Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle entered the NBA's health and safety protocols Thursday night, with the expectation being that a pending PCR test would provide an update on how long he would be away from the sidelines. Carlisle and the Pacers received his test results on Friday, giving the team and fans an idea of how long the coach would be away from the team.
Sources: Pacers coach Rick Carlisle will miss multiple games after a PCR test confirmed he has COVID-19. Lloyd Pierce will act as head coach beginning tonight vs. Mavericks.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 10, 2021
Ouch. So, Rick Carlisle is going to miss multiple games for the Pacers. Indiana already knew that Carlisle had tested positive for the virus, though the positive result on the PCR test essentially confirms that he will be out. Carlisle is vaccinated, which could potentially allow him to return sooner than he would have otherwise.
With Carlisle out, Lloyd Pierce will operate as the Pacers' head coach on Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks. Pierce, who coached the Atlanta Hawks for three seasons, will attempt to guide Indiana through a tough stretch of games against Dallas, the Golden State Warriors and the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks.
If the recent trade rumors on Pacers players Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, and Caris LeVert weren't bad enough, the team now has to navigate one of the toughest parts of their schedule without head coach Rick Carlisle.
This will be a telling stretch indeed for the Indiana Pacers after the update on Rick Carlisle.
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