Pacers News: Rick Carlisle Has Hilarious Take on Indiana's Late Loss vs Magic

Indiana is spiraling early this season.

Oct 27, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle talks to forward Aaron Nesmith (23) during the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers are spiraling early this season. After finishing last year with a 47-35 record and sneaking into the Eastern Conference Finals as a No. 6 seed, the club has stumbled out of the block, to a 1-3 record.

Indiana's most recent defeat, a 119-115 road loss against the rising Orlando Magic (who improved to a 3-1 record on the year), showed the team looking a lot like the pace-and-space mainstay it had been last year. But ultimately, a loss is a loss, as head coach Rick Carlisle allowed during his postgame remarks to the press.

"No disrespect to pigs, but I'm not going to put lipstick on a pig," Carlisle said, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. As Dopirak himself speculated, Carlisle didn't want to condition his criticisms of the loss just because it was close and the Pacers did a lot of good things.

Although Orlando starting small forward Franz Wagner missed most of the bout's second half when a lingering illness reared its head, there was simply no stopping 21-year-old Magic All-Star power forward Paolo Banchero, who scored a career-most 50 points.

The biggest red flag on the Pacers side of the equation was All-NBA point Tyrese Haliburton, who still can't get a handle on his shooting this year. Across his first four contests in 2024-25, the 6-foot-5 Iowa State product is averaging a scant 14.0 points on .339/.265/.636 shooting splits, 5.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks a night. That's hardly the kind of stat line that seems likely to land him on his third consecutive All-Star team.

For now, power forward Pascal Siakam seems to have the lead in the clubhouse, should a Pacers representative need to be selected. The 6-foot-8 New Mexico alum is averaging 18.5 points on .545/.313/.750 shooting splits, 6.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.0 swipes a night.

This story will be updated...

More Pacers: Magic Star Ruled Out for Rest of Monday's Indiana Game