Saturday, May 22, 2004
Indiana won three of four meetings, but that was before Rasheed Wallace.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Like many in the basketball world, Jermaine O'Neal was puzzled when he heard the Detroit Pistons fired Rick Carlisle after 100 wins and two Central Division titles in two seasons.
"You wonder why he was fired after winning 50 games for two straight years," O'Neal said.
Carlisle insists there's no grudge. After all, if it hadn't happened last summer, Carlisle wouldn't be in Indiana preparing his Pacers for an Eastern Conference finals showdown with those same Pistons.
"My memory's programmed to last about as long as an egg timer," Carlisle said. "I choose to remember the good things that happened, the opportunity and what that meant to me and my family. When it was over, it was about focusing positive energy on the next thing that was going to happen. I have not dwelled on it much at all."
Jamaal Tinsley doesn't buy it.
"It means a lot," the Pacers point guard said. "Knowing he just left there, what he did for them. It means a lot to him. He's with us now and he's done a great job here."
Game 1 is tonight in Indianapolis, where the Pacers have won 13 straight games.
Carlisle replaced former coach Isiah Thomas in September. He immediately instilled a sense of discipline and maturity to a young Pacers team that sorely needed both after being bounced in the first round of the playoffs for three straight seasons.
The result was a franchise-record and NBA-best 61 wins during the regular season and their first two playoff series wins since 2000.
If there were any doubts as to his coaching ability after Carlisle was fired by Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, they are long gone now.
When asked about facing Carlisle in the finals after firing him, Dumars said, "This series is about moving on to the NBA Finals. Everything else is secondary."
Pistons forward Ben Wallace said there were no problems under Carlisle, but he thought Dumars just couldn't pass up the chance to get Larry Brown.
"We played hard every night, and everybody respected him," Wallace said. "I don't think he had any problems with the team, I just think Joe realized if you got a Hall of Famer like Larry Brown, and he's available, that's an opportunity you can't miss."
No skipping
Brown picked up right where Carlisle left off, and the team blossomed after trading for Rasheed Wallace in February. They finished the season 20-6 and had the second-best record in the East.
Long an outspoken critic of the "quick-fix" coaching change that many teams employ these days, Brown said everything seems to have worked out for the best.
"I hate to see any of this in our league, but the neat thing is the guy has been able to land on his feet and he's done an amazing job," Brown said. "But I don't like to see that happen to anybody."
Indiana won three of the four meetings against the Pistons in the regular season, but all three wins came before Detroit acquired Rasheed Wallace.
In their first matchup with Wallace, the Pistons rolled to a 79-61 win, prompting many to say the Pistons were the new team to beat.
Pacers veteran Reggie Miller almost agrees.
"They have the mental edge because of the last win they had," he said.
Indiana has plenty of incentives for beating the Pistons and advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000, and Carlisle is at the top of the list.