Before Game 1 of the 2024 Eastern Conference finals, Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle opened up about how tough he was viewing the series against the Boston Celtics.
“These guys are almost impossible to match up with, due to their size and skill,” Carlisle said ahead of the series opener, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
The Celtics finished the 2023-24 NBA regular season with a monster 64-18 record. They were the only team to win at least 58 games. Boston had a 14-game advantage against the No. 2 team in the East, the New York Knicks. And they did that in large part because of the qualities Carlisle mentioned.
And Carlisle knew that unlike the Milwaukee Bucks and the Knicks, whom the Pacers defeated in the first two rounds of the playoffs, respectively, Boston was entering the conference finals portion of the postseason with a healthy roster — more or less. Boston played Game 1 of the series missing just Kristaps Porzingis but still had the services on the floor of the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday.
All that being said, the Pacers were not too shabby of a team, either. With the triumvirate of Myles Turner, Tyrese Haliburton, and Pascal Siakam, Indiana proved to be a tough customer for the Celtics in Game 1. Boston won the series opener, 133-128, but needed overtime to take care of business.
The Indiana Pacers Will Look to Tie the Series Up in Game 2
The good news for Carlisle and the Pacers is that there’s no reason for them to push the panic button just yet. They also lost Game 1s in the Bucks and Knicks series but still found away to survive and advance in the playoffs.
Game 2 of the series will be on Thursday in Boston.
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