Pacers' Rick Carlisle Blames Team's Struggles on One Big Reason

The Pacers dropped their third straight game on Friday.

Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

The matchup between the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks on Friday featured two teams looking to correct their seasons with a win in Milwaukee. Both the Pacers and Bucks have gotten off to unexpected slow starts after competing against each other in the playoffs last season, with the Bucks beginning the year 2-8 and the Pacers starting the season 5-7.

On one side of the court, the Bucks earned a 129-117 win over the Pacers as they appear to be figuring out their team and season. The Bucks have now won each of their last three games, and five of their last six. On the Pacers side is a team headed in the opposite direction.

The Pacers have lost each of their last three games, and five of their last six games. All of these losses aren't coming at the hands of the NBA's best either; they fell to a 4-12 Toronto Raptors team and a 6-7 Miami Heat team.

The Pacers have now dropped to just 6-10 on the season, and are far from the team that went up against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals last June.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle blamed a significant part of the team's struggles on the injuries to Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard, who have each missed multiple weeks as Nesmith has dealt with a sprained ankle and Nembhard works through tendinitis in his right knee.

"We're without one of our best attackers and playmakers in Nembhard," Carlisle said, via Dustin Dopirak of the Indy Star. "We're without one of our best runners and movers and shooters and defenders in Nesmith. We're have other guys that are having to step up to a much higher grade of responsibility and they're learning an awful lot. These kinds of stretches can be very painful."

Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was not in agreement with Carlisle's take, saying the team has gone through changes to the lineup before, and injuries are part of the sport.

The Pacers will have three straight winnable games coming up against the Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans, and Portland Trail Blazers, who all have six or fewer wins. How the Pacers show up in these games will help determine if they have a real shot at bouncing back this season.

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