Pacers HC Rick Carlisle Out for Grizzlies, Raptors Games Due to Personal Issue

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle will miss his team's next two games because of personal reasons, per Marc J. Spears of ESPN.

The Pacers begin a road trip against the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday before facing the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. The coach's status is unknown for next Monday's home game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Assistant coach Lloyd Pierce will assume head coaching duties while Carlisle is out.

Pierce spent parts of three seasons as head coach of the Hawks from 2018-21, giving him plenty of experience to handle the increased responsibilities. The 45-year-old also coached the Pacers on an interim basis earlier this season when Carlisle entered the NBA's health and safety protocols.

Indiana is looking to finish out its season after already being eliminated from playoff contention.

At 25-48, the squad is 13th in the Eastern Conference while sitting 11 games back from the final spot in the play-in tournament. It's closer to the worst record in the NBA, just seven games behind the 18-55 Houston Rockets.

Carlisle resigned as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks after 13 seasons last summer and joined Indiana, where he spent four seasons from 2003-07. Even after missing the playoffs last year, there were high expectations for a Pacers team that had an exciting starting lineup with Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner and more.

The squad continued to struggle, however, leading to Sabonis and Caris LeVert being traded away amid a lost season.

With Turner out with a foot injury and Brogdon missing the last two games, the Pacers are hoping to end the year as quickly as possible.