The Indiana Pacers came ever so close to winning Game 1 against the Boston Celtics, only to shoot themselves in the foot with costly turnovers to lose 133-128 in overtime. Head coach Rick Carlisle took the blame for the Pacers blowing Game 1 to the Celtics but Tyrese Haliburton made it clear it wasn’t on him.
“That’s not on him,” Haliburton said. “Us as players, we got to do a better job. I had two bad turnovers that I feel like cost us the game. One in (the) fourth and one in overtime. I understand he’s protecting us, protecting me as well, but I’ll take that more than he should. I got to be better and I will be better in Game 2 and we’ll respond the right way.”
Haliburton: “That’s not on him. … I had two bad turnovers that I feel like cost us the game. … I understand he’s protecting us… but I’ll take that more than he should.” https://t.co/BnBkgZfK2t pic.twitter.com/qwvQhj5WWB
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 22, 2024
That is indeed the kind of response you’d want from the leader of the team. Sure, Carlisle can perhaps be blamed for not taking a timeout when the Pacers were struggling to inbound the ball, but that’s about it. You have to point the blame at the players for some of those backbreaking turnovers that cost them the game.
Haliburton mentioned that turnover he had in overtime and that was forced by Jrue Holiday. The 24-year-old was asked about Holiday’s defense after the game and stated he is the best defender in the league.
Haliburton is going to have to find a way to be more effective against Holiday in this series, though. The two-time All-Star finished this game with 25 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block while going 8-18 from the field. Those are fine numbers, but when he was guarded by Holiday, Haliburton went 0-3 from the field and had 2 turnovers, as per the NBA.
Pascal Siakam On Why He Did Not Foul Jaylen Brown
Another big talking point apart from the turnovers, was the Pacers not fouling Jaylen Brown when they were up three with less than 10 seconds remaining. Brown hit a three to send the game to overtime, which led to LeBron James stating that it was why he would always foul in that situation.
Pascal Siakam was the one guarding Brown on that possession and he spoke on why he didn’t foul him on that play.
“I thought as soon as I got to him, I was a little late because of the screen,” Siakam said. “He was going up so I didn’t want to do it and then when I thought I was going to do it, it was too little too late. So yeah, it’s just one of those where if you have an opportunity to do it, you do it, but it was just a judgment call.
“I felt like he was going to his motion, he had a pump fake like I didn’t want to foul then and it’s a tough shot,” Siakam continued. “I was in front of him. Maybe I could have contested it better but it was just a tough play.”
(starts at 11:48 mark):
That screen set by Derrick White meant that Siakam was just a little too late. When he did get to Brown, there was a chance he might foul him while he was in his shooting motion, which would not have been ideal, to say the least.
Carlisle was asked if the players had been instructed to foul and he revealed they were. He did, however, understand why Siakam didn’t in that situation. (starts at the 1:12 mark in the above video):
“Yes, but he caught the ball, and he was face-up, Pascal decided to lay off – which was, I understand,” Carlisle said. “That’s probably the right decision, you don’t want to give up a four-point play.”
Had that ended up being a four-point play, Siakam would have gotten crushed for not being more careful. That was the only way the Pacers could have lost that game in regulation and it was the right decision not to foul considering the circumstances. It just so happened, that Brown hit an incredible shot and you have to live with that.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
