Rick Carlisle Talks Haliburton’s Recovery, Zubac’s Fit and Pacers Players to Watch

Pacers head coach, Rick Carlisle, joined the ESPN Broadcast to answer questions about the team...

Oct 30, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle shares a moment with Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) during overtime at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Rick Carlisle joined the ESPN broadcast in the third quarter of Pacers-Cavaliers at NBA Summer League to talk about the team and the Pacers upcoming season. He touched on a handful of individuals as well, including: Tyrese Haliburton, Ivica Zubac, Jarace Walker, and Yuki Kawamura,.

Carlisle was about the injury rehab and progress for Tyrese Haliburton by play-by-play announcer, Marc Kestecher and had this to say:

"Ty's doing well. He's been playing five-on-five for a long time," Carlisle added "It's going to be a bit of a journey for him as this thing goes kinda big picture kind of thing. He's aggressively attacking the summer and looking forward to being back on the court."

How Does Big Zu Impact the Pacers? Coach Carlisle Shares His Opinion

Mar 12, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers center Ivica Zubac (40) holds the ball while Phoenix Suns guard Jamaree Bouyea (17) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After discussing Haliburton's progress, Carlisle spoke on the fit of Ivica Zubac with this new-look Pacers team: "Zu is gonna really help us," Carlilse said, "Our teams going to look a little different than it did a year and some change ago when we got to the Finals, but we're excited about making the adjustments."

Coach Carlisle then talked about the learning curve of Tyrese and Zu playing together, as well as incorporating others with Zu: "There'll be some adjustments. We're looking at some things offensively that we'll need to tweak on the one hand, but on the other hand we've not had a guy that can put the kind of rim pressure he can put on with rolls and seals, and putting guys in the basket at the rim."

Last Year's Growth in a Down Season

Mar 15, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle reacts with forward Kobe Brown (24) in the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Color Commentator, Seth Greenberg, asked Coach Carlisle about last season being an opportunity for guys to get some experience and helping put the pieces back together again, "In a year like last year, you get a real chance to evaluate," Carlisle continued, "We've gotta great group of guys and we're proud to play a style that we believe really embodies what the state of Indiana is about, in what people believe in philosophically, with ball movement and a lot of random play."

Coach Carlisle on Jarace Walker

Mar 27, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Jarace Walker (5) looks on during the second half against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Greenberg followed up by asking about Jarace Walker's year-to-year improvement, "We need him to star in his role as a great system player for us. He has some very unique abilities and he has some star capabilities, but we're such an ecosystem team and we depend so much on one another that you can't approach things from an individual standpoint. Be a great system player and allow the system to help amplify your individual skills."

Carlisle continued on Walker's skillset and how to make them work with the Pacers system, "He played point guard one year at IMG because someone had an injury. He has great vision and he has great passing, but it's important that he also a threat to score, or his passing won't be as affective."

Yuki Kawamura Gets High Praise from Coach Carlisle

Oct 25, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Yuki Kawamura (17) warms up before the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Pivoting to Summer League, Coach Carlisle is impressed with how Yuki Kawamura comes off the bench and impacts the game: "He's an easy guy to like. He just explodes into the game. When the coach points to him on the bench he just flies up to the scorers table and then stuff starts happening. He really knows how to play, he is seeing things before they happen, he has a great sense for how to draw contact and put the defense in jail, and he just goes hard."

The Paces secured the victory in their first action of Summer League, taking down the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-93. Rienk Mast led the team in scoring (16 points on 6-12 shooting) and rebounding (7 offensive, 4 defensive).

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