Tyrese Haliburton Calls Out Pacers Defense After Blowout Loss to Pistons

Matt Levine | Nov 30, 2024

Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers dropped another game on Friday, this time to the Detroit Pistons. The game wasn't particularly close, with Indiana getting blown out by a score of 130-106.

Indiana dropped down to 9-11 on the season and it was a poor showing all around. The Pacers couldn't stop the Pistons whatsoever on the defensive end of the floor and their issues continued.

The loss also dropped the Pacers to 0-3 in group play in the NBA Cup. Indiana was eliminated from the NBA Cup prior to the game but the runners-up from last year won't have a chance to redeem themselves.

After the game, star point guard Tyrese Haliburton gave credit to Detroit for winning the game. But he also called out his own team for their lack of defensive effort throughout the game.

"Kudos to them," All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. "They're playing hard. They're a hungry team. We just didn't match their energy. I think everybody knows, coach J.B. Bickerstaff teams are going to play hard as hell. They're going to be into you defensively and on offensively be attacking the paint relentlessly. We just didn't match that energy for the full 48 and we have to be better on the (defensive) end of the ball."

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle also weighed in on the team's effort. This isn't the first time this season that Carlisle has been frustrated after the game with how physical the Pacers were in a contest.

"We were not physical enough," Carlisle said. "Obviously not tied together well enough defensively and we've gotta do better. ... They were more physical and played with more attitude from the very beginning of the game. It carried through."

Indiana has been without guard Andrew Nembhard and forward Aaron Nesmith, arguably their two best perimeter defenders. Without them on the court, the Pacers' defense has faltered and it's been tough to watch at times.

If Indiana wants to find success like they had last season, defense will need to be the name of the game. The Pacers used strong defense, combined with a high-powered offensive attack to get to the Eastern Conference Finals last season.

So far, they haven't looked like that team and it's been a challenging start to the year for everyone involved.

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