Pacers have same players, offer new challenge
INDIANAPOLIS -- Rick Carlisle does not pretend to be a modern-day Nostradamus. He simply had a hunch.
When Carlisle called the Pacers together for the first team meeting of his tenure, he told the players that history had a way of repeating itself. He told them not to be surprised if Indiana faced Boston in the playoffs. Again.
Although Carlisle had been hired just four weeks earlier, he believed the more things changed for Boston and Indiana, the more some would remain the same. That said, Carlisle certainly did not expect today's first-round rematch to feature the Pacers as a No. 1 seed against the Celtics as a No. 8.
"A lot has changed since last year at this time," said Carlisle. "Our personnel is different, there have been changes in the coaching staff, and style-wise we have become more defense-oriented. Our guys have shown great poise and maturity throughout the regular season and, obviously, that has to continue for us to have success in the playoffs."
Since the Celtics upset the Pacers in the first round last season, both franchises have undergone dramatic personnel changes.
But the changes in Boston featured more drama. First, there was the hiring of executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge before Boston finished its postseason run. Ainge's arrival set in motion a chain reaction of changes that constitute nothing less than an extreme makeover.
Significant player losses from the 2002-03 Celtics squad the Nets swept in the second round included Antoine Walker, Eric Williams, and Tony Battie. Only Paul Pierce and Walter McCarty remain from the starting lineup that defeated Indiana, and McCarty came in as a mid-series switch.
And like the Pacers, the Celtics also have a new coach in John Carroll, who took over on an interim basis when Jim O'Brien resigned in late January.
On July 11, 2003, the Pacers named Larry Bird vice president of basketball operations. Shortly thereafter, Bird replaced coach Isiah Thomas with friend and former teammate Carlisle. Since then, Bird has worked behind the scenes to make sure the Pacers handled the season with maturity and professionalism. After bringing in Bird and Carlisle, the biggest changes the Pacers made came in terms of disposition and discipline. Indiana is a tougher team that not only stayed strong through the second half of the season, but only dropped consecutive games on three occasions. Jermaine O'Neal grew into an MVP candidate. Ron Artest controlled his temper and cut down on technicals, allowing his talents as a defensive player to take center stage.
Beyond O'Neal and Artest, the Pacers present matchup issues with their depth.
"There's a reason why they have 61 wins," said Carroll. "Typically, every game they go out, they have every single matchup over the other team . . . How would you feel playing a team that had 61 wins? I have a lot of concerns. It keeps you up at night. Jermaine O'Neal is an All-Star player. Ron Artest is an All-Star. Reggie Miller has been an All-Star. And they have a very deep bench. They're very talented, and they're very deep, and they're very well coached.
"They were very talented a year ago, but now in a year when the Eastern Conference has been a little topsy-turvy, they've stayed on course the whole season. They haven't come unraveled very much. So, there's a lot of concerns and a lot of things that would make you have sleepness nights. Whatever they've done all year, they're only going to be doing better because they're going to focus in on one team for X amount of games."
Focus may be the operative word when it comes to the Pacers this season. Since Indiana has not won a first-round series since 2000, the team is particularly cognizant of possible first-round pitfalls. Although the Pacers finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA, they are going by the cliche "one game at a time." The Pacers were also careful to note yesterday after practice just how much respect they have for the Celtics.
"It is what it is, and it's history," said O'Neal, when asked about being upset by the Celtics last year. "It's a new year and it's a much better team. You can't compare the last few years to this year because we're much more mature, much more focused. You have to go through experiences to get to a championship level, and hopefully we're at a championship level this year.
"Seeding is absolutely nothing. The best thing is, nobody is talking about losing. It's been, `Let's get into this series and take care of our business and let everything else fall into place.' That's the biggest difference. In the last couple of years, we were saying, `Let's make sure we win these games and hopefully we can win this series.' This year, we know we can beat anybody, not just Boston. But you have to take Game 1 first and see what happens."
