Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability (at San Antonio Spurs) | March 3, 2024

Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability (at San Antonio Spurs) | March 3, 2024

Go ahead we talked a little bit yesterday practice about how much when minyama can change a game obviously 3112 six blocks and probably altered a lot more than that I mean just was this I guess a perfect example of how many different ways he can alter the way you

Operate he’s plus 19 so that’s a lot of impact with the obviously six of 30 uh from three imagine when you’re dealing with that kind of force inside you want to get some shots outside what did you feel like was just off as far as shooting the ball tonight we had some looks

Um but shot making you know is is fickle and you know we we got beat on the boards um you know and and defensively you know we allowed them to shoot 54% and and to shoot 40 from three so I’m not going to BL I’m not going to put it all on

Shooting it’s it’s you know there’s there’s elements of the game defensively we need needed to do a lot better than we did not TJ obviously kept in that one most of the game I think 26 13 to 15 you know we talk about him all the time just

So he was he was spectacular in this game and in the first the first quarter we were really struggling and he he got us back into the game I mean it was it was a bleak beginning and uh he was tremendous he was great on defense too

So you know we’ve we’ve got to we’ve got to take some of some of his attitude you know and make it a part of our Collective will as a team you know it’s uh this is a tough period right now um tough road games you know this is a team

That’s obviously a much different team than we played them early um you know they just beat Oklahoma I mean they play extremely hard it’s a wild building um to overcome that stuff it’s just you know we just got to raise our level our Edge our compe our compete level

Everything and um it’s uh it’s quite a test just to go back what you said about defense about about being elements I mean is again just a case of presence I mean that’s obviously the word you obviously refer to and you feel like you guys are just not getting enough

Presence when it’s coming well there were just I mean I don’t I don’t have a list of all the mistakes but you know the UN untimely errors are the things that are killers I mean first you get it back to within four or six and then they

Then they backd door you for a layup and that’s something that that was a big part of The Scouting Report and um there there were other things you know where where we just made simple mistakes that that were um that were poorly timed you know

Um but look I I thought we I thought we tried hard I I just I just thought that um we just weren’t weren’t good enough in this game and that’s the bottom line what um what’s like just trying to get shots against Wy in particular and then

Obviously you were able to figure out a way to you know use your body get some get some buckets basically how did you kind of just try to find an offensive uh I mean s obviously they got a lot of length um from every position most basically and then him he’s just tough

Out at The Rim so um just yeah try to attack him and make the right reads like when he’s there and whenever you can just just just hit him a little bit and get there but but yeah it’s tough how do you going to change your reads basically

Uh I just seen the game I mean trying to trying to figure it out see when he’s out you know see when he’s in like just just play with the game a little bit I mean I was able to get some quick quick uh buckets I mean I wish we got into it

A little bit more but um but yeah like you just got to he’s a tough cover on there with the just outside shots I think you guys were 6 for 30 how much that hold your back you know yeah tough just tough not making shots right like

It’s hard um we found a way to stay in the game we know we’re missing basically everything you know um so it’s tough when you have nights like that but like that’s basketball you know sometimes you make them sometime you miss them like you have to live with it um obviously we

Know that the amount of work that everyone puts in into it and at the end of the day like that’s that’s what it is like sometimes you’re going to make them sometime you’re going to miss them and we got to have the same confidence um and and understand that it’s just that

Happens in basketball and we got to just keep moving forward and um we know that you know like our time is going to come the way we’re going to make all those shots so um just got to stay conf defensive L just saying there’s just a few mistakes at the wrong Times

Obviously you guys got a couple occasions you know took the lead back for one you a couple within one four seemed like you weren’t able to get a stop at that point yeah it’s tough I mean it’s tough I mean he’s like what 710 I don’t know whatever like I mean

It’s hard um and then also you’re trying to be physical to go on fouls like and he’s making tough shots like so um yeah like it was it was it was tough we just couldn’t get the stops that we needed at the times that we needed them um and and

Yeah unfortunately that happens like that sometimes on top of just him being that tall the passing piece of it too it seemed like whenever you guys put a couple bodies on him to try to you know body him up he able to I mean I don’t

Think we we doubled him much until that last possession where they got a layup but um but yeah we know you know obviously he can see top of everyone so yeah what uh this has obviously been an issue going back before you as far as losing some of these games I mean just

What you know what do you think is sort of has happened few occasion since you’ve been here what’s been a trend as far as being I mean I I don’t I mean I don’t see it like that I think you know like it’s easy to be like oh we got a

Better record than this team so we’re supposed to beat them like that’s not how basketball works that’s how the NBA works like every team is getting better like every team is is is going out there every single night to win the game so if if they come out and they play they play

Harder than you and better than you that night they can win so like I don’t think we should be looking at these games like oh we supposed to win them we got to go out there like you know and go out there and actually win those games um and I

Think that we just got to you know like kind of stab with down mindset of like oh we were supposed to win this game we didn’t win it like it’s basketball like if you don’t go go out there and put your best fo forward all the team is

Going to is going to go out there and win so um we just got to go out there put our best fo forward every single game and no matter who the opponent is and and um you know I I just I know that you know it’s tough right now like we we

Losing some games and um it could feel like like the end of the word but yeah like you know it’s going to it’s going to eventually you know we’re going to W on the stone we’re going to get better and and at the end of the day like we

Want to get better at the right time you know when come playoff time like we want to get to that point um so we just had to continue to chip in Stay Together work hard um and and I believe that we we going to turn it around s was a spar for TJ

Tonight I mean obviously yeah he was great he was great just making plays like tough shots after tough shots playing with Pace um I mean when he’s playing like that I don’t think anybody can stop him so um obviously we we need to match his energy in terms of like

Everyone just bringing it um the way he’s been bringing it so um yeah kudos to him like he’s been playing on an unbelievable level what makes him just as good as he getting the ball so fast like I mean and then he you know he takes shots out there like he’s W you

Know like just turn around fade away you can’t block it so yeah man he’s doing it he’s doing it all what did you see as far as opportunities were concerned to just go at them um and score that way um honestly I think when I was coming off

Picking rolls they were staying home and didn’t want me really getting in the paint and spraying out for threes so um you know there was a lot of opportunity for me to score and you know I’m just trying to read the game as it comes to

Me and you know if teams are going to stay home I have to take advantage of that and and go to the rim and and uh I’m going to score the ball obviously big picture was tough to you know take the ball to the rim just because wanyama

Is there in general I mean just did did you find a ways you just didn’t draw him basically or just how did you kind of operate when you did he did kind of drift your way yeah I mean you really don’t want to go to the rim if he’s down

There I it’s an elite shop Locker um and you know I think for the most part I was telling our bigs to kind of stay lifted so he wasn’t down there as much and um and just kind of draw him out out of the paint and and take advantage of that

What I think RI was just saying he just saw just a few breakdowns defensively obviously there’s a few occasions when you guys either had a lead or or within four within one I mean just what did you kind of see just breakdown in those circumstances that kept you from getting

The stops you needed yeah I mean I just we just couldn’t really get the stop to get us over the hump whether it be a second chance point or a late rotation or a breakdown um it’s one of those things where it’s a small thing but it’s

A thing that loses you a game and um you know in crunch time moments great teams have to come up with those stops and and we didn’t obviously 6 to 30 from three when it’s not easy to get stuff at The Rim basically just how much does that

Hold you back when you can’t get anything like that to fall yeah I mean we’re a fast-paced team and obviously we’re a lot better when we’re shooting well from three um but that’s no excuse um you know we’ve had plenty of off shooting nights I think where we were

Still able to win and you know we can’t rely on shooting the ball from three while we have to kind of continue to move the ball and and put people in action and get downhill and get to the rim you know that’s that’s the thing you know if we’re not shooting well from

Three you got to do something else and um let get to the rim and continue to move the ball seemed like you and Pascal were able to get some two-man game working on seemed like you were able to set him up pretty well just how much do

You feel like you and he are getting some chemistry as well obviously we talk a lot about him and Tai but you know you obviously have some minutes on the floor with him too no it’s easy um with a great player like that um he makes the

Game easy for whoever he plays with and um he’s a great one-on-one player but also in pick and roll you I mean you you see what he can do you know we get him the ball out of a pick and roll he can either go dho the other side to someone

Or he can go score when you have someone like that just makes the game easy know we talked earlier in the season about some of these games that theoretically you’re expected to win and having issues with that and you talked about this team need to grow up and are you still seeing

The same thing or do you view this game differently yeah I mean a game like this um I mean I mean they’re a great team and obviously their record reflects otherwise but they’re a great team and led by wemi and um you know if we want

To get to where we want to go we have to win these type of games and um you know be mature and execute down the stretch and get stops and that’s the thing that um we didn’t do tonight and obviously it didn’t go our way the last one just go

On Wy in general I mean how is he just from when you guys saw him the first time and how much you think he’s just going to change things based on just the size he’s got and the skill he’s got yeah I mean I think we played him what

The third game of the year and you know he hadn’t seen the type of defenses that teams are going to throw at him he didn’t you know wasn’t familiar with you know how they’re going to play and I think at this point in the season he

Knows what’s he knows what to expect and I mean the guy’s practically unguardable so um um I mean he’s going to be the face of the league here um in the coming years and has obviously a ton of potential and someone that you know San Antonio can build around and um you know

That’s off to him

Rick Carlisle, Pascal Siakam and T.J. McConnell speak to media following Sunday night’s game against the Spurs.

0:00 – Rick Carlisle
3:03 – Pascal Siakam
7:06 – T.J. McConnell