Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability (at Chicago Bulls) | March 27, 2024

Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability (at Chicago Bulls) | March 27, 2024

Obviously an inconsistent night for us you know our first and third quarters were pretty decent defensive quarters um but the other the other two were very poor and so uh you know we just paid a paid a price um you know the game was back and forth

Early and then they just got a little bit of separation and it’s just we just couldn’t maintain a compete level that was high enough you guys first time under 100 scored this season was it did you notice something they were doing defensively that was giving you guys trouble was

Playing they were playing hard they also do I don’t care about 100 points okay so that doesn’t matter what matters is our spirit and you know just learning you know how how you have to compete against these teams that are desperate you know so give give Chicago a lot of credit you

Know they were very determined you know Caruso is a major force in the game they got a bunch of other guys that play hard and we just we allowed them to get going they do well to keep other teams out of the paint and you guys love to play

Paint to great as you guys say what do they do so well to keep you out of there and what can you do when a team is trying so hard to prevent you from getting to where you want to be get more stops it’s hard to you know it’s hard to

Keep a team out of out of the paint and transition um and that’s a simple answer but no listen pain points have been hard to come by against them all year long so this is this is not anything different but in the third quarter when we got some traction it was happening because

You know our our intensity level defensively picked up and you know we were able to get downhill and and get the ball in transition so you know we just we got to get home get ready for the next one I mean guess it’s the r area particular in the second and fourth

Where you saw the intensity breakdown was there a I guess one kind of area of defense that stood out well what happened was that throughout the game in in the first period we made two or three minor mistakes you know that our system mistakes and two of those plays cost us

Three-point shots so it’s there’s six points on two possessions and uh there was a third one that allowed a layup it was a miscommunication so you know right there you’ve got eight points and and we’re down four at the end of the first quarter so look there’s no guarantee

You’re going to get three stops in that situation but you got you got a good chance maybe to limit them to a couple of twos instead of two threes and a two you know it’s just every thing comes down to a fight for inches you know on the court and and and we

Didn’t we didn’t do a good good enough job in that area and obviously they’re good Defenders you know kuso dumu um they do some good things defensively uh we just weren’t able to make shots I feel like I mean I’ll go back and watch it but just felt like we

Didn’t make a lot of shots didn’t play a lot in transition uh they know they kind of dictated the pace tonight so we just got to do a better job against top so we can run and I feel like we miss shots like overall like I don’t know if one

Person here would tell you they had a good game tonight so I feel like they I mean they’re you know a better team than their record shows but uh I thought I thought we just missed some shots we have covered some of this in that answer just now but they

Give up the fewest points in the pain of anybody in the league is it you know the high big the guy right in the Gap like what do they do that makes it so hard for you guys because you guys love getting in there yeah I think Caruso

Just you know his point of point of attack he’s obviously an elite Defender lvic is up at the level I think they just do a great job of rotating on the backside um they they they really pack the paint so like the one game we did

Beat them we just made shots you know like they I think you got to make shots really to beat them so they packed the paint and you know kind of make you play spaced out and I feel like if we if we made some shots that would have opened

Everything up for us today so I just I don’t think we did that have difficult Ken three and for nights if a five game Road Trip be for a team at this stage of the Season yeah I mean we got figured out by now you know what I mean we got

Eight games left so you know I think that for us to get to where we want to get to you know we got to take care of these games the right way um you know obviously everybody knows where the standing are right now how close it is

And how every game matters right now so it’s obviously frustrating I think for us as a group but uh you know I think that you know we can’t dwindle on it like got to learn from it watch the film learn from it and be ready to go home

Against the Lakers Rick talked about your physicality on defense being better even this month but tonight you thought you guys didn’t have it as a team where when it’s not there how quickly you notice and how can you kind of get that Spirit up on that yeah I mean I thought

They just made a lot of shots you know what I mean like I feel like in the games we played them they just they made a lot of shots like kudos to them as a team um I think we do a better job of you know finishing possessions I feel

Like they got off a lot of offensive rebounds that kind of set the tone right there like I think that that comes from like phys point of physicality is just giving up one shot and kind of moving on from there so uh I thought they got a

Lot of offensive rebounds low them to get to you know second third chance opportunities and then they started making shots and you know NBA Works a guys see a shot go in they start to feel good and I think that’s just where we got to I’m not really sure I think um

Getting stops not fouling allows us to get into transition a little bit more and gets some a little bit looser on the defensive side of the ball I think ball movement extra Cuts extra drives um playing out the full full clock maybe sometimes um yeah I think we just didn’t have

Necessarily great rhythm in that start the game we had it at some points but been sust stain it because what makes them as good as they are at it I I think they lead the league and few allow just you know seem like they were able to

Create a pretty good wall what makes them good what they do um it’s the way it’s the way they like they they play their Concepts they come off the ball screen they have the big high up the touch and they have the first guy in the

In the in the Gap pretty heavy um they’re stunting on the weak side so it’s kind of the way they play and um they have honestly some pretty good individual Defenders as a group together too so uh makes it easier to execute those covers I think Rick was just talking about just

Defensive intensity needed to be better especially in the second and the fourth what did you I guess see slip in that good case I mean seem like obviously you you individual fighting had a tough you know defensive assignment all night but I guess on a collective level you going to feel

Like maybe I think I think I think rebounding was was a problem for us throughout the game um a lot of long rebounds gave him Second Chances when we had some solid defensive possessions um yeah it was tough we fou it’s tough tough guard guarding the Roose and not

Foul but we fou maybe a little bit too much um so yeah maybe if we could have been just a little more focused on that part of the game but it’s tough I’m tough to go further than that how do you feel like you did on that assignment it

Seemed like obviously like you you you know you made his life difficult like yeah I thought it did a Sol job I thought it did a solt job I think um got to be physical I think I was pretty physical know tried not foul I didn’t have too many fouls on him

Um it’s tough check all job

Rick Carlisle, Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard speak to media following the loss in Chicago on Wednesday night.

0:00 – Rick Carlisle
3:14 – Tyrese Haliburton
5:36 – Andrew Nembhard