Indiana Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle has “no good answer” for Dallas Mavericks Point Guard Luka Doncic. Carlisle, 65, previously served as the Mavericks Head Coach from 2008-2021. Jason Kidd took over when Carlisle stepped down with two years left in his head coaching contract.
Carlisle and the Pacers recently returned to Dallas, Texas, to take on Kidd, 51, and the Mavericks. The Pacers defeated the Mavericks 134-127 and improved to 3-4. The Dallas Mavericks visit the Indiana Pacers on March 19. Here’s why Carlisle’s return to Dallas wasn’t so thought-provoking.
Rick Carlisle’s Thoughts
Rick Carlisle returned to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2021 for his second stint as the Indiana Pacers Head Coach. Carlisle’s first stint was from 2003 to 2007. Carlisle’s head coaching gig with the Dallas Mavericks was successful. Carlisle helped the Mavericks win the NBA Finals in 2011. Carlisle convinced then-majority owner Mark Cuban to agree to make himself available for interviews with media members as Cuban’s interviews took some of the public’s focus off of the officiating.
After Monday’s Mavericks vs. Pacers game, Carlisle said that the puzzle of defending the Mavericks, especially Luka Doncic, hasn’t changed much. The 1986 NBA champion told Mavs.com, “There’s no good answer … He’s so great against double teams, so creative. And in today’s game, it’s getting harder to blitz most players because you’re so spread out and there’s such great shooting. There really aren’t any great answers except you hope he misses shots.”
Carlisle Returns To Dallas
Rick Carlisle’s return to Dallas seemed low-key, as Carlisle didn’t appear to look backward throughout the game. The former third-round pick reportedly focused on the Pacers’ plight, which included the team’s injury list, and the team dealing with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson.
Despite the Pacers winning the non-conference game, Carlisle remains a Mavericks fan. Last year, the Virginia and Maine alum said that the Mavericks had a legitimate shot to come out of the Western Conference, which they did. But the Pacers weren’t bad either as they advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals before getting swept by the Boston Celtics.
Carlisle’s Career
Rick Carlisle’s career wasn’t just limited to coaching. Carlisle also had a career as an NBA shooting guard from 1984 to 1989 after the Boston Celtics selected him with the 70th overall pick in the third round of the 1984 NBA Draft. Carlisle’s college basketball was played in Maine from 1979 to 1981 and in Virginia from 1982 to 1984.
Though Carlisle’s career as an NBA player was shorter than others’ careers in the league, Carlisle worked his way up from an Assistant Coach to a Head Coach from 1989 to the present. The Lisbon, New York, native reportedly had no ill will toward Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Jason Kidd as he recently said that Kidd has been doing a great job coaching the Mavericks since 2021.
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