Pacers' Rick Carlisle Doesn't Want to Hear About Cavs Injuries

Cleveland did have some health struggles. All-Star point guard Darius Garland missed the first two games of the series with a big toe injury, and was not the same even when he did come back. All-Star power forward Evan Mobley and sixth man forward De'Andre Hunter each sat out Game 2. All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell hurt his left ankle and sat out the club's 129-109 Game 4 loss to the Pacers.

Still, the team seemed to have enough on paper to withstand Indiana's attack. Instead, that absolutely was not the case.

Now, Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle has clapped back at Cleveland's health issues, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

"Cleveland is banged up, that's well-documented," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "But to me, I heard this one time the year we won in Dallas. There was a lot of stuff about the other team (LeBron James' Miami Heat) losing the series. Somebody made the comment, 'The winning team writes the script.' I just have to give our guys credit. They earned this."

In the 2011 NBA Finals, the Carlisle-coached Dallas Mavericks, featuring just one Hall of Fame in his prime in Dirk Nowitzki (Jason Kidd was no longer an All-Star, but still a starter), vanquished a loaded, favored Miami Heat squad featuring not one, not two, but three future Hall of Famers in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

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Carlisle went on to praise the Cavaliers, and noted how formidable they were even with their health issues.

"This is one of the best teams in the league, injuries, dings or no dings," Carlisle said of Cleveland. "They had a great year and I'm sorry their season had to end like this in a way. [Coach of the Year] Kenny [Atkinson] did an amazing job. Their guys kinda had the perfect season and we came along and we're hot at the right time."

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Indiana is now, effectively, red-hot. The Pacers have gone 8-2 in the East so far, en route to their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals berth. This spring, unlike last season, they have a real shot to return to the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years.

The New York Knicks, who lack reliable depth beyond their top six players, currently pace the Boston Celtics, 3-2, and Boston is without its best player, six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum, for the rest of the postseason due to an Achilles tear. Indiana has the health and depth to realistically defeat either squad this club.

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