Fueled By Halftime Message, Ivica Zubac Shows Why Pacers Traded For Him

NEW ORLEANS – Ivica Zubac wasn’t the player he is capable of being in the first half of the Indiana Pacers season opener Wednesday night. The big man, known primarily for his rebounding, defense, and bruising screens, entered halftime with just three rebounds to his name.

Through two quarters, Zubac and the Pacers were getting outworked. Their opponent, the New Orleans Pelicans, held a 30-15 edge on the glass and were scooping up most of the loose balls. Thanks in part to their unmatched effort, the Pelicans led by 10 at halftime.

“The second quarter… was well below standards from a standpoint of intensity and passion to compete. Just wasn’t good,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said postgame. He cited the rebounding margin as evidence of that and added that, per tracking from his assistants, the Pacers grabbed just 35% of the loose balls across the first two quarters.

“That just shows that you’re not playing hard enough,” Carlisle said. “And so, [we] had a pretty animated discussion about it at halftime.”

Rebounding requires a team effort. But Zubac is supposed to provide a massive boost to that operation. During the preseason, the Croatian big man had two games in which he pulled in double-digit rebounds in just one half. His power and positioning is hard to match.

That’s what made his first half – with just three rebounds as New Orleans outworked Indiana – disappointing. “The way we played, especially in the second quarter, there’s no excuse for that,” Zubac said. The whole team needed to hear Carlisle’s message. But Zubac, who the Pacers traded for in part because of his elite abilities on the glass, really needed it.

And he responded.

What did Ivica Zubac do in the second half of the Pacers season opener?

After pulling in just three boards in the first half, Zubac grabbed three after just 3:19 of third-quarter action. The Pacers scored, or drew a foul, within 11 seconds of each one – when their center gets a rebound, the Pacers love to push the pace offensively.

Zubac pulled in seven rebounds in just the third quarter as the Pacers began their comeback. He nearly equaled the offensive rebounding total of the entire Pelicans team in that frame. After hearing it from his head coach at halftime, Zubac lifted his level of play.

“We couldn’t rebound. We couldn’t win any loose balls. We needed that.” Zubac said of his team’s first-half play before Carlisle’s message.

The Pacers new man in the middle continued to dominate the boards in the fourth quarter, pulling in five more rebounds as his team finished their comeback. With Zubac on the floor in the final frame, the Pacers outscored the Pelicans by 10. He showed, albeit after a substandard start, exactly why Indiana wanted to acquire him in February.

In the second half, Zubac had eight points and 12 rebounds. No Pelicans player pulled in more than five boards, they had 19 rebounds as a team. Indiana attempted more shots than New Orleans in the second half thanks to their possession advantage, and Zubac made that possible.

“It worked out. He went pretty hard at us,” Zubac said of Carlisle’s spirited halftime dialogue. “That’s the first time I experienced that side of him. Honestly, I like it.”

It’s not easy to hear about shortcomings, but Zubac took it in stride. In some ways, he explained, it’s a coaching style that he’s been missing since coming over to the NBA in 2016.

“I was coached like that early in my career in Europe. Coaches are like that over there. So I’m used to that kind of stuff,” Zubac said of Carlisle’s passionate halftime message. “I’m not used to it in the league. So it was pretty refreshing. I needed it. It fueled me. I think I did a better job.”

Zubac admitted that if he was on his game from the jump, he could have pulled in 20 rebounds “easily.” But he wasn’t at his best early and instead pulled in 15 – still an impressive number, but not up to the level Zubac believes he could have reached.

In that way, there’s some potential for growth even with the Pacers winning and their new big man producing in the second half. “There’s room for improvement. I’ve gotta be better. I’ve gotta help the guys more, just to finish the possessions so we can run,” Zubac said. “Any time we ran, we got something good out of it. We just couldn’t control the rebounds [early]. So I’ve got to be better in that aspect.”

Zubac admitting that his performance was not good enough is telling. He finished with 15 rebounds in the game – a strong final total. Since Carlisle became the Pacers head coach again in 2021, only 10 other players had pulled in at least 15 rebounds in one game. There were only 25 individual performances reaching that mark.

Among that list of now-26 outings, Zubac’s 16 points against the Pelicans ranks 14th. His two blocks ranks fourth. And this comes in a game in which he confessed to a down first half.

So while there is room for improvement, Zubac still showed exactly what he can do for the Pacers in their season-opening win. “[Zubac] had three rebounds at halftime and ended up with 14 (it was actually 15),” Carlisle said postgame. “Second half, we [grabbed] 58% of the loose balls, and then the game turned. So it’s a great win.”

Carlisle always stresses the need for consistency and hard play. He didn’t see it in the first half. But his halftime attitude and message brought out the best in his players, and in particular his new starting center. Zubac’s second-half play made the Pacers comeback possible.

“Guys did a great job in the second half of being combative and fighting,” Carlisle said. “Fighting a lot harder than we did in the first half.” That fight has the Pacers at 1-0 to start their campaign.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com