'Talk is cheap': Pacers trying to fix defensive woes by focusing on one-on-one battles

INDIANAPOLIS -- Rick Carlisle has spent so much time in the offseason talking about defense that apparently even he is tired of talking about defense.

The Pacers coach was asked Tuesday after the first day of training camp -- just as he was Monday at Pacers Media Day -- how they could become a better defense than the one that that finished 29th in the 30-team NBA in scoring defense (119.5 points per game) and 26th in defensive efficiency. It was a downer for a team that finished 10th in the NBA in scoring and led the league in fast-break points, but still finished 35-47 and missed the postseason entirely for the second straight season.

His answer was that at this point there's nothing to it but to do it.

"Truthfully, I think we need to stop talking about defense and just start defending better," Carlisle said after a practice that he said was almost entirely defense-focused . "... Talk is cheap."

In a sense, it's just that simple. When the 2022-23 season ended, the Pacers to a man said in exit interviews that the biggest problem they had on the defensive end had little to do with schematics or communication but an inability to win one-on-one matchups. They had excellent shot blockers in the back end with Myles Turner, Isaiah Jackson and Jalen Smith helping them finish second in the NBA with 5.8 blocked shots per game, but they had so many opportunities because perimeter players were too frequently beaten off the dribble for shot attempts near the rim.

But attempting to fix that problem did require an entire offseason of investment. The Pacers addressed defense in free agency and the draft. They have shaken up their coaching staff and, though they're not ready to detail exactly how for public consumption, they will be taking a different approach to defense than they did a season ago.

The schematic change comes in part because of a coaching change. Assistant Ronald Nored, the former Butler point guard who was in charge of the Pacers' defense last season, left for a spot on the Atlanta Hawks' staff. Jim Boylen, who has been a head coach at the college level at Utah and in the NBA with the Bulls and also won NBA titles as an assistant with the Rockets and Spurs, earned an assistant coach title after working as a defensive consultant last season. Carlisle said the Pacers will not have "coordinators" this season so Boylen won't be alone in charge of the defense, but that is his area of expertise so he will have a lot of influence on that side of the floor.

"The guy's a former NBA head coach," Carlisle said. "He's willing to be on our staff as a behind-the-bench guy which shows what he feels about our organization. He's willing to help, but it isn't just Jim doing the defense. Everyone's involved. It's obvious the players are involved too."

Whether it was Carlisle's call, Boylen's or a collaborative decision, the Pacers' coaching staff did commit to a change in philosophy. Players were only willing to share a minute amount of detail, but gave some rough outlines of the changes.

"We can't get into schematics," Turner said. "But the biggest thing is going to be effort. I think we're going to be held more accountable to our effort than we have been ever before and our one-on-one defense. Not trusting the help as much. Of course, the help is always there. But we want to be better containing the ball."

Others were a little more forthcoming but not much. Guard Bruce Brown couldn't speak to how different the philosophy is from last year's team but said it's much different than what he was doing in Denver.

"It's kind of reactive," Brown said. "There's not always a low man. If guys get beat, you're not going to help too much."

Aaron Nesmith, a defensive ace also acknowledged a change involving the areas of the floor where the Pacers are trying to get the ball to go.

"It's about what shots we're willing to give up," Nesmith said. "I don't want to give too much away. It's shots we're trying to force guys to take. We did that today and we saw success from it. I like the scheme."

As they mentioned, the scheme relies on their ability to make stops without forcing help, and the Pacers tried to improve on that end by adding players with a demonstrated ability to help on that end. Brown is considered one of the top on-ball defenders in the NBA and his ability to provide some level of resistance on Western Conference perimeter stars such as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Anthony Edwards as well as Jimmy Butler in the Finals helped the Nuggets claim a title. They paid him $45 million over two years with a club option next season to get an established perimeter defensive ace.

"I'm a defender," Brown said. "That's what gets me on the floor everywhere I go."

They also focused on defense in the draft, selecting forward Jarace Walker out of Houston. Walker's greatest assets are on the defensive end, as he's proven to be an excellent defender in the post and on the perimeter.

However, much of their investment in this offseason has also been in improving the defense of their returning players. All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton finished ninth in the NBA in steals with 1.6 per game last season because he has excellent instincts and skill in reading passing lanes, but he's struggled in defending the ball and vowed to get better there.

The Pacers have also been invested in trying to make Bennedict Mathurin a better defensive wing. With long arms and a svelte but chiseled and powerful frame, he's built like his heroes Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and has the physical tools to be an excellent two-way player as they were, but he struggled on the defensive end as a rookie. The Pacers believe he can be a key piece of their defense, however, and Brown is investing a lot of his time in improving him.

"I've been forcing everybody to be a better defender, but especially Benn Mathurin," Brown said. "I think he can be extremely good on both ends of the floor if he wants to. As y'all know, he can score the (expletive) out of the ball. But he's strong enough and quick enough to be an elite defender in this league. I'm trying to push him to be that."

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Brown speaks to another issue the Pacers still have to work out before the season begins. At this point, their best scorers and best defenders are mostly not the same guys. Turner is the only player who would start in both their best offensive and best defensive lineup. They could put together a whole lineup of strong defenders with Andrew Nembhard or T.J. McConnell at point guard, Brown at shooting guard, Nesmith at small forward and Walker at power forward. However their best scorers 1-4 would be Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Mathurin and Obi Toppin. Nembhard and Nesmith were the best perimeter defenders on last year's team and both might be coming off the bench this season.

Carlisle will have to find a balance in his rotations, but he said that defense will carry a lot of weight in those discussions.

"We got a lot of guys who can score," Carlisle said. "Unselfishness along with defensive impact is going to break a lot of ties."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Rick Carlisle and Pacers make changes on defensive end