標籤: Carlisle

The Los Angeles Lakers have been on a roll the past few weeks, and it’s largely due to the scoring streak that Luka Doncic continues to put up. In his latest matchup against the Indiana Pacers, Doncic finished with 43 points, and although Rick Carlisle may have been upset, he teased a ray of hope.

“We held him below average against us,” Carlisle said, via Tony East of Forbes Sports.

In two games this season, Doncic has averaged 43.5 points per game against the Pacers. It looks like a win in Carlisle’s eyes, and he knows there’s not much you can do against a player who is in the same position as him right now.

The Pacers have had difficulty getting stops all season, and it shows in their record. One of those reasons is because of the injuries they have had to deal with, and they don’t have the personnel they need in those moments. When they have been healthy enough at times this season, they have shown that they can be competitive, and a good example of that was when they recently beat the Orlando Magic.

With the season the Pacers are having, there’s a good chance they could get the top pick in this year’s draft, and they’ll add back Tyrese Haliburton next season. This is good news for them, and hopefully they can get back to their competitive ways from the last two seasons.

They were also able to add Ivica Zubac at the trade deadline, and although he was sidelined for the rest of this season, he should be a big help next season, especially after they lost Myles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks last offseason.

The future looks bright for the Pacers, and hopefully they don’t hand over 40 points to Doncic when they get back to the Lakers.

The term “Hall of Famer” gets thrown around a lot, but when it comes to Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker, the claims take on more substance as time goes on.

The five-time All-Star has received recognition from many head coaches, but Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle is new to the list.

Before Thursday’s game, Carlisle elaborated more on that three-word point.

“He’s got Hall of Fame in the books,” Carlisle explained on Twitter (formerly Twitter), via AZCentral’s Duane Rankin. “As far as I can see, he has become a great leader.”

Throughout Phoenix’s season, Booker has been the unsung leader, offensive engine and everything else you want to describe. His stats may not be where they were, but that doesn’t necessarily matter.

However, over the last five games he is averaging 26.6 points, 5.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds. The Suns have been on a hot streak since Booker’s return and have gone 4-1.

Devin Booker’s comment on Rick Carlisle highlights Suns’ success

Comparing the 2024-25 season to today, this is a completely different team. Although Booker made the All-Star Game, he noted that it was due to his team’s success.

He has also repeatedly mentioned finishing his career in Phoenix. But it is not just a feeling of pleasing the masses. At the same time, he wants to leave a lasting impact and has already done so.

For example, Booker broke the Suns franchise scoring record at the age of 28 during his ten seasons in the Valley of the Sun.

Somehow, his focus is more on winning than on accolades. As of this writing, the team has achieved 38 wins on the season, surpassing last season’s win total.

As the Suns continue to travel on the road, more coaches may get to see more of Booker’s leadership showcased.

The Indiana Pacers have all the incentive in the world to lose every game through the end of the 2025-26 season, as if their 2026 first-round selection ends up within picks five to nine, they will be dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers courtesy of the Ivica Zubac trade.

Since all critical teams are trying to lose games with the aim of maintaining their preference in protected grounds, the Pacers don’t need to do much to try and prevent defeat. Injury problems have plagued the team throughout the season, and after Sunday night’s 131-111 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, they lost two more key contributors, with TJ McConnell suffering a hamstring injury and Jarres Walker twisting his ankle.

That’s all Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle could do give vague feedback When asked about the respective positions of McConnell and Walker.

“Concerned. We’ll see.” [Walker] Ended up spraining my ankle. Look, we are a little worried right now. We’ll circle the wagons with the medical staff tomorrow and see what’s what,” Carlisle told reporters, via Tony East of Forbes.

Rick Carlisle on TJ McConnell’s hamstring and Jarace Walker’s late-game injury: https://t.co/y4ULLNOLc8 pic.twitter.com/hBk5V80NeF

– Tony East (@TonyREast) 9 March 2026

Fast bowlers could not take a break on the injury front

Before the 2025-26 season begins, no one would be surprised to see the Pacers remain semi-competitive amid the absence of Tyrese Haliburton. In this regard they would have been similar to the Boston Celtics. Fast forward to March, the Pacers have a record of 15-49 – the second worst record in the NBA at the moment.

Injuries have been very disappointing for the pacers. Guys like Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin and McConnell have missed significant time. They are slowly bringing Ivica Zubac on board. And this season has simply been a nightmare of a gap season that could ultimately lead to gold medal in draft season.

LOS ANGELES – A coach yelled at Luka Doncic for his frustration on the court and ignoring him during a recent substitution.

The Los Angeles Lakers star needs to collect just one more technical before serving a one-game suspension.

Still, Lakers coach JJ Redick downplayed those concerns based on how Doncic manages his competitive fire.

“He’s a special type of player, a special type of person and a special type of competitor,” Redick said. “I’d prefer someone who’s going out every night and trying to kill, rather than someone who you literally have to resuscitate with a different defibrillator every other day. So I’ll take Luca all day.”

So will Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who managed Doncic during the first three of his seven seasons with the Dallas Mavericks (2018-2025).

“You show me a great player who isn’t stubborn and doesn’t get angry at things,” Carlisle said. “I’ll show you someone who’s not a great player.”

Instead, Carlisle views Dončić as “the greatest player I’ve ever coached”. Carlisle predicted that Doncic would eventually win the NBA regular-season MVP award. Carlisle described coaching against Doncic as “hell” and argued that “it’s impossible to gameplan for him.”

Over the next two and a half hours, Doncic proved his former coach right. He led the Lakers to a 128-117 win over the Pacers on Friday with 44 points, while going 14-for-25 from the field, 7-for-14 from 3-point range and 9-for-10 from the free-throw line, along with nine rebounds and five assists.

The Lakers missed LeBron James (left elbow soreness) and Deandre Ayton (left knee soreness). No matter. The injury-plagued roster only encouraged Doncic.

Doncic passed Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards for most 40-point games this season (10). by recording 12^th 40-point games in the last 1 1/2 seasons with the Lakers, Doncic passed Gail Goodrich for ninth place on the franchise’s all-time list. Ultimately,

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a player who controls an NBA game in every possible way,” Carlisle said. “You can’t speed him up. You can’t slow him down. It’s really an impossible task. You have to hope he misses some shots. If you think double teaming is the answer, it’s not. The stats will tell you that when you double team him, things get worse because everyone else is going, and there are wide open shots everywhere. So he’s as difficult a player to gameplan as I’ve ever seen.”

It’s even more difficult considering the Pacers (15-48), who boast the Eastern Conference’s worst record. The Lakers’ Austin Reaves (19 points), Luke Kennard (15), Rui Hachimura (13) and Marcus Smart (11) also scored in double figures, making it even more difficult. Nevertheless, Redick observed that Doncic still had “ridiculous shot-making” against Indiana guards Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith, whom Redick praised as one of the NBA’s best on-ball defenders.

“He can make every shot,” Redick said of Doncic. “He can make floaters. He can make floaters that go left or right. He’s a shot maker. But he’s also a playmaker. He has the ability, whether it’s single coverage or double coverage, to make reads and make open shots and closeouts and lobs for his teammates. And he’s done that for seven years now. He’s seen every coverage. So he has a progression of reads.”

However, has Doncic made enough progress by keeping his emotions in check?

The numbers say no. Doncic scored his 15^th Technical during Thursday’s loss at Denver. The NBA automatically suspends a player without pay when he accumulates 16 technicals. With the Lakers (38-25) trailing the Nuggets (39-25) by a half-game for fifth place in the Western Conference, Doncic’s potential suspension could dramatically alter the team’s playoff seeding.

Against Indiana, Doncic looked more subdued in front of the referees. Redick said that “he had a very pleasant conversation with the officials.” Doncic argued that “I just want to play my game.”

“Just to me it shows that I really care about the game,” Doncic said. “I want to win every game. Obviously, there’s a lot of emotion in it. But it means caring a lot about the game. This game has given me everything.”

Doncic, meanwhile, is averaging a league-leading 32.3 points and third-best 8.6 assists per game. The Lakers also praised him for his improved defensive effort. Certainly, Doncic’s frustration with the officials could impact his focus on both ends of the floor. He may also be angry with the coaching staff. So, Redick’s anger erupted during the Lakers’ recent win at Golden State.

Still, the Lakers mostly encourage Dončić to play with emotion because he scores and passes more efficiently than gathering technicalities. Mavericks also generally came to the same conclusion.

“He’s a tremendous competitor. I don’t see that changing,” Carlisle said. “I don’t see that changing. But he’s great.”

Mark Medina is an NBA contributor for SportsNut. follow him x, blue sky, Instagram, Facebook And threads.

NBA Insider for Sportsknot. Former NBA writer for NBA.com and USA TODAY, Warriors writer for The Mercury News, Lakers… More about Mark Medina

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle has fired back at the NBA following a $100,000 fine levied against the organization for violating the league’s player participation policy. The penalty comes from a February 3 game against the Utah Jazz, where the Pacers rested four-time All-Star Pascal Siakam on the second night of a back-to-back, which also included Aaron Nesmith, around whom controversy arose.

“I made a statement about it. I didn’t agree with it. There was a league lawyer who was interviewing and he unilaterally decided that Aaron Nesmith who was injured the night before couldn’t catch the ball, he should have played in the game, which seems ridiculous and during the interview process, I wasn’t in it but I heard the details,” Carlisle explained, according to a post on X by Kevin Bowen.

Rick Carlisle opens up about NBA’s $100,000 fine today #pacers: :

Full interview here: https://t.co/1rrz1gO1Ja pic.twitter.com/MgjmZFEPsH

– Kevin Bowen (@KBowen1070) 24 February 2026

Carlisle then detailed how the NBA refused to consult with team doctors or the player.

“We asked them if they wanted to talk to the doctors, our doctors, about it, because it was something that was documented by our doctors and trainers. They said no, they didn’t need to, they talked to their doctors who didn’t examine Aaron Nesmith. And we asked them if they wanted to talk to the kid. They said no, they didn’t need to,” he explained.

The reality of Nesmith’s physical condition paints a clear picture. The 26-year-old is officially expected to miss at least another week of games due to a sprained right ankle suffered in the recent loss to the Washington Wizards.

While Nesmith previously missed 19 consecutive games due to a left knee sprain, he has been highly productive when healthy, averaging 13.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 33 games, while logging 30 minutes a night. The Pacers’ lack of offense is also bolstered by the fact that their biggest star, Pascal Siakam, has also logged heavy minutes in the absence of Tyrese Haliburton despite Indiana finishing 15-43 in the playoffs.

Siakam has started 52 times, despite the fact that the Pacers are unlikely to advance beyond their 15th-place finish in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Indiana Pacers came out of the 2026 NBA All-Star break and immediately suffered a loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday night at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.

Despite the 112–105 loss to the Wizards, Indiana had some positives to take from the contest, including the play of Jarre Walker. The former Houston Cougars star power forward paced Indiana against Washington with 19 points and 13 rebounds. While he made only 5 of 15 shots from the field, he made 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. Walker recorded seven assists and two steals in 30 minutes of action.

After the game, Walker received praise from Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle, who considered the player’s development “one of the triumphs of this season”, according to Scott Agnes of Fieldhouse Files.

Granted, the Pacers don’t have much to celebrate heading into the 2025-26 NBA season, seeing Walker improve on the court gives Carlisle and the team something to feel good about.

It’s also time for Walker to translate his potential into raw numbers, as he’s already in his third season in the league. In his first two seasons in the NBA, Walker, who was selected eighth by Indiana in the first round of the 2023 NBA draft, averaged only 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per contest. He entered the Wizards game with season averages of 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 54 games.

Still, there’s plenty of room for improvement for the 22-year-old Walker, including his shot efficiency. He made only 40.4 percent of his attempts and posted a 49.3 effective field goal percentage in the first half of the season.

本赛季，在 NBA 中，“坦克”问题一直是人们热议的话题，步行者队主教练里克·卡莱尔必须小心应对这一话题。就在八个月前，步行者队还处于篮球界的顶峰，踏上了惊心动魄的 NBA 总决赛，他们击败了 NBA 卫冕冠军波士顿凯尔特人队和大热门纽约尼克斯队。他们还在 NBA 总决赛中带领俄克拉荷马城雷霆队打进七场系列赛。

但在那场第七场比赛中，明星控卫泰瑞斯·哈利伯顿右脚跟腱撕裂，这几乎肯定让他缺席整个赛季。失去哈里伯顿后，步行者队本赛季表现不佳，目前在东部联盟战绩为15胜40负，仅领先华盛顿奇才队1个名次。

最近，NBA 因 2 月 12 日违反球员参与政策而对步行者队处以 10 万美元罚款。罚款的原因是 NBA 全明星帕斯卡尔·西亚卡姆和另外两名首发球员被禁止参加比赛，尽管独立联盟调查发现，即使上场时间减少，这三人都可以参加比赛。最终爵士队以131-122赢得了比赛。

《印地星报》获得的评论中，卡莱尔在周二步行者队训练结束后接受记者采访时谈到了罚款。

“我不知道，”他说。 “而且真的没有评论。”

卡莱尔被问及球队是否会改变管理球员参与的方式。

“我们将以我们需要的方式处理我们的情况。我为我们的球员、组织和球迷应对极具挑战性的赛季的方式感到非常自豪，”卡莱尔说。 “我们今年处理所有事情的方式非常一致，NBA 也意识到了这一点。与联盟办公室的沟通富有成效。我们将一如既往地强调竞争力和发展，就像我在 2025 年 9 月 29 日媒体日谈到的那样，”他对《印地星》表示。

尽管球队本赛季表现不佳，但步行者队在几场比赛中表现出色，包括1月23日战胜雷霆队以及全明星赛前几天加时赛战胜尼克斯队。步行者队还在交易截止日期前做出了重大举动，收购了前快船队中锋伊维卡·祖巴茨（Ivica Zubac），他被认为是联盟中最好的大个子之一。

但尽管球队取得了成功，NBA 仍然严厉打击了球员参与的执法力度。与步行者队一样，爵士队也因违反球员参与政策而被罚款 50 万美元。 NBA还制定了65场比赛的规则，要求球员至少打65场比赛才有资格获得季后赛奖项和荣誉。

步行者队今晚 7 点将与奇才队进行两场比赛中的第一场比赛