Tag: Rick Carlisle

Everything we know about the Giannis Antetokounmpo game ball drama, the silliest sports saga of the year

This was all such a massive misunderstanding.

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 64 points during a victory over the Indiana Pacers, then chaos ensued.

According to league insider Chris Haynes, the Pacers “took the game ball away” after the performance from the two-time MVP. Antetokounmpo then “took off” toward the Pacers locker room to try to retrieve the ball back from the franchise he had just defeated.

But there is more to the story and plenty to unpack with this situation.

So we did our best to gather all the information and put that together in a way that will make some sense.

Based on the reporting we have gathered, here is everything we know:

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle in awe of Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama: ‘New type of player completely’

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle had some high praise for San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama.

The San Antonio Spurs suffered a brutal loss to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, falling 152-111. It was a crushing defeat, marking the Spurs’ second loss in a row following two straight wins over the Phoenix Suns. And while no one on the Spurs was particularly impressive, Victor Wembanyama’s performance stood out, but not in the usual way.

Wembanyama managed to put up 13 points, 10 rebounds, one steal, and two blocks, but he shot just 3-of-12 from the floor and 2-of-5 from distance. The Pacers managed to slow down Wembanyama through physicality, but they still respect who he is as a player.

Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle has some very high praise for the Spurs rookie.

Celtics’ Rick Carlisle, Larry Bird on the last tilt for the Hick From French Lick

Bird was still stepping onto the court behind closed doors as recently as the year 2000.

Fans of Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird typically know quite a bit about The Hick From French Lick, but not all of them can tell you about the last time Larry Legend laced ’em up and took the court to play organized basketball. But fellow Celtics alum and Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle does, and he told Boston Dot Com’s Chad Finn all about it.

Evidently, that tilt of sorts took place in the Pacers’ practice facility in 2000 in a four-on-four friendly contest, which went to the first team to hit 2 of 3 shots in a halfcourt setting, perhaps to keep those storied legs from getting too tired out.

“This is a story no one has ever heard, but the last time Larry played basketball was, I believe, the 2000 season,” began Carlisle.

On this day: Boston sees the Grateful Dead in concert; Shaw, Hunter debut

On this day, several Boston Celtics accompanied resident Deadhead and Celtics center Bill Walton to see the Grateful Dead in concert in 1985.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, several members of the storied franchise went to see the Grateful Dead in concert in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1985. Not all of the Celtics went, but after recent arrival Bill Walton had managed to pique the interest of a few of his teammates, a significant portion of the team decided to attend the concert.

A few days ahead of the planned concert, Hall of Fame teammates Larry Bird and Kevin McHale had noticed some hippie-ish looking people wearing funky clothes arriving in town and made the connection it must have something to do with their hippie-ish teammate.

Walton had himself previously met the band after sticking out like a sore thumb as a 7-footer at one of their concerts, catching the eye of drummer Mickey Hart, who called him on stage after learning who he was.

On this day: Boston Celtics Tony Allen, Eric Williams, Al Jefferson debut

On this day, former Boston Celtics Tony Allen, Eric Williams, and Al Jefferson made their debuts for the team.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, champion shooting guard Tony Allen played his first game for the team in a 98-95 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2004.

The former Oklahoma State Cowboy — taken by the Celtics with the 25th pick of that summer’s draft — didn’t have the most spectacular outing in his first appearance in green and white. However, the performance wasn’t indicative of his potential, thankfully. Allen put up 2 points on a single shot attempt and grabbed as many rebounds in his inaugural performance against the 76ers.

He was on the floor for just inside six minutes, with a single turnover and one personal foul.

On this day: Billups, Mercer, Thomas, Carlisle, Palazzi, Guarilia debut; Edwards born

On this day, former Celtics Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer, John Thomas, and Rick Carlisle made their debut for Boston, and Blue Edwards was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, point guard Chauncey Billups played his first game for the team. The Colorado product would later be traded in his rookie season after being selected by the Celtics with the third overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, but it wasn’t because of how he performed the first time he took the floor as a pro.

Billups put up a very healthy 15 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and two steals in his inaugural performance, shooting a sizzling 6-of-12 from the field, a much less sizzling 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

That he did that in just under 17 minutes of game time off the bench makes it even more of a head-scratcher team president Rick Pitino would later trade the rookie scorer.

On this day: Celtics Carlisle, Turner, Morgan born; Tsioropoulos debut; Beenders passed

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Rick Carlisle, Evan Turner, and Rex Morgan were born, Lou Tsioropoulos debuted, and Hank Beenders passed away.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, small forward and current Indiana Pacers head coach Richard “Rick” Preston Carlisle was born in Ogdensburg, New York in 1959. Carlisle played his college ball with the Universities of Maine and Virginia, leading the latter to a Final Four loss to Hakeem Olajuwon’s Houston Cougars in 1984.

The former Cavalier would be selected 70th overall in the 1984 NBA draft (there were several more rounds in that era), and would go on to win a title with the team in 1986 in a reserve role before being waived by the team in the fall of 1987.

Carlisle averaged 2.2 points and an assist per game as a Celtic.

Rajon Rondo on playing for Rick Carlisle, Doc Rivers, Ty Lue

Rondo even admitted his own coaching aspirations and his love for teaching the game.

Former Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo recently reflected on the effect of various coaches on his career during an interview with ex-NBAer JJ Redick, the host of the “Old Man and the Three” podcast.

The 2008 Celtics champ discussed how Doc Rivers helped him grow as a professional and manage playing with star teammates. He recalled how Doc allowed him to call plays during games, which gave him a unique perspective on managing the team’s dynamics.

He also mentioned Rick Carlisle’s non-traditional coaching style and Tyronne Lue’s attention to detail and preparation. Rondo even admitted his own coaching aspirations and his love for teaching the game.

To hear what the onetime Kentucky star had to say about the various head coaches he has had the privilege to play for, take a look at the clip embedded below.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 34

Today’s installment focuses on the 11 players who wore No. 34 over the years as of August 2023.

The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history of interest tied to them.

In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball played in them, their unretired jersey numbers pack in some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league. To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history, with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.

Today’s installment focuses on the 11 players who wore No. 34 over the years as of August 2023.

On this day: Bias dies; Carlisle drafted; Carr hired as coach; Boston trades back for Tatum

On this day, vaunted Boston Celtics draftee Len Bias passed away, Rick Carlisle was drafted, M.L. Carr was hired as head coach, and Boston traded back for the pick used to take Jayson Tatum.

On this day in 1986, Len Bias, the Boston Celtics’ selection with the No. 2 pick of the 1986 NBA draft, died just two days after his selection by the team. Bias, a highly-rated 6-foot-8 small forward out of the University of Maryland, returned home from the June 17 draft in New York City and went to a party at his alma mater.

He and several friends used cocaine for several hours, triggering a fatal arrhythmia. The loss devastated the family, friends, Celtics, and the wider basketball world. It was a major catalyst of a two-decade decline for the Celtics.

They did not win another championship after Bias’ death until 2008.