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Rick Carlisle will not coach for the Indiana Pacers tonight against the Washington Wizards

The Pacers will be without their head coach for the first time this season.

Tony East

Rick Carlisle will not coach for the Indiana Pacers tonight against the Washington Wizards
Rick Carlisle will not coach for the Indiana Pacers tonight against the Washington Wizards /

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle will not coach in Washington D.C. tonight when his team takes on the Washington Wizards.

The Pacers announced earlier today that Carlisle will not be with the team in the nation's capital. Per the team, Carlisle has a family event.

"Head Coach Rick Carlisle will not be on the bench for the team's game tonight at Washington due to a previously scheduled event recognizing his daughter Abby as cheer captain on her senior night," the announcement reads, in part.

In Carlisle's absence, lead assistant Lloyd Pierce will be the acting head coach of the Pacers. Pierce filled in as the head coach for four games last season when Carlisle was in Health and Safety protocols, going 2-2. Pierce also filled in for two games in late March when Carlisle had a family emergency — the Pacers dropped both of those games.

Pierce was the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks for two-and-a-half seasons from 2018 through 2021. He went 63-120 as the coach of the rebuilding Hawks. He joined the Pacers in the summer of 2021 not long after the team hired Carlisle to be the head coach. His primary focus was on the defensive side of the ball last season.

Indiana and Washington will battle on ESPN tonight. Carlisle will rejoin the Pacers when they take on the Brooklyn Nets tomorrow night in Brooklyn, per the team announcement.

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Tony East
TONY EAST

Tony East is the Publisher of AllPacers. He has previously written for Forbes Sports, the West Indianapolis Community News, WTHR, and more while hosting the Locked On Pacers podcast.

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