'Daunting', Pacers' Rick Carlisle Talks Challenges of Facing Cavaliers

The Indiana Pacers have a tough task in front of them in the second round, where they will face off with the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers won 64 games during the regular season, so they are certainly a formidable foe, but they also could serve as a tough matchup for the Pacers.

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A lot of their offense runs through Pascal Siakam, and a lot of their defense relies on Myles Turner and Siakam, so the Cavaliers' frontcourt will be a tough matchup for the Pacers.

Rick Carlisle discussed the Cavs in more detail with the media in an article from Dustin Dopirak.

"They've been dominant from the East all year," Carlisle said. "What they did to Miami is daunting, really. From a precision basis, they're as precise as any team in the league. The preparation has to be very detailed and very precise. Everything has got to be on point. Our communication has got to be great. They have attackers at all positions. Even their bigs are playmakers. It's a great challenge."

The bigs being solid playmakers is what makes the Cavaliers offense unique. They have good playmaking guards in Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, but also have solid playmakers throughout the rest of the roster.

They also have versatile defenders in the frontcourt and good depth off the bench, which makes them feel like a well-oiled machine on both ends of the court.

They showed that by taking down the Miami Heat in dominant fashion in the first round in a clean sweep, and by winning by over 50 points.

Carlisle is right that the task will be daunting, but the Cavs are beatable. They have smaller guards who Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard can potentially take advantage of on the offensive end.

The Pacers also have good depth off the bench, so from a fatigue standpoint, they can hang with the Cavaliers, unlike many other teams in the NBA.

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Interestingly, the Pacers are also a precise team, so one could say the team is a lesser version of the Cavs. However, that doesn't mean they don't have a chance to win the series.

If Haliburton and Siakam show up and play at their best, an argument can be made that the Pacers have better top-end talent. In terms of star power, the Cavs really only have Donovan Mitchell, but have quite a few elite role players around him that made them a great regular season team.

While the Pacers do have a daunting task in front of them, it seems like they have an underrated chance to win the series if Rick Carlisle can figure out a way to counter the versatility of the Cavaliers.

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For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, visit Indiana Pacers on SI.