<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SEATTLE -- Leave it to embattled Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle to put the surprising Seattle SuperSonics into perspective. Following a 103-95 loss to the Sonics on Sunday night, Carlisle, while trying to keep his club afloat just nine days after the frightening brawl in Detroit that found his three top scorers suspended, knows precisely why the Sonics and coach Nate McMillan have fashioned the best record in the NBA. "You've got to give Nate a lot of credit," said Carlisle, who four years ago was the Sonics' broadcast analyst. "They're playing the exact style they have to play to be successful with the personnel that they have. Right now, Nate's doing the best job in the league coaching. "Their team right now is playing as unselfish as any team in the league. And when you've got that kind of chemistry, and that kind of sharing of the ball, it breeds more good things. For whatever reasons, we've seen it for as long as this game has been around, the more people's hands the ball touches, the more it goes in the basket. They're a great example of that." The concept of it almost seems to mystify McMillan, who is in the last season of a four-year contract. In fact, he seems almost embarrassed at the 13-2 start, particularly when the entire Western World found them more apt to be 2-13. But he has taken on the Larry Brown mantra of "play the right way," and the team has bought into it. Sunday seemed to be another set-up for the Pacers, who entered the game an unlikely 3-1 since the Detroit nightmare, but the last thing McMillan would allow them to do was take the inexperienced Pacers for granted. "One of the messages on the board was that the first couple teams that played them may have taken them lightly," McMillan said. "We couldn't do that. This game is about respecting the game and respecting your opponents. That has been my message to this team every night. You respect the game, you play the game hard and you play the game the right way. And you definitely respect the opponents you are playing, regardless of who is in uniform. Tonight, we came out and played aggressive basketball from start to finish." </div> <font size="1">Full Story courtesy of Mike Kahm and CBS Sportsline.</font> Came across this article whilst browsing the ESPN forums, found it to be a great read. Really uncovers the real reasons for this current high we're on. Not shooting the lights out, not getting lucky, not other teams just playing badly, simply the Supes playing as a cohesive, team unit better than anyone in the league at the moment.
