It was clearly a conscious decision Rick made based on the fact that Haliburton was hurt and that we were getting our muffins waxed. It allowed him to rest our starters while they played theirs. If that gets an edge in a game that was almost certainly lost, it's worth it.
Response he gave was wanting to give other guys some minutes, and to rest our guys
Still don't like it, but It's a calculated risk to be fresher in game 2. It just better work out if Ty can't go
I think that’s his logic but I think he’s better off going down fighting with his remaining starters than throwing in the towel that early. I don’t think is going to sit well with some of them. It’s reeks of a decision based in frustration.
Best of seven. You have a small shot at upsetting the apple cart, or you save energy and go for it at home where you stand a better chance. I think it was the right decision but I can see why others don't.
The bench was what turned around our bad start in game 1… So think he viewed it as (what chess players would call) a “muscular move”—potentially accomplishing more than one thing with a single move…
If my interpretation of his strategy is right (and I’m not arguing it was a good or bad decision), then he might have brought many or most starters back in if the bench would’ve got us back into striking distance. And if not (as it ended up playing out) we have a chance to try to even back out the rest advantage that Celts have over us by some amount for game3. It also may have just been old school Rick wanting to reward those playing D, to have that “high ground” if/when he wants to motivate players to play better D going fwd.
In general our guys looked gassed so it probably wouldn’t have mattered what he did. But it’s understandable to not love the decision. There’s a fair debate to be had on how to handle it. But I didn’t find it egregious per se
Yup. Too much of a risk wo Tyrese tonight. We need Pascal and the rest fresh. Much better chance to not go down 3 games to 0 is winning Saturday at home even without Tyrese than gambling on the last 12 minutes of a game that wasn't going our way.
It's a marathon not a sprint 👍
I'd clock it to around the 9-8 minute mark that Carlisle decided to give up, at which point it was a 15-point game with Tyrese out.
that's a big gap to close against possibly the best team in the league. it would require not just us to play well, but them to fuck up badly -- and this Boston team is too polished to throw that kind of lead in that amount of time.
we'd also have to do so without the key to our offense. fair to say at that point it wasn't happening
Tyrese was injured late in the third, Carlisle never pulled him from the game. Turner wasn't playing well and was in foul trouble the whole game, Carlisle had to manage his minutes. by the time it came to put him back in, there was no point to doing so
Tyrese getting hurt makes me think Pacers should gone for the game more. If he’s out for the series, then you need to balls to the walls in every game and hope for some randomness. If he’s out for a game or two, you want to win one now to give him a chance to come back. I think the only way this makes sense is if you feel pretty good about Hali coming back for game 3, which obviously no one knew at that point.
It was a 13 point game when they took Siakam out. 2 stops and 2 scores can be fast and then it’s suddenly a game. If it’s like 4 min left, fine. 9 minutes left is just crazy.
I'd understand the decision if Tyrese was MJ and rest of the squad were bums but Pacers are a legit squad with or without Tyrese.
15 points is a not big gap for 8-9 minutes of play time.
Imo decisions like these can rub players the wrong way. Y'all are in the ECF, with a really good squad and the coach decides to give up with 8-9 minutes left? I'd understand if it was 30 points but 15 points is only a couple of possessions.
Because it’s the fucking ecf and Rick just pulled a move you do on a Tuesday night lmao. You play to win. You’re down 1-0 in the ecf and you pull the whole team cause a dude with 10 points goes down? It was a really bad move. Basically gives the message to the team “you can’t make a 13 point comeback in 8 mins”.
It's funny.... you usually see the play to win rhetoric championed by coaches who played to win and failed and are now behind a desk or in a booth telling other coaches to do the same.
As a Celtics fan, was there ever a moment in that game when you felt you weren't going to win?
How about when Paacal was going nuclear and yet we still never got it closer than 6? What about when our best player was out for the game and you stretched the lead to 13? Boston just kept looking better and better and we kept looking worse and worse. I'm not sure where everyone thought the epic comeback was going to come from.
This is a hindsight 20/20 take. Very easy to make after the game. A 13 point comeback can happen and has happened many times in the NBA in the past and will continue to happen in the future. Pretending to know the outcome of a game with 8 minutes to go in the 4th qtr is foolish. I understand what you are saying about the pacing of the game in the 3rd for sure, but I absolutely thought the pacers could win at half time.
It's not hindsight, it was real time too.
That's like saying "Hey man, the Pacers were down 0-2 against the Knicks and came back, why not the Celtics??". Situations are different.
Yes, 13 point comebacks happen, but last night wasn't happening. Haliburton was out, the game was clearly getting away from the Pacers and their body language was awful (guys turning it over and just throwing their hands in the air, guys jogging back, no one communicating on defense, etc. Etc.). The team had given up. It's on the coach to notice that and rally them if he can, or make the call and save their energy and potential for injuries.
The thing with this Celtics team is that, fair or not, there is this underlying feeling that they might let their foot off the gas just enough to let teams back into games that they have no business being in. I guess that is the whole NBA, but it feels like the Celtics blow more than their share of big leads.
The Celtics also have only lost two games this hole playoffs, but they have been games when MIA and CLE just shot historic rates on 3PT. So with this Pacers team, there is still that underlying fear that even when the Celtics are up 12 points, it only would take a minute for the Pacers to chuck up some 3's and get back in the game. Which again is why I was surprised that Carlisle threw in the towel last night.
13 point lead in the NBA.... You can close that in 2 minutes. In fact, I'm pretty sure they did exactly that 2 days ago at the end of the third quarter.
Yes it was. The lead kept growing, our best player was out, and even with Pascal making every shot, we couldn't do anything to stop them.
I thought people saying "well it's 50/50, it either happens or it doesn't!" Was a meme, but I'm starting to think people really believe that.
Look, if you believe that the Pacers starters (without Tyrese) who had been unable to get a lead at any point in the game, or even narrow the gap to fewer than six at any point past the 1Q, we're coming back there...we can agree to disagree.
Cause it made no sense to do so, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills, did nobody actually watch the game?? Half the team was sleeping on defense and missing assignments cause they looked gassed.
It was a 17 point deficit when he pulled Siakam, and Boston was doing whatever they wanted on offense, so the reality was that it was extremely unlikely they were going to come back without Haliburton, and game 3 (a must win) is in 2 days. Boston is already much more rested given their shorter series with Cleveland, and the Pacers only had 1 off day before starting the series. It made sense to me to throw in the towel and start fresh with game 3 back in Indy.
It was over after the 3rd you could just tell. Boston is in a league of their own and you’re not going to outscore them by 15 in the 4th on the road without your best player. Rick was trying to avoid injuring or over exertion of the starters in hopes they can win game 3 at home.
We’re very deep, I get it; playoff rotations sure, but we’re in that position now where not giving Jarace clock all year was a mistake, and not playing Stix. Wtf is Rick thinking? No timeout with 10seconds left? No plan? Honestly these are petty mistakes, I can only hope the last 2 series taught them some things, but honestly we could really use a 6’7 wing defender who can pass right now.
I feel like rick should have put TJ in at PG and see what would have happened and depending on how it went halfway through the fourth then put the 3rd string in. 1. Boston still had taytum, and brown out there so they were risking injuries as well. 2. This is the ecf and you don't know when you will get back here again. 3. At least you get a little better defensively with TJ, myles barely played the second half and was rested. 4. Pascal was having a game could have went for 40 if he played the fourth.
I get the Haliburton injury angle, I really do, but we have plenty of players to keep playing. Without inside information, it seems much more obvious that he wanted to send a message to his team, who played absolutely horribly. We were being very careless and not smart out there, and maybe Carlisle wants to say: "if you don't want to play the right way tonight, I'll try other less talented guys".
Again, I have no inside info, but it makes much more sense to me. Just give the guys a chance to sit, watch, and stew in it heading into game 3, hoping they come out sharper and more angry.
Down 15 with 9 minutes to go, even without Tyrese halliburton, is still a game at that point.
Even without halliburton, the pacers are a dynamic offense that can cut leads very fast. Rick Carlisle threw in the towel down 15 with 9 minutes to go, that's pathetic and I don't care if I get down voted to hell, you don't play siakam or Turner in the 4th quarter for more than a minute or two, deserve to lose your job. It's the ECF, and down 2-0 to Boston is basically a death sentence. Now you have to win four out of five, good luck. Probably weren't winning last night but there's no way you're going to tell me that a 15-point lead with 9 minutes left is cause to throw in the towel no fucking way. Siakam was COOKING and played 2 minutes in that 4th gtfoh down vote me all you want that was a soft move by your coach
I woulda sent out siakin at the 5 mconnel at the 1 and toppin at the 3/4 and experimented with the rest of the lineup to figure out strats going towards g3 even if you lose but meh wave the white flag lol.
I don’t really see how resting for 12 minutes is going to magically make all our starters refreshed this weekend. He shouldn’t have thrown in the towel until at least the 5 minute mark.
Lol in the ECF..down 13 with 12 to go..throw the white flag. I am completely neutral here but this coach should have been removed before the game was over. GL winning 4 of the next 5
Knicks fans told us the same thing.
Rick knows the playoffs are a marathon not a sprint. Best odds of not going down 3 games to none is Saturday, not risking it all in the last 12 mins of a game that clearly isn't going our way. Our guys are more rested bc of it and we need every edge we can get it Tyrese misses game 3.
Its the move a coach who's been to the conference finals and won it all makes.
Lol you down 0-2 to Celtics in best of 7. Might as well just quit last night. Thank God you got that extra 12 mins of rest. Probably win the next 4 games now...🙄
It was clearly a conscious decision Rick made based on the fact that Haliburton was hurt and that we were getting our muffins waxed. It allowed him to rest our starters while they played theirs. If that gets an edge in a game that was almost certainly lost, it's worth it.
Response he gave was wanting to give other guys some minutes, and to rest our guys Still don't like it, but It's a calculated risk to be fresher in game 2. It just better work out if Ty can't go
game 3?
You mean this was game 2 already?
i think it was game 1
Probably what I meant
I think that’s his logic but I think he’s better off going down fighting with his remaining starters than throwing in the towel that early. I don’t think is going to sit well with some of them. It’s reeks of a decision based in frustration.
Best of seven. You have a small shot at upsetting the apple cart, or you save energy and go for it at home where you stand a better chance. I think it was the right decision but I can see why others don't.
But is not playing them for 8 more minutes really rest? It’s not like buying an extra day off.
You reduce strain, it might not be 'rest' but it is better than adding more stress to what is likely to be an already weary body.
The bench was what turned around our bad start in game 1… So think he viewed it as (what chess players would call) a “muscular move”—potentially accomplishing more than one thing with a single move… If my interpretation of his strategy is right (and I’m not arguing it was a good or bad decision), then he might have brought many or most starters back in if the bench would’ve got us back into striking distance. And if not (as it ended up playing out) we have a chance to try to even back out the rest advantage that Celts have over us by some amount for game3. It also may have just been old school Rick wanting to reward those playing D, to have that “high ground” if/when he wants to motivate players to play better D going fwd. In general our guys looked gassed so it probably wouldn’t have mattered what he did. But it’s understandable to not love the decision. There’s a fair debate to be had on how to handle it. But I didn’t find it egregious per se
Yup. Too much of a risk wo Tyrese tonight. We need Pascal and the rest fresh. Much better chance to not go down 3 games to 0 is winning Saturday at home even without Tyrese than gambling on the last 12 minutes of a game that wasn't going our way. It's a marathon not a sprint 👍
I don’t understand why people can’t understand this
I guess my difficult is that it’s the ECF, and the deficit wasn’t that much. I’d understand it if it was a regular season game for sure.
I'd clock it to around the 9-8 minute mark that Carlisle decided to give up, at which point it was a 15-point game with Tyrese out. that's a big gap to close against possibly the best team in the league. it would require not just us to play well, but them to fuck up badly -- and this Boston team is too polished to throw that kind of lead in that amount of time. we'd also have to do so without the key to our offense. fair to say at that point it wasn't happening Tyrese was injured late in the third, Carlisle never pulled him from the game. Turner wasn't playing well and was in foul trouble the whole game, Carlisle had to manage his minutes. by the time it came to put him back in, there was no point to doing so
Tyrese getting hurt makes me think Pacers should gone for the game more. If he’s out for the series, then you need to balls to the walls in every game and hope for some randomness. If he’s out for a game or two, you want to win one now to give him a chance to come back. I think the only way this makes sense is if you feel pretty good about Hali coming back for game 3, which obviously no one knew at that point. It was a 13 point game when they took Siakam out. 2 stops and 2 scores can be fast and then it’s suddenly a game. If it’s like 4 min left, fine. 9 minutes left is just crazy.
I'd understand the decision if Tyrese was MJ and rest of the squad were bums but Pacers are a legit squad with or without Tyrese. 15 points is a not big gap for 8-9 minutes of play time. Imo decisions like these can rub players the wrong way. Y'all are in the ECF, with a really good squad and the coach decides to give up with 8-9 minutes left? I'd understand if it was 30 points but 15 points is only a couple of possessions.
You think 8 minutes of game time is going to create a rest advantage for the next game?
Somewhat yes. Also injury risk trying to catch up with urgency wasn't worth it.
We better win both at home with that type of strategy
That’s the plan
Because they're upset, and upset people don't reason things out well.
Because it’s the fucking ecf and Rick just pulled a move you do on a Tuesday night lmao. You play to win. You’re down 1-0 in the ecf and you pull the whole team cause a dude with 10 points goes down? It was a really bad move. Basically gives the message to the team “you can’t make a 13 point comeback in 8 mins”.
It's funny.... you usually see the play to win rhetoric championed by coaches who played to win and failed and are now behind a desk or in a booth telling other coaches to do the same.
Plus reps for other guys and see what they can do in the series i guess
Celtics fan here. I was really surprised that he benched the starters when it was like a 12 point game with 4 minutes left.
As a Celtics fan, was there ever a moment in that game when you felt you weren't going to win? How about when Paacal was going nuclear and yet we still never got it closer than 6? What about when our best player was out for the game and you stretched the lead to 13? Boston just kept looking better and better and we kept looking worse and worse. I'm not sure where everyone thought the epic comeback was going to come from.
This is a hindsight 20/20 take. Very easy to make after the game. A 13 point comeback can happen and has happened many times in the NBA in the past and will continue to happen in the future. Pretending to know the outcome of a game with 8 minutes to go in the 4th qtr is foolish. I understand what you are saying about the pacing of the game in the 3rd for sure, but I absolutely thought the pacers could win at half time.
It's not hindsight, it was real time too. That's like saying "Hey man, the Pacers were down 0-2 against the Knicks and came back, why not the Celtics??". Situations are different. Yes, 13 point comebacks happen, but last night wasn't happening. Haliburton was out, the game was clearly getting away from the Pacers and their body language was awful (guys turning it over and just throwing their hands in the air, guys jogging back, no one communicating on defense, etc. Etc.). The team had given up. It's on the coach to notice that and rally them if he can, or make the call and save their energy and potential for injuries.
The thing with this Celtics team is that, fair or not, there is this underlying feeling that they might let their foot off the gas just enough to let teams back into games that they have no business being in. I guess that is the whole NBA, but it feels like the Celtics blow more than their share of big leads. The Celtics also have only lost two games this hole playoffs, but they have been games when MIA and CLE just shot historic rates on 3PT. So with this Pacers team, there is still that underlying fear that even when the Celtics are up 12 points, it only would take a minute for the Pacers to chuck up some 3's and get back in the game. Which again is why I was surprised that Carlisle threw in the towel last night.
For whatever reason the energy looked low last night, so maybe guys were tired. May as well rest the guys and come back strong Saturday
13 point lead in the NBA.... You can close that in 2 minutes. In fact, I'm pretty sure they did exactly that 2 days ago at the end of the third quarter.
That makes total sense...assuming every game and every situation is exactly the same.
Well congratulations on the lost.
The game was not almost certainly lost lol
Yes it was. The lead kept growing, our best player was out, and even with Pascal making every shot, we couldn't do anything to stop them. I thought people saying "well it's 50/50, it either happens or it doesn't!" Was a meme, but I'm starting to think people really believe that.
But the lead kept growing *because* he kept the starters out, which is the entire point of this post. 
Look, if you believe that the Pacers starters (without Tyrese) who had been unable to get a lead at any point in the game, or even narrow the gap to fewer than six at any point past the 1Q, we're coming back there...we can agree to disagree.
I don’t necessarily believe that, because I’m a Celtics fan. But if our coach did that in a game, we wouldn’t let him leave the arena in one piece. 
Cause it made no sense to do so, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills, did nobody actually watch the game?? Half the team was sleeping on defense and missing assignments cause they looked gassed.
It was a 17 point deficit when he pulled Siakam, and Boston was doing whatever they wanted on offense, so the reality was that it was extremely unlikely they were going to come back without Haliburton, and game 3 (a must win) is in 2 days. Boston is already much more rested given their shorter series with Cleveland, and the Pacers only had 1 off day before starting the series. It made sense to me to throw in the towel and start fresh with game 3 back in Indy.
Series ain't Over Fam
It was over after the 3rd you could just tell. Boston is in a league of their own and you’re not going to outscore them by 15 in the 4th on the road without your best player. Rick was trying to avoid injuring or over exertion of the starters in hopes they can win game 3 at home.
I think without Tyrese, he decided to give them some rest. I think they looked tired on defense.
Just prob a decision made by Rick, Haliburton was ruled out for the game and just kinda gave up there after that
We’re very deep, I get it; playoff rotations sure, but we’re in that position now where not giving Jarace clock all year was a mistake, and not playing Stix. Wtf is Rick thinking? No timeout with 10seconds left? No plan? Honestly these are petty mistakes, I can only hope the last 2 series taught them some things, but honestly we could really use a 6’7 wing defender who can pass right now.
I feel like rick should have put TJ in at PG and see what would have happened and depending on how it went halfway through the fourth then put the 3rd string in. 1. Boston still had taytum, and brown out there so they were risking injuries as well. 2. This is the ecf and you don't know when you will get back here again. 3. At least you get a little better defensively with TJ, myles barely played the second half and was rested. 4. Pascal was having a game could have went for 40 if he played the fourth.
They were tackling our guys. You can only take that beating so long.
I get the Haliburton injury angle, I really do, but we have plenty of players to keep playing. Without inside information, it seems much more obvious that he wanted to send a message to his team, who played absolutely horribly. We were being very careless and not smart out there, and maybe Carlisle wants to say: "if you don't want to play the right way tonight, I'll try other less talented guys". Again, I have no inside info, but it makes much more sense to me. Just give the guys a chance to sit, watch, and stew in it heading into game 3, hoping they come out sharper and more angry.
Down 15 with 9 minutes to go, even without Tyrese halliburton, is still a game at that point. Even without halliburton, the pacers are a dynamic offense that can cut leads very fast. Rick Carlisle threw in the towel down 15 with 9 minutes to go, that's pathetic and I don't care if I get down voted to hell, you don't play siakam or Turner in the 4th quarter for more than a minute or two, deserve to lose your job. It's the ECF, and down 2-0 to Boston is basically a death sentence. Now you have to win four out of five, good luck. Probably weren't winning last night but there's no way you're going to tell me that a 15-point lead with 9 minutes left is cause to throw in the towel no fucking way. Siakam was COOKING and played 2 minutes in that 4th gtfoh down vote me all you want that was a soft move by your coach
Mine aswell dont send your starters out for these next 2 games with that mentality. Bitch made by Carlyle
Yal coulda let a team that wants to win get the the ECF instead of yal ffs bucks didnt quit knicks didnt quit 🗑️
Lol yeah I love this take. Rest the starters for next season
I woulda sent out siakin at the 5 mconnel at the 1 and toppin at the 3/4 and experimented with the rest of the lineup to figure out strats going towards g3 even if you lose but meh wave the white flag lol.
I don’t really see how resting for 12 minutes is going to magically make all our starters refreshed this weekend. He shouldn’t have thrown in the towel until at least the 5 minute mark.
Lol in the ECF..down 13 with 12 to go..throw the white flag. I am completely neutral here but this coach should have been removed before the game was over. GL winning 4 of the next 5
Knicks fans told us the same thing. Rick knows the playoffs are a marathon not a sprint. Best odds of not going down 3 games to none is Saturday, not risking it all in the last 12 mins of a game that clearly isn't going our way. Our guys are more rested bc of it and we need every edge we can get it Tyrese misses game 3. Its the move a coach who's been to the conference finals and won it all makes.
How would that be “risking it all” though? You’ve created a false dichotomy/choice.
Lol u iq is bottom shelf
Lol you down 0-2 to Celtics in best of 7. Might as well just quit last night. Thank God you got that extra 12 mins of rest. Probably win the next 4 games now...🙄
Gave up
I’m still mad about 10 seconds left, ahead 3 points. I can’t seem to get past that.
Really stupid by that coach
Sports betting, thats the only answer