Pacers coach Ricks Carlisle remains in COVID-19 protocols, will miss multiple games
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle will not coach against his former squad and star player, Luka Doncic, Friday night when the Dallas Mavericks come to town and will miss multiple games, the team announced.
Carlisle remains in the NBA’s health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19 shortly after the Pacers defeated the Knicks 122-102 at home on Wednesday night, the Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network, confirmed from a person close to the Pacers. The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation publicly.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon first reported that Carlisle had a rapid test come back positive Wednesday night. He then took a PCR test Thursday and received another positive result Friday, confirming that he has contracted the virus.
Lead assistant Lloyd Pierce, who was the Atlanta Hawks head coach last season before being fired midway through, will fill in for Carlisle.
Carlisle and his staff are fully vaccinated, but all of the Pacers’ players are not.
Pierce was Atlanta’s head coach for 2½ seasons from 2018-21. He was fired 34 games into last season, with a 14-20 record, before former Pacers coach Nate McMillan took over and led the Hawks to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2014-15. Pierce has a 63-120 record as an NBA head coach.
Carlisle must isolate for a minimum of 10 days or register two straight negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart to return sooner, per league rules.
Indiana is also without starting guard Justin Holiday, who entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols Nov. 30. He will miss his fifth straight game since testing positive for COVID-19.
Holiday’s vaccination status is unclear.
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“We’re still in a pandemic,” Carlisle said after Holiday entered the league’s health and safety protocols last week. “But not coincidentally, this is happening around the holidays when a lot of people visit and there can tend to be an awful lot of outside exposure with family members and friends visiting in the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season.”
After Friday’s matchup with Dallas, Indiana hosts Steph Curry and the Warriors on Monday, face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on the road Wednesday and host Cade Cunningham and the Pistons on Thursday.
Follow IndyStar Pacers beat writer James Boyd on Twitter: @RomeovilleKid. Reach him via email: jboyd1@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers Ricks Carlisle tests positive for COVID-19, will miss NBA games
Source: Yahoo Sports
