Rick Carlisle calls Pelicans’ rebounding ‘a big, big problem,’ says Zubac is ‘a little different than anybody we’ve ever had’

INDIANAPOLIS — Rick Carlisle does not expect a gentle opener. Two days before the Pacers start the season in New Orleans, Indiana’s coach went through the Pelicans’ threats one by one, and finished with the one that worries him most. “It’s a very difficult game,” Carlisle said after Monday’s practice, “and their rebounding is a big, big problem.”

Carlisle named Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III as the high-end players, called Jordan Poole “a great scorer” and pointed to a familiar face. Bennedict Mathurin, who now plays for New Orleans, is in Carlisle’s words “a walking, you know, 15 and five guy,” before he bumped it up to 16 and five. “He can really score,” he said. Carlisle added that he did not know who would start for the Pelicans and that “they got a lot of different ways that could go.” Tipoff is Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.

Mosley ‘a culture changer’

New Orleans also has a new coach, and Carlisle said four preseason games tell you only so much. “I’m sure they’re going to do some different things they didn’t show in preseason,” he said. He was clear about the man on the other bench. “Jamahl Mosley is a great coach. He’s a culture changer,” Carlisle said. Mosley turned Orlando into one of the best defensive and most physical teams in the league, Carlisle said, and “he’s on his way to doing that with New Orleans.”

Zubac is ‘a little different than anybody we’ve ever had’

Indiana’s own defense is still being adjusted around Ivica Zubac. “Our system is slightly different than what they did with the Clippers,” Carlisle said, “but he’s working hard at adjusting to how we play, and there’s certain things that we’re adjusting because he’s a little different than anybody we’ve ever had.” He said the Pacers “have a lot of things to improve on” at both ends, and added: “You never are all the way to your destination.”

Andrew Nembhard said the Pacers are working on getting Zubac higher up in pick-and-roll coverage. “He’s always been in a drop,” Nembhard said. “I think the biggest thing that he helps us with is the defensive rebounds that end our defensive possessions, but start our offense, too.” He also noted that Indiana’s starting group had not played together “for like a year or so,” so the job now is building chemistry.

Versatility, with McConnell, Nesmith and Walker banged up

Carlisle said Indiana will need every option it has against a team that attacks. He listed the players who can swing between spots: Larry Nance Jr. at the five and four, Jay Huff at the five with some four, and Quenton Jackson and Aaron Nesmith at more than one position each. He called Nance “very smart, high IQ” and said the 12-year veteran has picked up the system quickly. T.J. McConnell, Nesmith and Jarace Walker were all listed day-to-day heading into the opener.

Jackson could be the one covering McConnell’s minutes at the point. Carlisle said he can play both guard spots, and even some three when Indiana goes very small, and that he is ready to be “a full-time roster guy.” “He’s a hard worker. He’s early in the gym, one of the last to leave,” Carlisle said. “From a culture standpoint, he’s everything that that we are trying to be about.” Jackson said he sees his job with the second unit as being an extension of McConnell, keeping the flow and the pace. He called his fully guaranteed contract “a blessing” and said, “I didn’t see that coming either.”

Jackson has a message for Mathurin

Jackson also had a scouting report on his former teammate. “I don’t really need experience to guard B. It’s not really that hard,” he said of Mathurin’s go-to moves: “rock, jab you, drive, you know, spin off you.” “So, he’s going to have to find a different game plan if he thinks he’s going to attack me,” Jackson said. “Other than that, that’s my dog, man. I love him.” Asked if there would be some good-natured trash talk, he said: “It might be good nature, it might be bad nature. You never know with him.” Nembhard, a fellow Canadian who came into the league at the same time as Mathurin, said he has “a lot of love for him.”

Nance: ‘The coaches are pretty happy’

Nance, in his first season in Indiana, said the hardest part of a new team is the first impression. “You guys don’t know anything about me,” he said. “So, if I go out there and have a bad five minutes, all you got is five minutes of bad footage on me.” He said “this team is all about processing speed,” and that playing every frontcourt spot over his career has helped him keep up. He liked the team’s defensive rebounding and paint protection in the preseason, outside of the final game against Milwaukee, and said the bench has “weapons that you guys haven’t even got to see yet,” with Nesmith and McConnell still to return. “If the coaches are happy, we’re happy,” he said. “And at the moment, the coaches are pretty happy.”

He said he and McConnell have barely shared the floor yet. “He must have loaned me his good hamstring when his were down,” Nance said. “A lot of places talk about culture, but … this is a culture.”