Pacers HC Rick Carlisle Reveals How Indiana Regained It's 'Edge'

The Indiana Pacers were able to get a big win over the Suns on Thursday night, 120-111. It was a game that showed them actually playing some solid defense. They forced Phoenix into 16 turnovers while just committing nine of them themselves. Indiana has now won four of their last five games.

Prior to this stretch of good play, the Pacers were pretty much limited to winning games when Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam played well. If one of them, or both, played poorly, then it was likely a loss. If they both played great, that's when they were able to get a win.

Things have changed over the last couple of weeks. It's clear that this team has benefitted from some time off during the NBA Cup games. While the Pacers made the NBA Cup Finals a year ago, they did not make the elimination round this season. Because of that, they've had more time to practice.

Head coach Rick Carlisle has pointed to that extra practice time as something that has really helped this team play well over the last couple of weeks. Specifically, he mentioned how it's helped the defense. They are no longer a horrendous defense.

"The practice time the last two weeks has helped us. It's helped us regain an edge defensively. Our full-court defense is more of a factor. We just need teams to feel us. Even if we're not the most physically bruising team, they need to feel our persistence at both ends. I thought we really picked it up tonight."

Carlisle knows that this team's edge is when they play solid, full-court defense. The Pacers didn't shoot it particularly well in this game, only shooting 43% from the field. Indiana shot just 39% from three. Yet, they were able to win this game because of solid defense.

Playing this well on defense is how they become a true contender. Right now, they have the worst defensive rating in the NBA, sitting at 115.1 Over the last three games, it has been 107. That's a huge jump for a team that just needs average defense, not even great defense.

The Pacers are a good enough offense to score with anyone. They won't shoot as poorly as they did on Thursday night in most games. If they can be just average on defense while continuing to be an elite offense, they have a big opportunity to make it far in the playoffs.

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