Rick Carlisle did not mince his words when discussing the current matchup between Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals.
Carlisle is undoubtedly one of the top coaches in the league. After leaving Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks, Carlisle took over as the Pacers’ head coach and helped develop the team enough to secure a ticket to the NBA Finals and a chance to win a coveted championship.
While the series is tied at 1-1 and could go heading into Game 3 either way, Carlisle voiced his concern over his team’s predicament during their pregame press conference.
Rick Carlisle, Pacers Have Not Controlled the First Two Games of the NBA Finals
Throughout their impressive postseason run, Haliburton and the Pacers established themselves as a team that doesn’t give up until the final buzzer sounds. In almost every series, the Pacers made impressive late-game comebacks and cut down huge deficits to ultimately win.
While that makes for a dramatic storyline, especially since the Pacers pulled it off in Game 1 against the Thunder, the fact remains that they have been unable to control the flow for the majority of their ongoing series so far. Carlisle knew this and shared his thoughts on the team’s inability to take the lead and control most of the time.
“You know everything that’s already happened doesn’t matter other than the score of the series and so when you move forward there’s a lot of things we have to do better. We realize that. I think we’ve lost, at least by the scoreboard, six out of eight or seven out of eight quarters. So we’re playing a great team, and so we’ve got to make adjustments and play better,” he said.
Most other teams and head coaches would be satisfied with the Thunder returning home for Game 3 after stealing a game on the road. However, the Thunder’s dominance against the Pacers for most of the first two games is a cause for concern.
In terms of making adjustments and playing better, the Pacers will have to find a way to contain Gilgeous-Alexander and prevent him from scoring or making frequent trips to the free-throw line. They will also need several role players to step up and put in impressive performances.
Since most teams’ bench tends to play better at home than on the road, that is certainly possible heading into Game 3. Fans are left wondering if Haliburton and his squad will be able to defend their homecourt for the next two games and put significant pressure on the Thunder in the process.
