Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was heavily criticized on Monday over one of his late-game decisions in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
The Pacers trailed the Oklahoma City Thunder 71-59 with 6:40 left in the third quarter at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. That was the moment Carlisle inserted backup point guard TJ McConnell into the contest.
With Tyrese Haliburton hobbled by a calf injury, McConnell served as the Pacers’ primary ball-handler for the rest of the quarter. McConnell scored 13 of his 18 points on 6/7 shooting to close out the third. The Arizona alum also tallied two assists, a rebound, and a steal to help cut the lead to as little as five.
McConnell capped off his incredible run with an and-1 after eluding both Alex Caruso and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
T.J. McConnell takeover 🔥
he had 13 points in the third quarter 🔥 pic.twitter.com/vlW6kFYCnn
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 17, 2025
Carlisle replaced McConnell with Haliburton a minute into the fourth quarter. Indiana stayed close for most of the fourth quarter, even getting to within two points. But fans felt like the Pacers closed the margin despite Haliburton, and not because of him.
Several fans slammed Carlisle for riding an injured Haliburton instead of going back to McConnell.
if Rick Carlisle was the elite top 5 coach yall say he is TJ McConnell woulda been in this whole quarter n Hali woulda been on a flight back to Indy rn
— 🤺 (@philfanacc) June 17, 2025
TJ McConnell dragged the Pacers back into the game in the 3rd.
Then Carlisle benched him for Halliburton, who’s out here turning it over like he’s sponsored by OKC. Now they’re down 14. Make it make sense.
— Ashley Nevel (@AshleyNevel) June 17, 2025
Rick Carlisle should’ve kept TJ McConnell in the game. He had 13 points on 6/7 FG and 2 assists in the 3rd quarter just to play only one minute in the 4th
— The Hood Therapist (@OhhMar24) June 17, 2025
Rick Carlisle benching TJ McConnell for Hali in the 4th is coaching malpractice.
— Agent 0 (@FT_Merchant05) June 17, 2025
Carlisle only reinserted McConnell once the game was virtually over. The Thunder won the contest 120-109 to take a 3-2 series lead in the NBA Finals.
Carlisle has reminded fans this postseason that he’s one of NBA history’s most underrated coaches. But not even an NBA champion coach like Carlisle is immune to criticism.
Haliburton had arguably the worst game of his young playoff career, leading to fans questioning his status as an NBA superstar. If Haliburton’s calf continues to render him ineffective in Game 6, Carlisle would need to rely heavily on McConnell once again.
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