Q&A with Rick Carlisle <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The record -- 44-38 -- wasn't anything to get excited about. Indiana Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh did anyway, particularly as it applied to Rick Carlisle. Walsh described Carlisle's leadership last season as one of the best coaching jobs he has seen. Carlisle guided the injury- and suspension-filled Pacers to the second round of the playoffs last season by often piecing together lineups on a game-by-game basis. The Pacers made the playoffs for the eighth straight season by using 30 starting combinations involving 17 players. How things have changed. Ron Artest, Jonathan Bender and David Harrison, each of whom missed most of last season, return to a team that added draft pick Danny Granger and free agent Sarunas Jasikevicius. Carlisle, entering his third year as the Pacers' coach, discussed the excitement and challenges of the upcoming season. Q: How were you able to keep this team competitive, and what did last season do for you? A: It was a great lesson in having to work off the seat of your pants, having to adjust constantly based on the personnel you had available. The biggest thing we had to do as a franchise and as a fan base was stay positive through the difficulty. Everybody did, and that was the biggest reason that a very, very difficult situation turned into somewhat of a success. Having to deal with so many different sets of personnel is going to force you to be creative, imaginative and try to figure out a way to make things work. Really, the credit has to go to the players because those are the guys that hung in. The players and the fans held it together. They allowed the coaches to be able to do a lot of different things. Q: On the first day of training camp, how weird will it be to not see Reggie Miller? A: I don't think there's any question we're entering a new era of Indiana Pacers basketball without Reggie Miller. After nearly two decades, it's hard to imagine how much easier he's made all of our jobs just by simply being here every single day and approaching his job with the highest level of perfection and the impact that's had on everybody. There's a big void there. It's not going to be just one person that fills it. It's going to have to be a collective effort. Q: Is there one person on this team who can step up and lead? A: Reggie wasn't so much a vocal leader as he was a leader by example and through his actions. Reggie was always viewed as the leader because he wanted the responsibility of winning or losing the games. He wanted the responsibility of taking the big shots. Jermaine O'Neal has certainly been one of our leaders on our team, along with Reggie. (O'Neal) understands that he has to take it to a higher level, without question. It's not going to fall in the lap of one guy, though. Stephen Jackson is going to have to step up his abilities in that area. (Ron) Artest is going to have to be real solid for us. Everybody is going to have to step it up a notch. Q: How good is it to have Ron back? A: Having him back is going to be a big lift. It's been a long road for him. It's been a long road for us to get him back in this position. We look forward to it. He certainly brings an irreplaceable dimension to our team. Q: Do you expect him to have a chip on his shoulder this season? A: I expect Ron to be very motivated to win. The one thing I've always liked about him is that his moods are affected (more) by winning and losing than anything else. Given the things he's had to experience over the past nine or 10 months, right now I think he'll do anything to help our team win. I'm very much looking forward to working with him again. Q: Is this the year Bender stays healthy? A: The one thing no one can argue about Jonathan's situation is that he's done everything possible to get himself healthy. In the summer league, we saw that he's healthy. He's been playing in Houston regularly. We have a very good feeling about it. As with everything, though, time will answer all the questions about him. Q: On paper, the Pacers look like one of the top teams in the league. But there are questions about the personalities and whether that will preclude a title run. What are your thoughts on that? A: Championships aren't won on paper. One of things I'm looking forward to this year is being around a group of guys that have a lot to prove. I really feel we do. I felt that way both years I've been here. We have to prove we can get healthy and stay healthy. We have to prove we can be together and play at a high level together and do it over a long, grueling season and carry it through the playoffs. To really take it all the way it's going to take an unbelievable commitment in each other. A lot of it is going to come back to how together we can be as a team.</div> Source
