Thursday, May 19, 2005
Pacers’ Rick Carlisle Got Robbed
Rick Carlisle was robbed.
It's that simple, folks. There are no other ways to explain the ridiculous notion that Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni was the best coach in the NBA this season. It's false, wrong, stupid, and idiotic to think scoring and records should be the sole barometer that measures the effectiveness of a coach in any sport, let alone the NBA. And I'm sorry if there are those who think D'Antoni's selection as Coach of the Year was based on anything else.
Now don't get me wrong, D'Antoni did an excellent job this season. After the Suns acquired Steve Nash and Quentin Richardson last offseason, D'Antoni was able to instill his up-tempo, fast break-style offense. An offense many observers didn't think would work in today's NBA. A style of play not seen in the league since Pat Riley and Magic Johnson's "Showtime" Los Angeles Lakers teams in the 1980s. But with D'Antoni calling the shots and Nash conducting the steam roller known as the Phoenix Suns, the Suns stormed their way to the league's best record, averaging a league-leading 110 points per game.
But while D'Antoni's Suns were winning games with a relative ease out West, one event on a November night in Detroit changed the scope of another team's season. The November 19 brawl between the Pacers and Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills transformed the Pacers from title contenders into a team just trying to survive on a nightly basis.
The season-long suspension of Pacers forward Ron Artest and the lengthy suspensions of Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson forced coach Rick Carlisle to start a lineup of no-name players and a veteran in his last tour of duty with NBA. But Carlisle got maximum effort from his team and the Pacers stayed competitive. Indiana managed to stay within striking distance of a playoff spot for most of the season, despite having to rely on players who hadn't seen much playing time on an NBA court.
Carlisle got the most out of second-year player James Jones, who actually became the Pacers' leading scorer during Indiana's run without its top performers. The Pacers also received solid contributions from veterans Austin Croshere, Jeff Foster, and "Mr. Reliable," Reggie Miller. Miller's resurgence during the Pacers' tough time proved to be one of the more surprising stories of the season. Prior to the "Malice at the Palace," Killer Miller looked like a player in the twilight of his career. But the incident in Detroit changed his season and fans started to see the player who broke hearts in New York as if it were his job.
Carlisle kept the Pacers in the playoff hunt until O'Neal and Jackson's suspensions were lifted and as the season wound down, the Pacers even had a chance to have home-court in the first round of the playoffs. But an injury to Jermaine O'Neal's shoulder late in the season derailed any hopes of home court for the Pacers, who settled for the sixth seed in the eastern conference. If securing a playoff berth with a shorthand roster for most of the season wasn't enough, Carlisle and his staff added an extra accomplishment to their season by guiding the Pacers to a seven-game first round series win over the Celtics.
I know the voting was somewhat close. D'Antoni received 326 points and 41 first-place votes, while Carlisle received 241 points and 26 first-place votes. Now you non-believers should consider this stat. Ron Artest, who only played seven games this season finished as the Pacers leading scorer from a statistical standpoint. He lead the team in points per game (24.6) and minutes per game (41.6) before his suspension. O'Neal finished a close second with 24.3 points per game in only 44 games played, while Jackson averaged 18.7 in 51 games played.
Bottom line, Carlisle accomplished a lot more with a lot less than D'Antoni did this season. Imagine the Suns having to play without Nash, Richardson, and Amare Stoudemire for a significant amount the season.
That's what I thought.