Rick Carlisle enters health and safety protocols

In what has been a wild week for the Pacers, filled with a report from The Athletic about the possibility of moving toward a rebuild along with another directly quoting Myles Turner’s stated dissatisfaction with his current role, last night’s seemingly better-vibes-win over the New York Knicks is now being followed by more turmoil as head coach Rick Carlisle has entered health and safety protocols after returning a positive result from a rapid test.

According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Carlisle also took a PCR test today to confirm but that result will not be available until Friday — when the Pacers play the Mavericks at home.

Earlier in the day, the Pacers cancelled practice out of an abundance of caution, as also did the Raptors. Both teams played the Wizards on back-to-back nights.

Carlisle joins Justin Holiday, who entered health and safety protocols prior to the team’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks eight days ago. While no specifics were offered as to Holiday’s condition or what triggered the action, league rules stipulate that players who test positive for COVID-19 have to wait 10 days from a positive test or the onset of symptoms or pass consecutive negative PCR tests 24 hours apart to return to play. Furthermore, any player who has experienced symptoms must also pass cardiac testing prior to a return.

Of course, beyond isolating the virus and getting Justin and Carlisle back to work at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the main concern is that both are feeling well and, if not, make a full recovery without any long-term, lingering effects.

If Carlisle has to miss games, Lloyd Pierce is expected to coach, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.