Expectations were not only met last year but they were exceeded. Not only did the Indiana Pacers end a four-year playoff drought, but they made a deep run in the postseason all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Head coach Rick Carlise has seen an improvement of at least 10 wins or more the past two seasons now. The former NBA Coach of the Year (2001-02) began his second stint coaching the Pacers in 2021.
Following his two seasons with the Detroit Pistons, he came to Indiana taking over for another former team of Larry Brown. Entering the 2021-22 NBA season, Carlisle was 10 wins from passing Brown and just three from lapping Nate McMillan.
Carlisle has led a team to their first NBA title before during his third season on the sidelines for the Dallas Mavericks. During his 13 seasons with Mavericks, he collected nine winning seasons, and just three losing seasons. Dallas finished .500 one time with Carlisle as their coach.
Rick Carlisle has led the Pacers to nothing but success in his second stint with the team
The Pacers organization saw the accolades and the potential in the 64-year-old NBA coach. Indiana's offense has improved in each of the seasons that Carlisle has been there.
In his first season, the Pacers were in the bottom half of the league in terms of points per game. They were tied for the sixth-worst average in the NBA from behind the arc but managed to crack the top 10 in assists.
The Pacers' offense sharpened as they averaged the 10th-most points and moved up to sixth-best in assists per game. Last year, Indiana thrived again by this time becoming the league's highest-scoring offense while boasting the NBA's highest field goal percentage and assists per game average.
Carlisle has a starting lineup to be feared. Less than three seasons ago, the Pacers moved Domantas Sabonis for Buddy Hield and Tyrese Haliburton. Hield left the organization last February for next to nothing. Haliburton has become the face of the franchise and an elite point guard.
Pascal Siakam joined Myles Turner in the frontcourt and the likes of Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith round out the starting five. The bench is strong and ranked best offensively in the league. Only Jalen Smith departed this summer from the second unit.
"We have got the best fans in the NBA here, we have got the greatest basketball building on the planet, and we have got another game in front of them to go after those guys and believe me when I tell you we are going after them."Rick Carlisle, Indiana Pacers Head Coach
The Pacers won 47 games and made it to the finals of the inaugural In-Season Tournament. Indiana recreated that same magic by ousting the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. Despite being ranked higher, the Pacers slayed Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lilliard, and company in just six games.
Carlisle took it to the Eastern Conference's second-best team, the New York Knicks. The Pacers won Game 7 at Madison Square Garden to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics. Unfortunately, their pursuit for their first ever NBA title ended after four straight losses to the eventual champions.
The Indiana Pacers are now poised to embark on another deep playoff run. Fans may finally get used to seeing this team play in May or later. Thanks to Carlisle, one of the league's youngest, fastest and highest scoring teams could become regulars to the Eastern Conference Finals.
It still may not be enough to secure his spot as the Pacers' head coach, however
Typically, the Eastern Conference has not been as competitive or dominant as their counterpart, the Western Conference. Yes, Boston and Milwaukee have won in recent years, but the West has more teams playing at a higher level.
Furthermore, the Celtics are supporting pretty much the same roster as they look to run it back with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and company. After all, this is the squad that ended the Pacers' recent hopes of winning their first NBA title.
The Knicks and the 76ers each had solid offseasons and both the Cavaliers and the Magic were playoff teams that finished with a higher seed than the Pacers a season ago. The window for Indiana is open but it may not be for long.
Sure, this Pacers team is young and has components of a championship team. They have an All-Star point guard, a pair of big men in Siakam and Turner. They are deep with a nice blend of youth and veteran leadership.
One of their biggest problems is that the team gives up too many points per game. Their up-tempo offense gives the ball back to whoever they are playing more often than they would like. However, Carlisle was known for his teams displaying strong defenses (Pistons and Mavericks).
When Carlisle won the NBA Coach of the Year in his first year as a head coach, Detroit had an average offense but possessed the sixth-lowest average in terms of points per game. In the year that Carlisle led the Mavericks to their lone NBA title, Dallas was not only the eighth-ranked offense, but they were also the eighth-ranked defense, too.
"Our mind set, if it's shifted to simply trying to outscore teams, and away from any kind of emphasis defensively, that's got to stop."Rick Carlisle, Indiana Pacers Head Coach
Last year, the Pacers gave up the third-most points in the Eastern Conference and fourth-most in the entire NBA. The season before that, they gave up more points than anyone else except for the San Antonio Spurs. In Carlisle's first season back as the Pacers' coach, they also gave up the most points in the Eastern Conference.
The Pacers have been bad defensively with Carlisle during his second stint as their coach. It affected their team's ability to win close games. Indiana dropped 11 games by five points or less with half of those coming against non-playoff teams (Portland, twice).
If Carlisle is the answer, he needs to find a solution to the Pacers' woes when it comes to making more stops and shutting down the opposing team's scoring. Otherwise, the Pacers might be firing their winningest regular season coach, again.