Carlisle backs NBA’s anti-tanking stance; former Pacers meet Indiana in Los Angeles
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LOS ANGELES — Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said Friday he now trusts the NBA’s efforts to curb tanking, reversing comments he made on Feb. 24 after Indiana was fined $100,000 for player-management violations.
“I place every bit of trust I have in Adam Silver,” Carlisle told reporters before Indiana’s game against the Lakers. “They very carefully consider everything. They never react.”
Carlisle rejected the idea that coaches on rebuilding teams are harmed by the practice, citing Thunder coach Mark Daigneault as an example of someone who benefited from a long-term plan. “You have the two best teams in the league — one in the East (Detroit) and one in the West (Oklahoma City) — that have built their teams much the same way,” he said.
Mathurin and Jackson face former club
Wednesday’s matchup against the Clippers marked the first time first-round picks Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson played Indiana since the February trade deadline. Jackson said the move “caught [him] off guard,” while Mathurin called the reunion “tough” but said the change of scenery “has been fun” and that his new teammates have “embraced me a lot.”
Brown’s contract limitation
Forward Kobe Brown, part of the same deal that sent Ivica Zubac to Indiana, is averaging 8.8 points and 5.3 rebounds on .471/.423/.786 shooting in 10 appearances with the Pacers. Because the Clippers declined his fourth-year option, Indiana cannot offer Brown more than $4.8 million as a starting salary in 2026-27, a restriction other teams will not face.
Defensive issues persist
Indiana remains near the bottom of the league in several defensive categories since the All-Star break. Friday’s 128-117 loss to the Lakers underscored the problem, with Carlisle pointing to repeated shot-fake fouls and what he called a lack of “game-plan discipline.”
Source: Hoops Rumors
