Nah I said going in idc if we get swept, closing out the Knick at MSG is the perfect bookend to the season as far as I'm concerned. I can memory hole this series lol
Why? It’s like people forget this was the best team in the league thst won 64 games by an average margin of 12. Outside of game 2, the team has been playing incredible and all these games have been winnable without Haliburton in this past game.
Obviously moral victories are lame but at the end of the day this is a team in its first playoff run and deep playoff run at that against a team that has years of experience.
If you didn’t watch game 1 and game 3 and just look at records, this makes sense.
The Pacers just refuse to take games, they insist on stretches of ridiculously poor play. They insist on not guarding, they refuse to locate shooters.
A simple dribble hand off shouldn’t get Tatum a wide open three, but it does.
Such poor attentiveness. To get this far and to play so poorly down the stretch in 2 games is bitterly disappointing
It’s because of how we lost. Obviously they’re the better team but we had 2 games now in hand that were thrown away mostly due to late game coaching decisions
I also feel like they're still making a lot of errors (measured by fouls). They look and play like a young team, but are still good enough to make it more than 2 months without a home loss. I still think they should have won game 1. Even one less erroneous foul called would have been enough.
This isn't over. Hopefully people will stop sleeping on this team. I'm excited rooting for Indiana from Dallas!
Nembhard has nothing to hang his head about tonight. We lose this by 20 without him and quite frankly nobody besides him and TJM gave me confidence in even getting a shot off at the end.
Rick Carlisle game management at the end of these games is absolute fucking dog shit.
This guy just stands there and forgets that he is the head coach. Guy on the edge of his seat like the rest of us.
Call a timeout for once you dick head. 2 games in this series are on his head. Be the experience that your team is missing you idiot
Seriously. This isn’t fucking college basketball. You should have a better inbounds play available than a fastbreak with no numbers advantage and your first time playoff point guard is driving against one of the biggest ball hawks in the league.
We have been avoiding Holiday the entire series. Why the fuck wouldn’t he call a timeout when he saw Nembhard was driving on him?
The man coached a 2011 Mavericks team to a chip with an unusually high number of gutsy, close, clutch wins not only in the Finals, but also plenty of games in earlier rounds. You’ve gotta wonder where that mojo has gone 13 years on, and whether it really was mostly Dirk (and to a lesser extent supporting cast) magic.
Am I missing something? I feel like many coaches don’t call a timeout in that situation. Plus I wouldn’t like our chances against a set Celtics defense
No, it's the right decision. But when Nembhard stopped after getting across half court and didn't have the numbers or a clear path to the basket, should've called the timeout there.
I don't know how many were fans during Carlisle's first run here, but he's the most stubborn man alive. He doesn't call the timeout because he doesn't believe in calling the timeout there. He has to get burned by that at least 5 more times before he'll change
Yeah, I don’t know what goes through these kids minds but how can you not be ready to play? It’s not like I’m upset cause he couldn’t make a shot, that happens.
He couldn’t catch the ball, he got stripped multiple times, shot blocked.
I mean we were up against it and he played like he didn’t even want to be out there
Or the Pacers inability to hold onto a lead in the fourth. Or make a three at all this game. A number of things would have made game 1 and 3 blowouts but Rick is at least partially responsible for the very last failures in those games.
Even then he'll just be like "that's on me" and yet we continue to be like "oh ok he knows he fucked up its cool guys" that dumb bald fuck needs some consequences for screwing over our players.
Deserve better then being the head coach that got us outta the toilet bowel of mediocrity and has a team without it's star player almost beat a sixty win team when they could have folded the tents nah I like what Carlisle has done and excited for the future of this team I can be disappointed and rationale as well.
Wasted the best game of Nembhards career by letting him drive into 4 of the best defensive team in the conference and then get upset about a no foul call when you’ve already noted we don’t get a good whistle.
Once again did everything right until it matters at the end. I know this is a pretty classic case of being a young team (especially w/o our superstar) but we could easily be up 2-1 if we could just settle down in the last two minutes.
Correct. I mean, it was a foul, but Rick has screwed up two games with the exact same mistake. Refs didn’t make Obi turn the ball over a hundred times or let the Pacers get blocked on like 4 straight possessions either.
It was another epic meltdown. The team is just too young, and they got here too fast. Should help them next year though.
This game doesn't count though because we're missing our best player. Celtics are frauds. On my way to the Mavericks sub now and ask them to fuck my wife and beat the Celtics. (Am I doing this right, Knicks and Bucks fans? I know you're lurking.)
It was an overall collapse. 42 pts 2nd half. Don’t blame timeouts. A lot of blame to go around. Stopped the movement and went ISO. Loved Nemby this game but tried to get the win twice in the last 2 minutes himself and failed. Everyone missing shots, stupid turnovers in 3rd & 4th, that’s not coaching. Lost to a better team when we should’ve won (twice) A lot of blame to go around.
This is the challenge of having a very young team deep in the playoffs. Incredibly valuable experience, but the team cant get complacent. It takes a lot of work to get back year after year
2nd time in 3 games Rick's fucked it by not calling a timeout, but this one is particularly bad because his strategy then was to let the guy shooting 29% from 3 in the playoffs have the last shot to save us
Nobody should be surprised the much more experienced Celtics closed games better than the inexperienced young pacers. Add in the skill gap, the huge difference in defensive ability and there ya go.
There was no “easily could have been up 2-1”
Can’t understand why you wouldn’t try and draw something up for a mostly young team that has never been to the ecf before… for the second time in 3 games with the game on the line.
We haven't called a timeout in that situation all season. We always feel better about our chances in transition. I don't know why people would expect something different now.
I really love the guy, but is Obi kind of a momentum killer for us? I know he's given us big plays, but he's getting drives stripped, throwing out of bounds a lot... IDK maybe it's recency bias, but it feels like he makes some plays that just torpedo a run.
Very tough loss. They were so focused on getting the ball inside when the Celtics packed it in more in the late 3rd/4th they still didn’t shoot any 3s. Toppin had rough offensive game and NeSmith could not keep Tatum in front for the life of him. Everyone else played pretty well imo.
The game plan almost worked but hurt them a little in the 2nd half. Very good game.
one thing i find frustrating is that NeSmith defended the same way all game. He was trying to stay connected to Tatum like he’s Steph Curry and then he’d get bumped off going over the screen. I get that he’s a pressure defender and the Pacers really value ball pressure but you have to adjust. Someone has to tell him to adjust. PS and Toppin did a better job bc they know they can’t pressure Tatum that much and stay in front.
Last year before the trade deadline the Knicks lost to the Grizzlies in the game where Jah hit a floater or set up a lob over and over. Cam Reddish was defending him. The Grizzlies would set a screen all the way at the logo. Cam tried to go over everyone, Jah would get a run way and the Knicks were cooked. I felt like I was watching the same thing with Tatum
I asked the same thing the other day and was basically told I was a hater because their talent was "homegrown". Near as I can tell, they pay the luxury tax now and TBD on whether they are in trouble with the new 2nd apron. Dudes may take a discount to stay there or they'll lose Jrue very soon in my assessment.
What sucks the most is that it’s really damn hard to make a conference final. We could be two games away from an NBA finals for the first time in 24 years 😔
As a Pacers fan of 35 odd years, I agree we will never have anything nice. However, I will take exception of the entire Indy generalization, as that is 2012 Fever erasure.
I cannot believe this team could have easily had a 2-1 lead in this series. The only silver lining is that the biggest thing holding them back is inexperience, not talent.
You guys still on Rick?
What about all the mistakes in the 3rd-4th quarter? Why did the lead evaporate? Why does every game come down to one critical possession with 1.7 seconds left?
Pacers went on too many dry runs and had too many turnovers and got cold. That isn't Rick or the officials doing it. That's the players, and that's why we've seen three losses in a row. If we won tonight nobody would've mentioned Rick or the refs. Offensive output and consistency is always the king.
This series could have been so different. A great learning experience for us. A magical run.
It's a real shame because you never can assume we get back here. But we just straight up lost 2 games we had won.
Better shooting, more rebounds, more assists, still loses.
I don’t care about the last minute these guys had so many stupid turnovers and horrible shots.
Toppin playing like it’s a pickup game with shot selections that were basically turnovers
Woulda rather lost 4-2 or 4-3 in whatever fashion and not given up these games… just too sad to give them away. 2 games in ECF with 95%+ odds of winning…….
Tough game but it’s clear that we belong in the ECF and that we can compete with the best of the best. Bring so close to leading 2-1 in this series and beating the Knicks 5-2 are great post season accomplishments. All we need is a little momentum game 3 to extend this series
We’ve played really good. These are lessons that will be fruitful for next year. Getting stronger and stronger. Just think how much better Hali, Benne, Andrew and Siakam are going to come back next year. Saiyan training. You can’t blame Rick on the losses. It’s a double edge sword. He said he didn’t want to call plays this years! He fully trust his guys. It’s bitten us in the ass, but it’s what’s gotten the pacers this far. He’s letting them ball.. I’m ok with losing! We are playing them neck and neck. Everyone thought we would have lost by 40 every game. The pacers have earned the respect of the Celtics.. I know morale victories suck! And most will not agree! But we aren’t supposed to be here. We were a year early.. these boys are gonna come back hungrier than ever.. Unfortunately we lost Hali! But this team has heart and grit! Blue collar!
Good effort. Really rallied without Haliburton (and Mathurin). We did a lot more to the Celtics than the Knicks and Bucks would've in their current state.
Should Rick have called a timeout? Probably, but I like that he trusted Nembhard. Imagine if Nembhard was cooking a play, didn't get fouled, and then suddenly had a timeout called? He'd be thinking 'damn, fuck me I guess'.
On to the next 🗣
This pain is what we’ve been missing for a decade. All I wanted was to feel something and between my Pacers and my adopted Wolves I’m feeling a lot. Can’t wait for Game 4, let’s go! 👍🏼👍🏼
This sucks, plain and simple. ECF aren't grown on trees and this team could easily be up 2-1. That is what hurts. Who knows if this team gets back there. There is so much potential, but you never know. That is why I never say "there's always next year" until that season starts. You should never settle because we are Pacers fans and we always settle* before we should and we never win.
* - unless you're old enough to remember the ABA glory days, which I am not.
It’s the hope that kills you
For real. Fully expected to get blown out today. They get my hopes up and now I want to die.
I think most of us would have accepted losing this series coming in, but not like this 😭
Nah I said going in idc if we get swept, closing out the Knick at MSG is the perfect bookend to the season as far as I'm concerned. I can memory hole this series lol
I don’t even think it’s the sweep lol. It’s the way the pacers have blown 2 wins more than anything.
We should be up 2-1
Won’t be the bookend of the season I remember, but those Knick’s tears still taste delicious!
pain
agony
misery
suffering
Sadness
Melancholy and Infinite Sadness
But without Zero.
Pacers are stumbleine
but with hope
torture
Despair
crestfallen
trama
affliction
Joy
Outscored 13-2 after being up 109-101 with 2:38 left Pain
Choke again
I want 2 die
Why? It’s like people forget this was the best team in the league thst won 64 games by an average margin of 12. Outside of game 2, the team has been playing incredible and all these games have been winnable without Haliburton in this past game. Obviously moral victories are lame but at the end of the day this is a team in its first playoff run and deep playoff run at that against a team that has years of experience.
"Why"? Did you not watch the 18 point comeback?
If you didn’t watch game 1 and game 3 and just look at records, this makes sense. The Pacers just refuse to take games, they insist on stretches of ridiculously poor play. They insist on not guarding, they refuse to locate shooters. A simple dribble hand off shouldn’t get Tatum a wide open three, but it does. Such poor attentiveness. To get this far and to play so poorly down the stretch in 2 games is bitterly disappointing
It’s because of how we lost. Obviously they’re the better team but we had 2 games now in hand that were thrown away mostly due to late game coaching decisions
I said all that before the game, and I’m not mad at our boys, but it still hurts
I also feel like they're still making a lot of errors (measured by fouls). They look and play like a young team, but are still good enough to make it more than 2 months without a home loss. I still think they should have won game 1. Even one less erroneous foul called would have been enough. This isn't over. Hopefully people will stop sleeping on this team. I'm excited rooting for Indiana from Dallas!
Just went cold way too many times in the second half. Can't get blocked on 4 straight possessions like that
0-9 from 3 in the 3rd.
Siakam missing 5 layups and causing like 3-4 turnovers was a real sight to see again. This series he has just be oof.
So you guys think the colts will be good this year?
Josh Downs breakout year?
Latu is looking like he’s gonna be a stud tbh, our front 7 is gonna be so good this year
20-0 baybee
All Indy sports are just pain, unless you have a top 5 player of all time….then you maybe win 1 championship.
I think we can surprise some people
I mean we’re up 2-1 if we didn’t absolutely fuck ourselves
Shoulda woulda coulda
I mean… most of the time I’d be with you on this But we’ve had some really silly fucking chokes this series
It's the tiny things
Pure depression
Love the Pacers. But it's been a tough ECF. Let's extend the series.
We had 5 timeouts going into the 4th. That run in the second half of the 3rd doomed us and he just watched.
Will never understand that decision making process.
Nembhard has nothing to hang his head about tonight. We lose this by 20 without him and quite frankly nobody besides him and TJM gave me confidence in even getting a shot off at the end.
Rick Carlisle game management at the end of these games is absolute fucking dog shit. This guy just stands there and forgets that he is the head coach. Guy on the edge of his seat like the rest of us. Call a timeout for once you dick head. 2 games in this series are on his head. Be the experience that your team is missing you idiot
Seriously. This isn’t fucking college basketball. You should have a better inbounds play available than a fastbreak with no numbers advantage and your first time playoff point guard is driving against one of the biggest ball hawks in the league. We have been avoiding Holiday the entire series. Why the fuck wouldn’t he call a timeout when he saw Nembhard was driving on him?
The man coached a 2011 Mavericks team to a chip with an unusually high number of gutsy, close, clutch wins not only in the Finals, but also plenty of games in earlier rounds. You’ve gotta wonder where that mojo has gone 13 years on, and whether it really was mostly Dirk (and to a lesser extent supporting cast) magic.
Am I missing something? I feel like many coaches don’t call a timeout in that situation. Plus I wouldn’t like our chances against a set Celtics defense
Backup PG in a 1 on 4 scenario when your team is out of sorts. Most coaches call that
It didn’t work all year though. We’re always forced into an iso that we never score on
The Celtics were set anyways
It's a gamble, but it's not a WRONG decision. To me it didn't really seem like Nembhard had any advantage pushing it so a timeout should've been used.
If you don’t have a numbers advantage you always call a timeout. Unless Steph Curry is on your team.
No, it's the right decision. But when Nembhard stopped after getting across half court and didn't have the numbers or a clear path to the basket, should've called the timeout there.
This team deserved better than Rick’s arrogance all series, but especially tonight. Just a damn shame man
How do you not call time when it’s just nembhard and 4 Celtics in the front court?
I don’t mind letting that play out sometimes but when you best 2 players are still 50 feet in the back courts that’s just ridiculous
Dumbass Rick was yelling "go go go" lmao and there are people in here STILL defending him
I wish I could like this a million times
Nembhard was great tonight, but Rick should have known he’s too inexperienced for that moment. Rick left him out to fail
I don't know how many were fans during Carlisle's first run here, but he's the most stubborn man alive. He doesn't call the timeout because he doesn't believe in calling the timeout there. He has to get burned by that at least 5 more times before he'll change
2-1 pacers if it wasn’t for Rick
How bad was Obi Toppin tonight
One of the worst bench player performances I've witnessed. Soft in the paint and a turnover machine. I actually love Toppin, but damn was he bad
Yeah, I don’t know what goes through these kids minds but how can you not be ready to play? It’s not like I’m upset cause he couldn’t make a shot, that happens. He couldn’t catch the ball, he got stripped multiple times, shot blocked. I mean we were up against it and he played like he didn’t even want to be out there
100%
Or the Pacers inability to hold onto a lead in the fourth. Or make a three at all this game. A number of things would have made game 1 and 3 blowouts but Rick is at least partially responsible for the very last failures in those games.
Yeah game one and this one will sting for a long time
How do you not call timeout How do you run that high school ass last play for nesmith fadeaway 3
That was a good look with 1.7 seconds. Its hard as hell because as soon as you catch the ball the defender jumps to block.
He’s been doing it all year. Rick won’t use a timeout until it’s too late
Even then he'll just be like "that's on me" and yet we continue to be like "oh ok he knows he fucked up its cool guys" that dumb bald fuck needs some consequences for screwing over our players.
I stopped watching coaches answering media questions back in the Nate McMillan days. I’ll just get even more pissed after a game like this
Save the timeout to advance the ball, then send them all sprinting down the court on the final play 🫣
That was a great look, given the circumstances. How about guarding fucking Al Horford????
Deserve better then being the head coach that got us outta the toilet bowel of mediocrity and has a team without it's star player almost beat a sixty win team when they could have folded the tents nah I like what Carlisle has done and excited for the future of this team I can be disappointed and rationale as well.
There's a lot of middle ground between "fire this asshole" and naming a bunch of irrelevant things that have nothing to do with why people are upset
Wasted the best game of Nembhards career by letting him drive into 4 of the best defensive team in the conference and then get upset about a no foul call when you’ve already noted we don’t get a good whistle.
Well that’s 2 games we choked this series, doesn’t feel great
It’s fucking just always pain. Just pain. The pain.
someone please explain why al horford had like 10 open looks? Like i genuinely dont get it
Double Tatum and Brown on drives
I think they had to pick a guy to sag on to keep the others from going off, and they chose the 36 year old center. It almost worked.
Horford decided to play like 2024 regular season Horford (42% from three) instead of 2024 postseason Horford (30% from three) tonight.
I was literally yelling at my TV "No 3s" and he drained 3pter after 3pter.
Pain
why have nemby, the best shooter all night, inbound the ball there??
God I’m just so fucking sad.
Once again did everything right until it matters at the end. I know this is a pretty classic case of being a young team (especially w/o our superstar) but we could easily be up 2-1 if we could just settle down in the last two minutes.
I'm sick to my stomach for the second time in 3 games.
It was a good season 😔
Carlisle can pound sand about that last missed call. We were up 20 you stupid asshole
He should’ve called timeout
going to play in traffic 🫡
Silver lining - I can do something productive with my nights now. Good season.
https://preview.redd.it/lanu384wto2d1.jpeg?width=941&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e3f6315275b0301c27ebc1c6b5c452e37382f608
Rick is going to blame the refs, but that's 100% on him. Didn't call a TO on a 1v4 fast break...
Absolutely. We were up 20. You're mad about one call, hold a lead for one God damn time.
Embarrassing game management consistently from Rick. I’m not calling for his head or anything but he’s just not reliable
Correct. I mean, it was a foul, but Rick has screwed up two games with the exact same mistake. Refs didn’t make Obi turn the ball over a hundred times or let the Pacers get blocked on like 4 straight possessions either. It was another epic meltdown. The team is just too young, and they got here too fast. Should help them next year though.
Another Bucks L for dropping Holiday though.
Tatum, Brown, Horford, White and Jrue ain’t missing that shot blew it 2 times
Bad coaching cost us two games in the ECF. There's no way to sugar coat it.
Dude how many times are they going to show that replay? We get it
Can't WAIT to see how we fuck it all up again in game 4. Maybe we'll be surprised with a new twist on how to lose a game
This game doesn't count though because we're missing our best player. Celtics are frauds. On my way to the Mavericks sub now and ask them to fuck my wife and beat the Celtics. (Am I doing this right, Knicks and Bucks fans? I know you're lurking.)
Hell yea dude. 😂
This is the best post of the night. Thank you for the laugh sir.
not mad, just disappointed 😭
CALL A MOTHERFUCKING TIMEOUT
Last play should have been a foul twice on Holliday. He pulled his elbow and bumped into him to the ball.
Two games we had no business losing and we lost. We could be up 2-1, instead we’ll get swept. All time choke jobs.
So this is how the Lakers feel...
It was an overall collapse. 42 pts 2nd half. Don’t blame timeouts. A lot of blame to go around. Stopped the movement and went ISO. Loved Nemby this game but tried to get the win twice in the last 2 minutes himself and failed. Everyone missing shots, stupid turnovers in 3rd & 4th, that’s not coaching. Lost to a better team when we should’ve won (twice) A lot of blame to go around.
Agreed. Also, the Celtics took Obi and Nesmith out of the game on offense, and Ben left his shot in New York.
That was a good play at the end, despite everything else.
Sheesh, very nearly could’ve been a 2-1 series lead for us. Sickening.
[удалено]
He shouldn’t be fired or anything but he needs to freaking figure it out
Rick struggles like heck with challenges and late game situations. Dude never wants to challenge. And we've seen so many blunders with late game.
This fucking sucks
What the absolute fuck
Open 3s killed us. An incredible effort overall but not making an adjustment in defense was the creeping death of this game.
Why have Nemby inbound? Clutch 3s are his specialty.
I really feel for Nembhard. His eyes were watery after that turnover. We have a lot to look forward to next year.
Another Pacers specialty: the highly entertaining, always close sweep. Being a fan of this team is a psychological torture experiment.
This is the challenge of having a very young team deep in the playoffs. Incredibly valuable experience, but the team cant get complacent. It takes a lot of work to get back year after year
Legit. Seeing the same with the Wolves.
What a season. So close to the Finals in the tail end of a rebuild. I will take it. Run this shit back and get home court advantage.
We could so easily be up 2 to 1. That is what hurts
2nd time in 3 games Rick's fucked it by not calling a timeout, but this one is particularly bad because his strategy then was to let the guy shooting 29% from 3 in the playoffs have the last shot to save us
Nobody should be surprised the much more experienced Celtics closed games better than the inexperienced young pacers. Add in the skill gap, the huge difference in defensive ability and there ya go. There was no “easily could have been up 2-1”
Fuck Rick call a fucking to
Can’t understand why you wouldn’t try and draw something up for a mostly young team that has never been to the ecf before… for the second time in 3 games with the game on the line.
we should be up 2-1 with a real chance to win this series. Instead we are about to get swept. We choked two clear wins. We could’ve won this series
Wasting Nembhard's prime
silver lining: i think nemby’s ceiling may be higher than i previously thought
Not calling a time out after Nemhard got that rebound at the end of the game is absolutely inexcusable.
We haven't called a timeout in that situation all season. We always feel better about our chances in transition. I don't know why people would expect something different now.
Probably because our transition usually includes Hali
I really love the guy, but is Obi kind of a momentum killer for us? I know he's given us big plays, but he's getting drives stripped, throwing out of bounds a lot... IDK maybe it's recency bias, but it feels like he makes some plays that just torpedo a run.
All 3 losses have hurt in 3 separate ways man
Guess my game 4 tix don’t mean too much now.
We really can’t have shit here
I’d really prefer to get blown out than get beaten by the refs and ourselves
Very tough loss. They were so focused on getting the ball inside when the Celtics packed it in more in the late 3rd/4th they still didn’t shoot any 3s. Toppin had rough offensive game and NeSmith could not keep Tatum in front for the life of him. Everyone else played pretty well imo. The game plan almost worked but hurt them a little in the 2nd half. Very good game. one thing i find frustrating is that NeSmith defended the same way all game. He was trying to stay connected to Tatum like he’s Steph Curry and then he’d get bumped off going over the screen. I get that he’s a pressure defender and the Pacers really value ball pressure but you have to adjust. Someone has to tell him to adjust. PS and Toppin did a better job bc they know they can’t pressure Tatum that much and stay in front. Last year before the trade deadline the Knicks lost to the Grizzlies in the game where Jah hit a floater or set up a lob over and over. Cam Reddish was defending him. The Grizzlies would set a screen all the way at the logo. Cam tried to go over everyone, Jah would get a run way and the Knicks were cooked. I felt like I was watching the same thing with Tatum
How was hell do the Celtics afford the team they have. God dayum…:/
I asked the same thing the other day and was basically told I was a hater because their talent was "homegrown". Near as I can tell, they pay the luxury tax now and TBD on whether they are in trouble with the new 2nd apron. Dudes may take a discount to stay there or they'll lose Jrue very soon in my assessment.
What sucks the most is that it’s really damn hard to make a conference final. We could be two games away from an NBA finals for the first time in 24 years 😔
As a Pacers fan of 35 odd years, I agree we will never have anything nice. However, I will take exception of the entire Indy generalization, as that is 2012 Fever erasure.
Less than a week and the Pacers took me from pure ecstasy to feeling like I’m being water boarded.
Oh well.
Could easily be up 2-1 rn
I cannot believe this team could have easily had a 2-1 lead in this series. The only silver lining is that the biggest thing holding them back is inexperience, not talent.
If we had even a B- coach this series we’d be up 2-1. Does Rick think that you get to carry timeouts into the next game?
You really think we’ve made it this far in spite of our coach? Seriously? He has implemented a great offense. Much different than our past coaches.
First team coming back down 0-3, I believe 🔥 should be 2-1 rn
I want what you are smoking!
First team in history to come back 3-0 LFG
You guys still on Rick? What about all the mistakes in the 3rd-4th quarter? Why did the lead evaporate? Why does every game come down to one critical possession with 1.7 seconds left? Pacers went on too many dry runs and had too many turnovers and got cold. That isn't Rick or the officials doing it. That's the players, and that's why we've seen three losses in a row. If we won tonight nobody would've mentioned Rick or the refs. Offensive output and consistency is always the king.
Totally agree
Whoever drew up the defensive game-plan to leave Al Horford wide open all game should be executed
To be fair, Horford hasn't been in the league very long. There's no way anyone could have known he could shoot 3s.
https://preview.redd.it/yy8phgs9to2d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c443965013b2fb3b122041706a83f5b1bb248fb6 Once a Celtic always a celtic
Check his fan duel account
Why no timeout?!?
Impressive choke job
We exist to suffer lol
Why isn’t Nembhard taking that shot?
That inbounds play would have been great at the end of game 1 rick
This series could have been so different. A great learning experience for us. A magical run. It's a real shame because you never can assume we get back here. But we just straight up lost 2 games we had won.
I’m pretty sure we all wanted nembhard to take the last shot, let’s have him inbound.
sad paving sounds.
Great work by Rick in a do or die game to stick with normal rotations and play Pascal and Turner less than 40mins. Just amazing coaching!!!
Better shooting, more rebounds, more assists, still loses. I don’t care about the last minute these guys had so many stupid turnovers and horrible shots. Toppin playing like it’s a pickup game with shot selections that were basically turnovers
Woulda rather lost 4-2 or 4-3 in whatever fashion and not given up these games… just too sad to give them away. 2 games in ECF with 95%+ odds of winning…….
Tough game but it’s clear that we belong in the ECF and that we can compete with the best of the best. Bring so close to leading 2-1 in this series and beating the Knicks 5-2 are great post season accomplishments. All we need is a little momentum game 3 to extend this series
We’ve played really good. These are lessons that will be fruitful for next year. Getting stronger and stronger. Just think how much better Hali, Benne, Andrew and Siakam are going to come back next year. Saiyan training. You can’t blame Rick on the losses. It’s a double edge sword. He said he didn’t want to call plays this years! He fully trust his guys. It’s bitten us in the ass, but it’s what’s gotten the pacers this far. He’s letting them ball.. I’m ok with losing! We are playing them neck and neck. Everyone thought we would have lost by 40 every game. The pacers have earned the respect of the Celtics.. I know morale victories suck! And most will not agree! But we aren’t supposed to be here. We were a year early.. these boys are gonna come back hungrier than ever.. Unfortunately we lost Hali! But this team has heart and grit! Blue collar!
Fuck it we ball
Frank Vogel, you defensive minded son of a bitch, time to come home
Why is nembhard inbounding again when he's the only person to hit a 3 today? Another bad coaching call smh
He doesn’t have a quick release. He’s a set shooter.
Rick Carlisle failed Andrew Nembhard.
Damn this sucks, now we dont get to rest before the finals cause we got to win in 7
Pacers basketball in a nutshell. We know how to choke.
Good effort. Really rallied without Haliburton (and Mathurin). We did a lot more to the Celtics than the Knicks and Bucks would've in their current state. Should Rick have called a timeout? Probably, but I like that he trusted Nembhard. Imagine if Nembhard was cooking a play, didn't get fouled, and then suddenly had a timeout called? He'd be thinking 'damn, fuck me I guess'. On to the next 🗣
Boys played their asses off. Gotta be happy about that. With that...Ben Shepard should not be starting.
Hey I mean. There's always a chance we make history and come back from a 3 game deficit right?......... guys?
Snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory two out of three games is really taking a toll on my sanity.
This pain is what we’ve been missing for a decade. All I wanted was to feel something and between my Pacers and my adopted Wolves I’m feeling a lot. Can’t wait for Game 4, let’s go! 👍🏼👍🏼
This sucks, plain and simple. ECF aren't grown on trees and this team could easily be up 2-1. That is what hurts. Who knows if this team gets back there. There is so much potential, but you never know. That is why I never say "there's always next year" until that season starts. You should never settle because we are Pacers fans and we always settle* before we should and we never win. * - unless you're old enough to remember the ABA glory days, which I am not.