying to get downhill

And you know if they leave me open Score not give people the ball he’s talked about evolving as an offb player and kind of movement shooter especially since he traded last month how is that kind of paired with you and if you guys had to talk about anything specifically

Pi to how that works for you guys yeah I mean like I said he’s so selfless that you know a guy an all NBA caliber player like him saying for me to bring the ball up the floor it’s just just speaks volumes of who he is and you know when

We’re on the floor together you know it it feels it feels good um like I said he commands so much attention that it opens up the floor for myself and others and and gets us going how you just seeing him get better at it playing off the

Ball in terms of the movement he makes the strings he’s making like what he’s going to create space for himself like how are you seeing proven that from game to game I mean I just think honestly it’s a game to game thing um you know but just with more experience with it he

Continues to you know to kind of attract so much attention from the other team and and he’s just such a smart player he knows where to go and what we need to run and you know setting screens or or getting out quick and trying to mess up

The defense to create a problem we’re doing a special story on Jenny for women’s history mon how has she impacted you personally uh I mean tremendously um it’s been awesome working with her since she’s gotten here and um you know I joke around you know she’s my coach my therapist

Um you know all the above she’s been integral in in in my growth mentally physically um you know in my shot we’ve worked tirelessly with it um you know I have a lot of love and respect for jny as a female what how do you see her female perspective enhance

This team from a coaching staff perspective you know it’s I don’t even look at it that way she’s just such a smart basketball coach male female it doesn’t matter um she’s she’s been around the game for a long time and you can tell by the way she carries herself and um when

She speaks about the game everyone listens because she knows what she’s talking about NCA tournament time I’ll probably ask you this every year at this time but how special were those moments when you were a player pretty special um you know I would have liked to gotten into a final

Four but that didn’t happen but playing in the NCA tournament March Madness it’s it’s a special time um you know you see upsets all the time and um guys get on the map from the way they play in the tournament um it’s pretty awesome and you know I just love watching it every

Year you remember specific plays from some of those games um not one that stands out but just competing in the tournament allog together um the camaraderie with the guys and the atmospheres and um just making that tournament run is you know stuff that you remember for a lifetime

Do you feelings about the death of the Pack 12 yeah it’s unfortunate um but I mean it is what it is I haven’t looked too much into that I know Arizona’s going to what the big 12 so um no look out Big 12 I don’t know I have no answer but

They they feel good so I right now it’s it’s kind of good for me cuz I’m learning how to score without it like just know once I get back to shooting and doing what I do which historically is make shots um everything will figure itself back out but it’s just a little

Slump right now and all I got to do is keep shooting it’ll it’ll figure itself out that’s what buddy would always say when he would slump like if I stop shooting I the defense WIS for example like do you think that way do you try to

Get to the two more often like does it even you can think about it when you’re playing at all I try not to I’m just trying to play um still take what the defense gives me still be who I I am I mean when you miss him when you miss

Like a step back or something like that then it’s considered a bad shot but mean I make those pretty regularly so uh I don’t really look at it that way it’s for me it’s sometimes also about attempts too like I’m one for six which I was last game I mean probably the

Seventh one has a higher higher odsy going in if that don’t go in the eighth one got higher odsy going in so um yeah I think sometimes the more the more you shoot it can balance it up as well cu the fact that you’ve been off the ball

More I mean it been any harder to get squared up I guess in terms of just missing shots just miss the shots yeah have you felt yourself involved in that offb stuff we talked to you about the screening a couple games ago but now you’re playing with TJ more by his thing

Like how do you feel yourself getting better at it what harder for you on that uh just kind of learning the nuances of when’s the right time when’s not the right time time to set versus times to slip um reading how defenses are covering not only me but TJ and Pascal

And Drew and other guys I screen for um just kind of learn the Nuance It’s Kind like the game within the game like it’s all uh like it’s it’s different on a play-by-play basis cuz teams don’t really give me the same coverage over and over usually it’s they mix it up

They’ll mix up how they guard a pin down or they guard a flair ghost screen or something so I think it’s also just like a feel of the game as well so just kind of learn that as the game goes on and just having constant conversation with

Guys around coaching staff talk to Buddy py regularly obviously cuz yeah like he was so good at it just trying to learn kind of the nuances of it and take some time but when we got you know however many more games left till you know the playoffs so

I’m just trying to be in the right spot with that by the time I need to do what’s the best advice you’ve gotten from bu about it what what are the most important things he’s told you and and that you’ve been able to use we just talk about the angles that we could

Create by it um cuz I think something that people don’t take it take for granted with him is just the angles that he can create with with it cuz he does a good job of mixing in from coming lower coming even coming High um just the the

Right time and also who you’re screening for right like think that with myself it’s more of a downhill angle because like allows me to just get right into my shots sometimes it’s even coming even cuz then that’s where I hunt that shot pocket whereas with TJ it’s kind of more

Downhill so we can get downhill um it kind of just depends on on who it is like and also when to set and when not to set cuz everybody kind some teams will jam and push me up and be super physical some teams like a lot of teams like do

That and tell the guy to get under so now it’s how do I get lower sometimes when you get lower then they push up and go over so it’s just trying to figure it out it’s kind of the game within the game you went met that dunk contest you

Like a screen contest do you guys talk about that kind of no no no no he’s better he’s better I don’t want to contest with that one I so many you know Beat Boston twice beat KC be Philly but have lost to a lot of sub te do you have

A theory of why that’s so all over the place I don’t really know I don’t really know I think that just comes from the I think attention to detail sometimes but obviously our back toback schedule has been back toback record is awful um that probably starts with me at

The top just being better there having more energy um but I mean it’s just something we got to figure out going into this tail end of the season these next however however many games going on this West Coast trip some tough games for us so um you know he got a lot lock

In be ready be prepared um obviously the whole West Coast trip are three teams that have beat us already um but obviously what’s in front of us we haven’t played Brooklyn yet played Cleveland really early in the season and they’ve kind of changed the trajectory

Of their season from where that is so um I think the focus just has to be on tomorrow and approaching that game the right way um we’re just taking it a game by game I like you see every every day the stand needs change depending on if

We win or lose or other teams and we can’t really depend on other teams for help like just it’s so crazy right now so just got to take care of what’s in front of us does that I mean does it help to keep Focus there because it’s

Like like you said it’s literally game to game and go to bed 7 wake up the next day you’re sixth like does that kind of keep everybody locked in that there’s not there’s no space here there’s there’s no like sort of margin I think the biggest thing is just not not

Like not worrying about that too much cuz I think that you have to worry about what’s in front of you cuz the minute you start to worry about what is needed from other teams and how standings can change and all that stuff that’s when is

Like let Downs you know what I mean so for me it’s like how do we take care of what we need to take care of like stop worrying about the Philly New York game who’s going to win that game what this game’s going to do standings okay if we

Lose if we win just worry about winning and taking care of that and just being at our best cuz we need to be at our best I mean by the end of the month you know going into April you want to be playing your best basketball so um just

Need to figure everything out right now

Rick Carlisle, T.J. McConnell and Tyrese Haliburton speak to the media following practice on Friday.

0:00 – Rick Carlisle
4:45 – T.J. McConnell
9:23 – Tyrese Haliburton