Rick Carlisle reveals how the Indiana Pacers are changing the game: “2 or 3 years ago, nobody was picking up full court” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Although the Indiana Pacers reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024, few anticipated their emergence as such a remarkable underdog in the NBA. However, after building upon that performance and advancing to the NBA Finals in 2025 for the first time in over two decades, head coach Rick Carlisle insists that this success is no accident. In fact, he recently emphasized that the team’s style of play and their systematic approach have become influential across the league, with more and more franchises only drawing inspiration from the Pacers’ old-school formula.
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Rick Carlisle raves about the different playing style of his Indiana Pacers
Unlike most teams that rely heavily on their superstar duos or trios, the Pacers’ identity is not solely dependent on the individual brilliance of Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. Instead, Carlisle has defined a solid system where each player is assigned a specific role, enabling them to share the load, enhance efficiency and collectively elevate the team’s winning prowess.
For instance, TJ McConnell is responsible for providing full-court pressure on the defenders and making quirky steals as soon as entering the game. Obi Toppin is tasked with establishing physicality around the rim and finishing every possible opportunity off the board. Similarly, Bennedict Mathurin is expected to always be aggressive in the paint, draw fouls, put the opposition’s best defenders in foul trouble and convert at the free throw line rather than open play.
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As a result, Carlisle expressed pride in how Indiana is helping revive a style of basketball that had seemingly disappeared from the league in recent years. Moreover, the Pacers’ continued success is only serving as a model, encouraging other teams to also focus on improving through traditional techniques.
“We’re playing a system now that’s changing the game somewhat. You look around the NBA, two or three years ago, nobody was picking up full court during the regular season or doing that kind of stuff. I mean, this was unheard of but we got into a situation where we knew going into the playoffs last year that for us to maintain pace and tempo, we were going to have to do something to create that leverage,” Carlisle said. “The answer was simply, it was going to be full court pressure, physicality, persistence. That was just how we’re going to have to do business. So, we’re looking for pieces that fit the system.”
The Indiana Pacers are no ordinary team
Apart from the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Pacers are perhaps the clearest example of a team that has moved beyond the now-fading trend of relying on ‘Big Three’ star combinations. Their approach, focused on roster depth and system-oriented basketball, signals a new way forward in the modern NBA.
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That is precisely why Carlisle’s insistence on giving each player a defined role allows them to play to their strengths and simultaneously eases the burden on the team’s marquee talents during crucial stretches mid-game.
Lastly, perhaps this is the reason why, despite several Eastern Conference teams appearing more star-studded on paper, Indiana stands out as a more complete and strategically prepared unit. They not only have a well-structured plan of action but also find players who fit perfectly into the mold.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 7, 2025, where it first appeared.