The tone of the discourse between Oklahoma City and Indiana will inevitably change.
But on Finals Eve Wednesday this much was clear: Thunder coach Mark Daigneault isn’t about to underestimate any team that’s coached by Rick Carlisle, even if most of the hoops world sees Carlisle’s Pacers as serious underdogs.
Daigneault’s praise of Carlisle went far beyond the typical boilerplate sort of material. Daigneault, the 40-year-old who grew up as a Boston Celtics fan in the town of Leominster, Mass., wasn’t even born yet when Carlisle was drafted 70th overall by the Celtics in 1984.
“I mean, I can’t say enough about him and the respect I have for him,” Daigneault said of Carlisle. “I think the whole is better than the sum of the parts (with his team). Almost consistently across every year he’s ever coached, the team is better than their sum. I think that’s a reflection of him. His teams play with a very clear identity. They stay in character through all the ups and downs. That identity has changed over the years based on his teams, based on the league trends, but his teams are always in character, and this year is certainly no exception.
“His best players play with a lot of confidence, and role players play with a lot of confidence, and they all seem to operate on the high end of their capacity when they’re playing with him. He’s got unbelievable endurance in the league. And what I’d also say is (that) he’s kind of out in front of some trends in the NBA right now. And to be somebody that has the experiences that he has, that’s very impressive, that he’s been able to evolve and be a trendsetter, even as he’s been one of the longest tenured people in the NBA.”
