Pacers' Rick Carlisle Offers One-Word to Describe Cavaliers

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle has certainly been around the block.

The New York native played for the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and the then-New Jersey Nets before embarking on a very successful coaching career. Carlisle has been on the staff of five NBA franchises (Indiana Pacers, New Jersey Nets, Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers).

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Winning a title with the Mavs in 2011, Carlisle knows high-level basketball when he sees it. Prior to the Eastern Conference Semifinals series kicking off versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, Carlisle heaped some massive praise on the opposition.

Carlisle on Cavs: "I think the word is consistency. Another word is depth. They don't have anyone who's played over 30 or 31 minutes a game and they've done some really nice strategic resting over the year that has them very fresh at a time when a lot of teams are wearing down."
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Carlisle's claim of "consistency" clearly comes from a stellar regular season in which the Cavs won 64 regular season games. Seven Cleveland players averaged double-figures — led by Donovan Mitchell (24.0 PPG), Darius Garland (20.6 PPG), and Evan Mobley (18.5 PPG).

The Cavs will have to conjure up a bit more consistency given the result of Game 1. Indiana surprised everyone by walking into Cleveland and coming away with a 121-112 victory. The Pacers went up 11 in the first quarter and never looked back.

Indiana had an extremely balanced effort across the board. Similarly to how a Cavs' box score would traditionally look, six Pacers scored in double-figures. Andrew Nembhard led the way with 23 points on 5-of-6 from three-point range. Tyrese Haliburton flashed his usual elite play, scoring 22 points and notching 13 assists.

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As a team, Indiana was unconscious from behind the arc. The Pacers went 19-of-32 from three (52.8 percent).

Being able to match Cleveland's depth and talent is a tall task for practically any team in the NBA. Having said that, Carlisle devised a gameplan to utilize his bench effectively while not running his starters into the ground with heavy minutes.

Nembhard played the most minutes of any Pacers player (37). Carlisle was able to integrate six Pacers off the bench into the game, playing more than a handful of minutes. Of the group, the trio of Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin, and T.J. McConnell was the most productive.

If Indiana can consistently get good bench play while not overworking its starters, this could end up being a far more competitive series than people assumed it to be going in.

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For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, head on over to Indiana Pacers on SI.