DURING A CRITICAL MOMENT in the final seconds of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the stage was set for Tyrese Haliburton`s game-winning shot.
The Indiana Pacers awaited the outcome of a challenge initiated by coach Rick Carlisle, who questioned whether Pascal Siakam was fouled or was the last to touch the ball before it went out of bounds. With Indiana trailing by just one point, this was a pivotal sequence. Carlisle made sure his team was ready for either scenario: possession if the challenge was successful, or staunch defense if it failed. With little time remaining, his message was clear: no more timeouts. Secure the rebound and attack.
“Get the ball in Tyrese`s hands,” Carlisle stated after the game that night. “And look to make a play.”
First, the Pacers executed on defense, stopping the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who missed a contested fadeaway jumper defended tightly by Andrew Nembhard. Aaron Nesmith fought through traffic for a tough rebound over Lu Dort, quickly moving the ball to Siakam, who then found Obi Toppin, before it finally reached Haliburton near half court with six seconds left.
What followed was a moment destined for NBA Finals lore. Haliburton dribbled and jab-stepped along the sideline before curling back inside the arc and sinking a 21-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining, securing a stunning Game 1 victory for the Pacers in Oklahoma City.
Carlisle`s confidence in Haliburton might appear obvious, especially given the young star`s history of delivering in clutch situations – Game 1 marked his fourth game-winning or tying shot in the closing seconds of these playoffs. However, this trust is the result of years of development.
The offensive freedom the Pacers exhibit stems from the strong connection between Carlisle and Haliburton, a relationship that began the night Indiana acquired Haliburton in February 2022. Yet, its foundation was laid earlier, during Carlisle`s time with the Dallas Mavericks, starting in 2008-09 when he initially clashed with Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd, and later when he guided another emerging superstar, Luka Doncic.
“What I learned my first year in Dallas was to give J-Kidd the ball and get out of the way, let him run the show, let him run the team,” Carlisle reflected before the NBA Finals began. “Tyrese, very similar situation, but didn`t take half a season to figure it out. The situation in Dallas with Luka was the same.”
“It`s pretty clear, when you have a player of that kind of magnitude, that kind of presence, that kind of knowledge, vision and depth, you got to let them do what they do.”
This philosophy has significantly benefited the Pacers, who took a 2-1 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals with a 116-107 win on Wednesday night.
Haliburton and Carlisle are the architects behind the Pacers` high-octane offense, which has posted 116.7 points per 100 possessions in the postseason. Their fast-paced style and resilience have fueled an improbable playoff run through the Eastern Conference.
At the core of this success is a coach who has demonstrated an ability to evolve over his career, willingly entrusting the offense to his dynamic point guard.
“When he gave me that nod, that was like the ultimate respect,” Haliburton shared after a recent practice. “That was the ultimate trust that I could get from anybody, because he is such a brilliant basketball mind. He`s been around such great guards, great players. For him to give me that confidence, I think has really taken my career to another level.”
Rick Carlisle`s experience coaching Jason Kidd in Dallas laid the groundwork for future success with Tyrese Haliburton in Indiana.
THE EMPOWERMENT OF Jason Kidd, a process that involved considerable initial friction between coach and player, is often seen as a turning point in Carlisle`s coaching journey.
Carlisle was known for a more rigid, controlling style earlier in his career, notably during his first tenure in Indiana from 2003 to 2007, where he coached players like Metta Sandiford-Artest, Stephen Jackson, and Jamaal Tinsley. While those Pacers teams were successful, reaching the Eastern Conference finals, their meticulous style often involved Carlisle calling plays on nearly every possession.
Upon arriving in Dallas years later, he initially adopted a similar approach, even with the veteran, nine-time All-Star Jason Kidd on the roster. This did not sit well.
“It wasn`t easy for [Carlisle] to let it go,” recalled J.J. Barea, a former Mavericks guard. “To be more free about it. But he knew for us to win he had to let it go. J-Kidd and him went to battle, but it worked out at the end.”
Kidd advocated for a more free-flowing offense, believing a skilled point guard`s ability to read and react to the game flow was more effective than prescriptive sideline calls. Carlisle was resistant for over half a season. It wasn`t until midway through the 2010-11 season, his third coaching Kidd, that Carlisle fully ceded control. The Mavericks went on to win the championship that year.
Carlisle was much quicker to give Luka Doncic the reins of the Mavericks` offense, doing so when Doncic was still a teenager during his Rookie of the Year season in 2018-19.
While the personal relationship between Carlisle and Doncic was often reported as rocky, their on-court partnership produced exceptional offensive results. In Doncic`s second season, the Mavericks set an NBA record for offensive efficiency at the time, averaging 115.9 points per 100 possessions.
Carlisle crafted an offensive system tailored to Doncic`s strengths – a “heliocentric” style centered around Doncic dominating the ball in pick-and-rolls, surrounded by spot-up shooters to maximize spacing.
The Pacers, however, are finding success with Haliburton operating a system characterized by high pace and off-ball movement.
“One thing you can say about Rick is he coaches his talent,” commented Haralabos Voulgaris, who worked in the Mavericks` front office. “His system is whatever maximizes the talent that he has. He understands that the game is changing and he has to always keep on changing and learning and adapting and growing.”
“It`s not many older coaches that have had that mentality, especially ones that had success when they were younger.”
Carlisle`s history with point guards isn`t without its complexities. His relationship with Rajon Rondo, acquired after Doncic`s rookie year, was strained. Rondo preferred a slower pace, clashing with Carlisle`s push for speed, leading to Rondo`s brief 46-game tenure in Dallas.
“It wasn`t a good fit for either of them,” Barea noted.
Carlisle reportedly wasn`t keen on the Rondo trade, agreeing only at Dirk Nowitzki`s urging, and didn`t see Rondo as a talent level that warranted offensive control. He had no such reservations about Doncic or Haliburton.
“When I see Haliburton playing for Rick, he`s free, man,” Barea observed. “He looks so free out there. He looks like he`s enjoying the game. He`s playing at a great pace and with confidence. I think Rick got Haliburton`s confidence to be as high as it could be.”
The friction in Carlisle`s relationship with Doncic, which began early, was a factor in the winningest coach in franchise history eventually resigning from the Mavericks after the 2020-21 season. Carlisle and Haliburton, conversely, share a harmonious bond, one the veteran coach has actively nurtured.
“One of the things that`s nice to see is that [Carlisle] has a good relationship with the star players or all the players on his team, it seems like,” Voulgaris stated. “Whereas in Dallas, that was probably not the case obviously. There`s some growth there.”
When Carlisle stepped down in Dallas, the Pacers were adrift after finishing 34-38 under coach Nate Bjorkgren in 2020-21. They quickly hired Carlisle for his second stint. The team needed direction, and the seasoned coach already had an idea of the ideal player to build an offense around.
Carlisle and the Mavericks` front office were big fans of Haliburton heading into the 2020 NBA draft but a deal couldn`t be struck to bring him to Dallas.
TYRESE HALIBURTON COULD have become a Dallas Maverick.
Based significantly on analytics models, the Mavericks ranked Haliburton as the top player on their 2020 draft board. Sources indicated that the Mavericks offered their two picks (No. 18 and No. 31) along with guard Jalen Brunson to every team picking before No. 12, where Haliburton was ultimately selected by the Sacramento Kings, in an effort to trade up.
“We tried like hell to get him and move up, we just couldn`t do it,” Carlisle revealed before the Finals began. “When I tell you that Mark Cuban tried everything. When Mark puts his mind to something, he can usually figure something out.”
The Mavericks were unable to orchestrate a trade, but Carlisle remained an admirer of Haliburton`s game from afar as his NBA career unfolded.
Hired by Indiana for the 2021-22 season, Carlisle`s initial Pacers roster lacked the type of primary ball-handler he felt he could fully empower, leading him to briefly revert to more controlling habits.
“Rick`s first year here, we had a game where he did that, he stopped us and called a play every single possession,” shared Pacers center Myles Turner, the team`s longest-tenured player. “In the dawn of this new NBA, especially in the playoffs, that stuff doesn`t work.”
The Pacers held a 19-37 record on February 8, 2022, when an opportunity arose to acquire a foundational player. The Sacramento Kings, already having De`Aaron Fox, traded Haliburton to the Pacers as part of a package involving Domantas Sabonis.
Immediately after the trade was finalized, Carlisle prioritized establishing a strong rapport with his new key player. He arranged a dinner that same night with Haliburton and the other acquired players, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson. For the remainder of that season, with a young team out of playoff contention, Carlisle allowed Haliburton significant freedom to improvise and play with instinct.
“You saw so many glimpses of the creativity that Tyrese exhibits, the ability to make plays with just very basic structure,” Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan noted in a phone interview. “He thrives in situations where there`s a little more freedom and a little less predictability.”
Before training camp for the 2022-23 season, Carlisle informed Haliburton of his decision: he would stop calling plays. He was officially handing the offense over to the then-22-year-old point guard. Haliburton remembered his eyes widening at the news.
“I was surprised,” Haliburton recalled. “Because I know what the conversation around coach [Carlisle] was, especially from point guards.”
HALIBURTON ATTRIBUTES MUCH of his career`s ascent to Carlisle`s guidance.
It wasn`t solely the offensive freedom that propelled Haliburton to his first All-Star selection the following season, averaging a double-double for the first time with career highs in points (20.7) and assists (10.4) in 2022-23. It also involved off-court development, such as Carlisle teaching him how to dissect game film effectively. Haliburton admitted that earlier in his career, he primarily watched highlights of his own plays. Now, he was learning to analyze entire games to find ways to elevate his teammates` performance.
“[Carlisle`s] just a basketball savant,” Haliburton said. “All that stuff is really important. Really took my career to another level.”
Haliburton suggests that the early learning experiences during his time in Indiana prepared him for performing at the highest levels of the NBA Playoffs years later. Crucially, the consistent trust shown by the organization bolstered his confidence on the court even further.
“They`re going to have some ups and downs,” Carlisle acknowledged. “They`re going to make some mistakes. If they`re doing it consistent with how they`re seeing the game, the lessons learned will be more impactful.”
The lessons Carlisle himself learned earlier in his career have also yielded significant returns.
Following a challenging start in his relationship with Doncic, Carlisle made a conscious effort to begin his partnership with his new star point guard on a positive note from day one.
“Everybody in our league from players to coaches and executives, we all evolve,” Buchanan stated. “Rick has evolved just like we all have. He understands that Tyrese is one of those guys. He`s got a fun-loving, joyful personality that rubs off on everybody.”
“Tyrese is the kind of guy who you can build a culture around.”
This approach has proven successful in Indiana. The Pacers are back in the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years, building on an Eastern Conference finals appearance last season, marking one of the most successful two-year periods in team history. At the heart of this resurgence are Carlisle and Haliburton, two basketball minds with deep mutual respect, creating playoff magic together.
As Voulgaris aptly put it: “Rick, at this stage of his career in particular, and Haliburton, just seem to be a perfect marriage.”
