Carlisle pleads for penalties due to Nesmith’s injury

ByNBAUSA



The Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle fired back at the NBA following a $100,000 fine levied against the organization for violating the league’s player participation policy. The punishment stems from the Feb. 3 game against the Utah Jazz, where the Pacers were resting four-time All-Star Pascal Siakam along with several other starters on back-to-back nights, including controversial Aaron Nesmith.

“I made a statement about it. I didn’t agree with it. There was a league attorney who did an interview and he unilaterally decided that Aaron Nesmith, who was injured the night before, couldn’t handle the ball, should have played in the game, which seems ridiculous and during the interview process I wasn’t there, but I heard the details.” per post on X by Kevin Bowen.

Carlisle then went into detail about how the NBA refused to consult with team doctors or the player himself.

“We asked them if they wanted to talk to the doctors, our doctors about it, because it was something documented by our doctors and trainers. They said no, they didn’t have to, they talked to their doctors who didn’t examine Aaron Nesmith. And we asked them if they wanted to talk to the kid. They said no, they didn’t have to explain,” he said.

The reality of Nesmith’s physical condition paints a clear picture. The 26-year-old is officially expected to miss at least another week of action with a sprained right ankle suffered in the recent loss to the Washington Wizards.

While Nesmith previously missed 19 straight games with a sprained left knee, he has been very productive when healthy, averaging 13.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 33 appearances while logging 30 minutes a night. The lack of foul play by the Pacers was further bolstered by the fact that their biggest star in Tyrese Haliburton’s absence, Pascal Siakam, also saw heavy minutes despite Indiana’s solid 15-43 playoff exit.

Siakam has started 52 times despite the fact that the Pacers are unlikely to move from their 15th position in the Eastern Conference standings.





2026-02-24 15:59:00

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