The Indiana Pacers commenced their eventual offseason on a pleasantly surprising note, coming to terms with veteran coach Rick Carlisle to man the sidelines for the Blue and Gold in his second stint with the franchise to the tune of a lucrative four-year, 29 million deal.
News of the hiring made headlines across the league, especially since the move was unprecedented despite Carlisle’s storied history with the franchise. Pundits and fans of bigger markets raised their eyebrows, questioning the championship-winning tactician’s motive for heading to a relatively less flashy destination and a team which just missed the postseason.
The Indiana Pacers are due for greater heights with Rick Carlisle
The court of public opinion is accordingly skewed to favor the narrative which spawns bolder storylines. Indiana isn’t necessarily a supplier of national fanfare and smokes, but forecasting that Rick Carlisle made the wrong choice to lead the Pacers is ignorant and only rests on the laurels (and bitterness) of the veteran coach moving to the Circle City instead of more glamorous markets.
Alas, if all things reside back on normalcy and the teams receives a bigger token of health next season, the Indiana Pacers should be safely tabbed as a playoff team. With Rick Carlisle and his title-winning pedigree, he may even help catapult the Blue and Gold past the proverbial first-round hump and make serious strides as a dangerous team in the East.
Thus, in the spirit of forecasts, here are three way-too-early predictions for how Rick Carlisle’s first season in his second stint with the Pacers could pan out.
Rick Carlisle leads the Indiana Pacers into fielding two All-Star players
The Indiana Pacers may be the league leaders in fringe All-Stars. Outside of Domantas Sabonis, the team’s lone All-Star selection in the previous two seasons, the roster banners as much as three players who can easily be selected for the honor with a small leap or two.
Sabonis will almost certainly be named as an All-Star again next season. His numbers are just too extraordinary for his position that he can’t possibly be excluded from the list barring a major injury (God please no), but he won’t be the only Indiana representative.
Malcolm Brogdon is a nightly 20-5-5 two-way threat. Caris LeVert is perhaps the team’s most explosive weapon in the backcourt and should be banked on for more than 20 points per game. The same goes for TJ Warren in the forward position. We haven’t even talked about Myles Turner who may get serious consideration with his eye-popping assertiveness on defense.
Rick Carlisle’s newfound read and react approach with the Dallas Mavericks should be conducive to an increase in individual stats next season for the team’s main core. And that should translate into two All-Star berths for the team for the first time since 2014.
The Indiana Pacers mortgage their young players for veteran pieces
If anything, hiring Rick Carlisle solidifies as well that this team is armed to win now as a veteran team. The team’s starting lineup is not old, but all are entering their primes and to maximize the team’s window to win, the patience that comes with development may not be there for the Indiana Pacers.
Young players who are missing out on ampler opportunities such as Aaron Holiday, Edmond Sumner and Goga Bitadze may soon find themselves at the center of trade talks, of which the primary target of the Pacers will be to seek veteran pieces who can immediately fill a need or two. After all, these players aren’t necessarily indispensable pieces that can anchor the team even in a farfetched rebuild.
It also doesn’t play into the cards of the team’s youngsters that Rick Carlisle has always favored veterans on the court. The exception of course would be his recent Dallas team which fielded few experienced players, but the point remains that developing young pieces is not his forte and this habit cannot be unlearned anymore.
Rick Carlisle leads the Indiana Pacers to a top-4 finish in the East
Every season, a surprise team emerges and comes out of the woods to tally a great regular season. This year, the league saw teams such as Utah, Phoenix and New York make some big leaps compared to previous campaigns, beating out preseason predictions to hoist themselves as new heavyweights in their conferences.
The Indiana Pacers could just be that next season. With a well-rounded starting lineup and depth at all positions, including a lottery selection in the upcoming NBA Draft, the Blue and Gold will be a force to be reckoned with in the following campaign assuming that health goes their way. Combine that with Rick Carlisle’s great track record in the regular season, and that may be the recipe to brew a surprising force in the East.
We have already seen the Pacers finish as high as fourth in the conference despite being plagued by injuries. With more luck on the health department and some helpful additions via draft, trade market or free agency, Indiana may very well be on track for a top-4 finish in the East just behind the clear contenders in Milwaukee, Brooklyn and Philadelphia.