Indiana had a disappointing 2022/23 campaign, as they ended in the 11th position of the Eastern Conference with a 35-47 mark by the end of regular season. This meant they weren’t even able to compete for the Play-In Tournament and were off early for summer vacations.

However, they did have a positive start as they registered 23-18 in the schedule’s first half, reaching in their division’s sixth place by January 2023. Led by their point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who became an All-Star in his first season with the Pacers, they ranked right in the middle of the league’s table both defensively and offensively.

After working hard all summer, head coach Rick Carlisle is ready to bounce back this upcoming competition. The franchise from Indianapolis has made plenty of roster changes in the last couple of years, and he believes Haliburton’s star power has helped bring in other stars like Bruce Brown.

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle says NBA In-Season tournament makes a lot of sense, chats offseasonhttps://t.co/jfojeSs8sa pic.twitter.com/LnpqJ3sTuA

— All Pacers on SI (@SIPacers) September 24, 2023

“We like the direction we’re headed. There has been a lot of change to the roster, obviously, over the last few years. Haliburton has changed everything for us. He’s not only a tremendous player but someone other people are going to want to play with. Without him, we don’t get Bruce Brown in free agency,” he assured.

One remark in particular that caught our attention was his take on the new In-Season Tournament, which he believes ‘makes a lot of sense’ as most sport leagues around the world have other complimentary competitions in which they can try out younger players and different tactics.

“This is another trophy. The Premier League in soccer has been doing this for decades with a high level of success, so it’s time to jump in,” the trainer said. “It sounds to me like it’s very well-organized and makes a lot of sense. I’m sure a lot will be learned in Year 1 that will be adjusted for Year 2 as needed.”

Carlisle is convinced they’ve been lucky these past NBA drafts, and can’t wait to try out their newest arrivals in Indiana.

“Our draft has been terrific the last two years,” the Pacers coach said. “And the acquisition of [Knicks 2018 lottery pick] Obi Toppin is going to give him an opportunity and gets us one of the best transition players in the world on a team that led the league in fast-break points [18.1 per game] last year.”

Carlisle is convinced that if star Haliburton stays healthy throughout the campaign he can lead Indiana to an NBA title

Last season, Haliburton lost many games due to injury right when the team was playing their best basketball. As he recovered, the Pacers went on a losing streak. Coach Carlisle believes it is key to keep Tyrese healthy throughout the campaign in order to aspire for the playoffs and beyond.

“Had Tyrese not gone down for 12 or 13 games in January … we were 23-18 when he got injured, then he missed the better part of a month. We went 1-9 right after he got hurt. That speaks to the importance he has to our team,” he said.

In the video above, check out the former Mavericks trainer’s final press conference as they exited the 2022/23 season.

After Haliburton’s participation in the last FIBA World Cup with Team USA, he received positive feedback as a player who improves his teammates around him.

“Oh yeah, yeah. He allows those around him to achieve at a high level. That’s one of the consistent definitions of greatness of NBA players. So he’s very special,” Carlisle added.

It seems that after a rough start to the past 2022/23 season, many Lakers fans were willing to go as far as threaten their team’s owner to the death in order to get the purple and gold on the winning route. In a recent interview on “The Athletic NBA Show”, Jeanie Buss revealed all the reprehensible actions taken by fans which affected her mental state. 

“Last season started out really tough,” shared the Los Angeles president. “It was like, ‘I’m not gonna survive this. This is gonna be really rough.’ I was getting death threats. And then the team, something just clicked.”

To give a little context, the LA club went 33-49 the year after and even missed out on a 20-team postseason, and then started the past campaign on the wrong foot. The Lakers began the year with 10 losses in 12 games and seemed to be doomed for disaster.

Jeanie Buss speaks out on death threats she got when Lakers were struggling last season before trade deadline: https://t.co/seWASogmmP

— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) September 20, 2023

Buss recalled on the start of the past competition that things would’ve been different if their stars players would’ve stayed healthy. “Anthony Davis being healthy, there’s an argument to be made that he was the best player in the NBA when he was playing,” she assured.

By the end of the schedule’s first half, it was clear that the purple and gold roster needed some significant changes. During February’s trade window, General Manager Rob Pelinka made some strategic moves on the chess board and shipped out Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn, to bring in D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt.

His vision was nothing short of genius, as the Lakers ended up 43-39 and made a surprise run to the Western Conference Finals.

During the interview, the club owner recalled the day she watched Kareem break the all-time NBA scoring record on live television, and believes that the fact that LeBron James overcame it, is just a testament of the legend he is.

“This is a record that will never be broken,” she remembers being said of Abdul-Jabbar’s feat. “It really was a testament to LeBron and his longevity in the league.”

Buss is determined to reach their 18th NBA title before Boston, and says she gained appreciation for Larry Bird while watching ‘Winning Time’

Last week most NBA fans received bad news when they heard that the HBO series ‘Winning Time’ would be cancelled after just two seasons. Even though not all were happy with the way they were portrayed during the show, it was an entertaining production which kept Buss very interested.

Not only did the show permit her to remember her late great father, Dr. Jerry Buss, interpreted by an outstanding John C. Reilly, but many other players like Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson were relived by many fans. However, Jeanie admitted the show made her appreciate rival star Larry Bird even more.

“And the Larry Bird character, I thought that was great. It made me appreciate Larry Bird so much. I mean we hated him so much in L.A it’s just hard to even think about. And just to see his backstory and what happened with him and the game, what a special athlete he was, and a trash-talker,” she said.

For now, the Lakers owner expects to have a stronger start of the season starting next month, as their squad finally found a strong dynamic by the end of last campaign, only losing to the eventual champions.

After his recent appearances in the FIBA World Cup with Slovenia, Luka Doncic has created concern in the Dallas camp over his lingering thigh injury which started last season. As the Mavericks are only days away from starting their training camp on September 27, coach Jason Kidd referred to his star’s status. 

“I think hopefully, as we go forward here, that he will be ready to go,” he said in an interview with insider Marc Stein. “I presume that sometimes in our career, we are not 100 percent. Maybe we’re 99 or 95 percent. The more games you play, the longer your career, I think you can ask anyone. No one’s really 100 percent.”

The Mavs trainer recognized the need to count on his roster’s depth and not depend entirely on Doncic, who must rest and not be overburdened with responsibility.

“Now, looking at our roster, hopefully, we don’t have to play him 40 or more minutes per night,” Kidd assured. “With the depth that we have, I thought Nico [Harrison] did an incredible job this summer, but I’m excited with Luka and Kyrie Irving, and having Luka ready to go and achieve his goals, and that’s to win a championship.”

Just as Slovenia was eliminated by a 100-84 loss to Lithuania in the past international competition, Luka revealed he’d been suffering with thigh pains and had some concerns. “It’s not okay,” he said after the match.

Even though he wasn’t 100% healthy, he still played 37 minutes in that contest, right after logging 38 minutes the night before against Italy. “I do not know what to say. It’s not okay. At the same time, I have to prepare for one more game, and then for a whole season in the NBA,” he later admitted.

Dallas are getting ready to start their upcoming NBA campaign against the San Antonio Spurs on October 25, as the basketball world will be tunning in to see the official debut of No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama.

Texas Legends head coach praises rookies Dereck Livelly II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper and describes them as ‘gym rats’

As the Dallas camp is about to begin this Wednesday, there is a shared optimism around the fanbase for the upcoming season. Not only is Doncic gonna team up with Kyrie Irving since the start of the campaign, but there is a lot of talk over their rookies’ potential.

According to Texas Legends’ coach Jordan Sears, both Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper have proven why they are worthy of NBA basketball during their summer workouts.

“Honestly, we’ve spent a lot of time with them from Summer league through now,” he said. “Because they’ve been in the gym every week, and they’ve been really committed to their work. You really can’t find guys like who are just so genuine and are just so focused and committed to learning. I think those are two of the best young guys I’ve seen with that. They’re very mature in their approach on the day-to-day, [and] they understand what they don’t know.”

ICYMI: Dallas Mavericks rookie center Dereck Lively II seems pumped to play with Luka Doncic, and he recently spoke about how he’ll be able to help him when on the floor together.@austinmcgee15 has the story.https://t.co/0Dq5U2KVIF

— The Smoking Cuban (@thesmokingcuban) September 15, 2023

As for Lively, he believes the 19-year-old big man not only has an impressive physical gift, but also a high basketball IQ.

“I know everybody’s talked about his defense, and obviously he has the size and the mobility and the athleticism to do all of those things,” Sears shared. “I think for a big, you try to keep the game simple for them in terms of screening angles, rolling to the rim, putting pressure on the rim, finishing around the rim and protecting the rim conversely on the defensive side of the ball, [and] being able to communicate your pick-and-roll coverages.”