Pacers Media Day
(Photo by Pacers Sports and Entertainment)
By TYLER SMITH
ISL Editor
INDIANAPOLIS — It was the shortest summer break that’s even possible for the Indiana Pacers, and now the Eastern Conference Champions are back for another season. Media Day took place on Monday, as Rick Carlisle and nearly every player answered questions about the season ahead.
There were several key themes we kept hearing throughout the day:
•The Pacers will clearly miss Haliburton, but are still ready to prove people wrong.
•Everyone is excited to see what the current centers will contribute.
•Things will look a little different, but the standard is the same.
•The whole team is giving great reviews of Johnny Furphy and Jarace Walker.
I also found it interesting how none of the players had anything else to say about the departure of Myles Turner. They are clearly focused on the guys who are in the building, and are ready to move forward. There’s always optimism at the start of Training Camp, but this group has earned a little extra hype over the last few years. It seems like a group that is still hungry, connected, and ready to show what they can do once again.
Here were some of the main quotes from this year’s Media Day:
Rick Carlisle: “There will be some adjustments. Ty is such an unusually important player to us. But we want to keep our core principles. We’ve got to be excited about the opportunity some guys have. It will be a lot of work, but it will be great.”
Tyrese Haliburton: “The standard is the standard. We’ve created a culture here, and that’s not changing. Playing fast. Picking up full court. Playing with infectious joy. That doesn’t change. I’m definitely excited to see everyone grow.”
Pascal Siakam: “We have to do it collectively. Have to have a group and do it together. Make sure I lead by example and the standard we have set.”
Andrew Nembhard: “It’s a lot of the same guys with a lot of new roles… our standard is our standard.”
TJ McConnell: “Obviously, Ty not being able to play this year is tough. You can’t replace a guy like that. I think what we need to focus on is we’ve established a culture, a style of play.”
Aaron Nesmith– “We will have to play at Andrew’s pace this season. Andrew is a real downhill player. He sometimes takes an extra dribble compared to Ty and likes to get into the paint more. So, having to adjust to that. Per usual, people are writing us off.”
Bennedict Mathurin– “I’ve worked really hard even if it was a short off-season. I’m excited for what’s coming. I’m excited for the chance to start and finish games. I’m more than ready for the season.”
The Pacers will hit the ground running tomorrow, and will play their first pre-season game on October 7th in Minnesota. The season (and home) opener is set for Thursday, October 23rd, with an NBA Finals rematch against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
