Bad coaching late leaves Pacers fans wondering what could have been after Game 1

The Indiana Pacers had a golden opportunity in front of them. They were up three with under ten seconds left in Game 1. All they had to do was inbound the ball, and the Celtics would have to foul. They could steal Game 1 in Boston and take a 1-0 series lead.

Instead, terrible coaching led to a series of events that led to Boston tying this game and sending it into overtime. Despite the fact that Andrew Nembhard was having major issues inbounding the ball, Rick Carlisle decided to not call a timeout to help him out and reset on the inbounds play.

Nembhard threw an errant pass to Pascal Siakam and the ball went out of bounds. The Pacers were still up three with just over eight seconds left. Rick Carlisle has been reluctant to foul up three all year. He just hasn't done it. He didn't do it in this situation either, and it cost them dearly.

Rick Carlisle's questionable coaching allows the Pacers to give Game 1 to Boston

Jaylen Brown hit the game-tying three and sent it to overtime. The Celtics would go on to win the game 133-128. It was an absolutely brutal way to lose the first game of this series. Instead of stealing homecourt right away, the Pacers now have to rely on winning in Game 2 to do that.

Carlisle simply let this one slip away from him. He should've called timeout on the inbounds play, and he took ownership of this afterward. Tyrese Haliburton didn't do him any favors either. He dribbled the ball out of bounds at the end of regulation and in overtime. The one in overtime was when the Pacers were down one with under a minute left.

As a championship-winning coach, you would have thought that Carlisle would have had the wherewithal to help his young team out at the end of regulation. He can't let things like this happen against a really good Boston Celtics team. He did a decent job against the Knicks, but still had some issues in that series too.

This Game 1 loss hurts. But it also shows that the Pacers can play in Boston and win the game. They need to come out and win Game 2 to grab homecourt and come back to Indiana feeling good about themselves.