Rick Carlisle is upset about the Kings’ firing of Mike Brown

As Pacers coach Rick Carlisle As he sat at the podium for his pregame press conference Friday night before taking on the Celtics, he told reporters he had something to get off his chest before answering any questions.

“I just want to say before we start that the firing of Mike Brown “Today was just a shock to me and I’m sure to everyone in our profession,” Carlisle said.

Brown, the Kings’ third-year coach, was fired Friday as the team started 13-18 and is currently losing five games. He was named NBA Coach of the Year in Sacramento in 2022-23 as the Kings lost 48-34 in the first round of the playoffs. They went 46-36 last season and failed to advance out of the play-in tournament.

“I had the privilege of working with Mike when I was the first head coach at Indiana,” Carlisle said. “I consider him to be one of the champions of integrity in our profession and I am absolutely shocked that this decision has been made. So he’ll certainly bounce back, but when you look at the work he’s done and the turnaround they’ve made, it’s really hard to believe this decision was made. But teams have the right to do things like that. Obviously it’s her decision. But Mike is a great man and a great basketball player and truly one of the pillars of our profession.”

The Kings were stunned by the Pistons on Thursday night after giving up a late four-point game. In his postgame press conference, Brown was openly critical of his team’s performance down the stretch and singled out the star point guard De’Aaron Foxwho committed the foul on that last shot.

“These are decisions that teams have the right to make,” Carlisle said. “But on a day like today, it’s important for me to point out what a good man, what a great coach Mike Brown is and the level of integrity he brings to our sport. “That’s important. That’s important to know.”

Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis was sidelined Friday with a sprained ankle and a point guard injury Jrue holiday missed his second straight game with a shoulder injury.

Porzingis was injured in the second quarter of Wednesday’s loss to the 76ers. Holiday also missed two games earlier this month due to soreness in his left knee.

“He’s had a few (minor) injuries, but he’s handling his body well,” Celtics coach said Joe Mazzulla said. “Just keep taking care of it. So he’s doing a good job. I don’t think it affected him too much and we hope to get him back soon.”

The Pacers were without Obi Toppin (Ankle), Aaron Nesmith (ankle) and Andrew Nembhard (knees), in addition to tall men Isaiah Jackson And James WisemanBoth of whom are out this year due to Achilles tendon injuries.

Sam Hauser was in the starting lineup with Holiday and Porzingis sidelined, and other backups were lined up for larger roles. Mazzulla said he would prefer to have a fully healthy squad but acknowledged that nights like this can have value.

“I think that’s a big key, not developing your own bank, but your own banking identity, to be ready to play at any time and to be prepared for a particular match,” Mazzulla said. “You get into a situation where one guy is perfect for a playoff series and the next guy might be someone completely different. So I think it’s very important over the course of a season to develop the habits and the things that help develop different players for different identities, because you can’t choose the opponent, you can’t choose the team, With whom he works, you cannot choose your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. And you have to be ready to face these challenges.”

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach