As the Indiana Pacers pull within two wins of reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years, one can't help but feel as though Rick Carlisle is somehow flying under the radar. A future Hall of Famer with 22 seasons as a head coach under his belt, it's hard to understand just how he can be under-appreciated.
With the Pacers returning home for two of the biggest games in franchise history, however, effusive praise for Carlisle's coaching masterclass is long overdue.
Indiana is well on its way to one of the most unexpectedly dominant runs to the NBA Finals in history. It's 10-2 through 12 postseason games played, having already earned 4-1 victories over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, and the 64-18 Cleveland Cavaliers.
Both Cleveland and Milwaukee were led by All-NBA First Team honorees in Antetokounmpo and Donovan Mitchell, with the Cavaliers fielding four All-Stars in their prime, including the 2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year.
Thus far in the Conference Finals, the Pacers have won consecutive road games over All-NBA honorees Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, and the New York Knicks. It's been the continuation of a run that could go down in history as one of the most thorough decimations of a conference in NBA history.
The constant throughout those victories has been Carlisle's uncanny ability to diagnose his team's issues and make essential adjustments in real time.
Rick Carlisle is the king of balance—and unimaginable comebacks
Through 12 playoff games, five different players have led the Pacers in scoring: Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. That alone is reason to applaud Carlisle for the culture he's established in Indiana.
If you're still not sold, however: There has only been one instance of the same player leading Indiana in points in consecutive games over Indiana's past nine outings.
That unselfishness has been essential to Carlisle orchestrating a series of comebacks that had to be seen to be believed. That began during Game 5 of the first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks, when Indiana trailed by as many as 20 points before coming back to win 119-118 in overtime.
It continued when the Pacers erased a 20-point second-half deficit to defeat the Cavaliers 120-119 in Game 2 of the second round.
As if that weren't enough, Indiana trailed by 17 points with 6:13 remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. For that matter, it was down by 14 with 2:40 left and trailed 123-115 with as little as 34.1 seconds on the clock.
Once again, Indiana defied the odds by scoring 13 points in the final 51 seconds to send the game to overtime and ultimately prevail 138-135.
Pacers have unrivaled ability to blitz an opponent
One of the greatest sources of the Pacers' success has been their uncanny ability to blitz the opposition with an offensive onslaught they can't possibly prepare for. The defense locks in on the other end of the floor and, in the blink of an eye, a deficit can turn into a lead.
For a team that lacks a traditionally elite scoring threat, that can be attributed to Carlisle and his symbiotic relationship with point guard Tyrese Haliburton—and Indiana's postseason-leading assist percentage of 69.4.
With Haliburton running the offense and Carlisle emphasizing unselfishness, touches and shot attempts have already been distributed among a full cast of critical contributors by the time turning points arrive. It's why five different Pacers are averaging at least 14.4 points per game, as well as eight are at 8.1 or higher.
It's also why Haliburton, Aaron Nesmith, and Pascal Siakam have all scored at least 30 points in the Conference Finals through two games—and why seven have scored 20-plus this postseason.
Beyond the culture are the specific strategies, which have been headlined by the uncanny ability to exploit mismatches. That not only entails isolating the right players from the perfect angles, but managing Indiana's own rotation with a meticulous attention to detail.
Look no further than Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals for how Carlisle has bordered on perfection throughout this postseason.
It's par for the course from an all-time great coach
When Mitchell Robinson was dominating the offensive glass, Carlisle gave Tony Bradley just his fifth game played this postseason. When perimeter talent wasn't going to resolve Indiana's interior woes, Carlisle played Mathurin just 11 minutes.
With Mathurin limited and the Pacers in need of an answer to the Knicks' surging second-half momentum, Carlisle turned to 23-year-old Ben Sheppard for a huge fourth-quarter three.
At every single turn, Carlisle has made the difficult rotation decisions and utilized whoever fit what the team was asking for. It hasn't mattered if they've played every game or hardly any; all that's decided Carlisle's decision-making is his trust in his team and the situation at hand.
Carlisle's players have rewarded his faith at every turn, embracing the spotlight and trusting that one of the greatest of all time knows exactly what he's doing.
Carlisle's résumé already includes leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA championship in 2011, and ranking No. 11 in Association history in career regular-season wins and No. 10 in career postseason victories. He's currently in his fifth career Conference Finals after securing his eighth 50-win regular season.
Creating a never-say-die culture that has the Pacers playing with a balance of relentlessness, unselfishness, and situational awareness, however, may be Carlisle's greatest feat to date.