The Indiana Pacers have completely changed the way teams build their roster, and head coach Rick Carlisle just confirmed that.
In a recent appearance on "The Zach Lowe Show," Carlisle revealed that some have said to him that the way Indiana plays has changed how others view roster construction. This is because, while the Pacers are an incredibly talented team, they are not a typical superteam with a top-heavy roster. Instead, they are a team that consists of players who buy into the system, play seamlessly alongside each other, and are excellent in their specific roles, regardless of their individual standing in the league.
"I've had the comments said to me...the way we play over the last couple of years has changed the game some, and it's changed people's view on roster construction, because we aren't a superteam with three superstars and a bunch of role players. We're built differently. (Team president) Kevin Pritchard, (general manager) Chad Buchanan have done a great job of getting us hard-playing, great people that are unselfish and that are willing to do things that others aren't," Carlisle said.
The Pacers' roster should let them compete for a long time
The days of the "superteam" are mostly done in the NBA, and the Pacers are going to be a big reason it stays that way for a while.
Though there is a ton of talent on Indiana's roster, the team only had one All-Star last season in Pascal Siakam. Even so, they made it to the NBA Finals for the first time in over two decades and were one win away from winning it all. The reason for this is that they have found the perfect players who fit their system and make it all work smoothly.
The Pacers have been as successful as they have been over the past couple of seasons because they have had good depth and a lot of quality at each position. Additionally, like Carlisle mentioned, everybody on the team plays hard from buzzer-to-buzzer, which makes things much more difficult for their opponent since they never take their foot off the pedal.
Though Tyrese Haliburton is going to be out for all of next season with an Achilles injury, the future is still bright in Indiana. The roster is young and talented, they work well with each other, and each player plays their role incredibly well. It also helps that the Pacers are in a wide-open Eastern Conference, which should allow them to re-establish themselves as legitimate contenders once Haliburton makes his return.
There is a lot to like about this Pacers team, and that is especially true after Carlisle's comments. They have completely defied the odds and changed the game, and the rest of the league is noticing that. Indiana's immediate outlook looks bleak with Haliburton's injury and Myles Turner's departure, but that is just a temporary setback for what should be a historic rise in the future.