Pacers Fire Coach Rick Carlisle
It must have been tough for Pacers GM Larry Bird to fire coach Rick Carlisle as the two have been good friends since their days with the Boston Celtics. But it’s a decision that had to be done but in my mind, it was no fault of Carlisle.
The first year Rick Carlisle took the Pacers job in ‘03-’04, it became evident that the former Coach of the Year was the right person for the job to replace Isiah Thomas. That year the Pacers had the best record made it deep into the playoffs reaching the Eastern Conference finals. They were knocked out by the Detroit Pistons but hey, that was the eventual Champions we’re talking about so no shame in that. It was a good year and Carlisle maintained that kind of coaching success until the brawl in the Palace occurred. That brawl changed the team and for some reason, even if they already let go of almost everyone involved, it seems like the fog that bothered the team then has never been lifted up to now.
To say it simply, it seemed as if Carlisle spent more time trying to deal with the many off-court problems of the players (Artest’s suspension and Stephen Jackson’s gun issue are two examples) and not much time on building a real cohesiveness and chemistry with the team. Because of dealing with those off-court distractions, he had less time to really coach.
I have confidence in Carlisle that he could resurrect his coaching career elsewhere. He really is, in my opinion, one of the best young coaches around. This move was done more to give the Pacers a new voice to listen to. But this isn’t the end of it. I foresee the Pacers rebuilding this off-season and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if their star Jermaine O’Neal will be traded.
Related Stories
POSTED IN: NBA Basketball
0 opinions for Pacers Fire Coach Rick Carlisle
No one has left a comment yet. You know what this means, right? You could be first!
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: