On Tuesday, the Indiana Pacers were able to beat the Houston Rockets 115-102 despite losing the rebounding battle 58-35. Indiana has long struggled on the boards, which is a main concern as they prepare for playoff battles against oversized teams who can be physical down low.
The Rockets will not meet the Pacers in the postseason, although they presented an excellent test for Indiana. The Pacers were, of course, unable to keep up with Houston's four high-level rebounders, although they built a defensive plan around limiting the damage.
The Pacers couldn't limit the damage the Rockets posed inside, so they instead focused on totally negating any form of a perimeter game, holding Houston to only 9-30 shooting from 3-point range.
Indiana, meanwhile, made 17 shots from deep, which kept them in the game (and ahead when it mattered) despite Houston getting plenty of easy buckets down low.
Rick Carlisle detailed how Indiana's defensive scheme changed against the Rockets.
"We were concentrating very hard, and our guys were down in a stance, and we were in zone a lot of the time, and we haven't played that much zone, but some nights you got to use it to change things up," said Carlisle. "One-on-one and on the boards, they were really hurting us badly, so we went to the zone quite a bit. I don't know how many times--had to be at least 15 or 20--and then that got them to miss, then the next problem is trying to get the ball out of the air and they had 24 offensive rebounds, but that's what they do."
Related: 3 Stats That Defined Indiana Pacers' Win Over Houston Rockets
It's easy to imagine the Pacers implementing a similar strategy against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, or Milwaukee Bucks, who all have the size advantage over Indiana.
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This story was originally published March 6, 2025 at 10:10 AM.