Richard Preston Carlisle
(pronounced KAHR-lye-uhl) (born October 27, 1959 in Ogdensburg, New
York
) is the head coach of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. He has also
coached the
Indiana Pacers and
Detroit Pistons, and was previously
a player in the NBA.
Playing career
Carlisle
was raised in Lisbon, New
York
. He graduated from Worcester
Academy
and played two years of college basketball at the University of
Maine
before transferring to the University of
Virginia
, where he co-captained the Cavaliers to the
Final Four in 1984. After
graduating that same year, he was drafted by the
Boston Celtics (23rd pick in the third
round), where he played alongside
Larry
Bird on the Celtics'
1986
NBA Championship team. With the
Celtics, he averaged 2.2 points, 1.0
assists and 0.8 rebounds per game in a limited reserve role.
In 1987, Carlisle was sent to the
New
York Knicks. In 1989, Carlisle played in 5 games with the
New Jersey Nets.
Coaching career
Later that year, he accepted an assistant coach position with the
Nets, where he spent five seasons under
Bill
Fitch and
Chuck Daly. In 1994,
Carlisle joined the assistant coaching staff with the
Portland Trail Blazers under coach
P.J. Carlesimo, where he spent three
seasons.
In 1997, Rick Carlisle joined the
Indiana
Pacers organization as an assistant coach under his former
teammate, Larry Bird. During his time as Pacers assistant coach, he
helped the Pacers to two of their best seasons ever. First, in
1997-98, the Pacers stretched the
Chicago Bulls to the limit, narrowly
losing the deciding seventh game of the Eastern Conference finals
to the eventual NBA champion. Then, in
1999-2000, the Pacers made the NBA
Finals for the first time, ultimately losing to the
Los Angeles Lakers. Bird stepped down as
coach, and pushed for Carlisle to be selected as his replacement,
but Pacers team president Donnie Walsh gave the job to
Isiah Thomas.
Detroit Pistons
For the 2001 season, Carlisle was recruited by the
Detroit Pistons to be their new head coach.
In two seasons as Pistons' head coach, Carlisle led them to
consecutive 50-32 records (.610) and playoff appearances, and was
named
Coach of the Year
in 2002. However, the Pistons fired Carlisle after the
2002-03 season with a year remaining on
his contract and hired
Larry
Brown. Friction between Carlisle and team ownership was cited
as one of the primary reasons for the firing.
Ironically, Carlisle's Pistons had just dispatched Brown's 76ers in
the conference semifinals.
Indiana Pacers
For the
2003-04 season, Carlisle
was re-hired by the Indiana Pacers -- but this time, as its head
coach (
Isiah Thomas had been fired,
almost immediately after
Larry Bird was
brought back as the new President of Basketball Operations). In his
first season, Carlisle led the Pacers to the NBA's best
regular-season record (61-21; 74.4%). In the playoffs, the team
eliminated both the
Boston Celtics
and
Miami Heat, before losing to the
Detroit Pistons in the Eastern
Conference Finals.
In 2005, the Pacers roster was decimated by
injuries (most notably, those of Jermaine O'Neal and Jamaal Tinsley), and suspensions (due to the
Pacers–Pistons brawl
attributed to Ron Artest at the Palace of Auburn
Hills
). Carlisle was still able to rally the
Pacers to the NBA Playoffs that season, though. As the sixth seed,
they again defeated the Boston Celtics in the first round, before
being defeated once again by the eventual Eastern Conference
Champion, the Pistons.
After the Pacers finished the
2006-07
season with a 35-47 record (missing the playoffs for the first
time since 1997), Carlisle's tenure as head coach ended; it is
unclear whether he voluntarily resigned, was fired, or was pushed
to resign. In four seasons with the Indiana Pacers, Carlisle
compiled a 181-147 record.On June 12, 2007, Carlisle announced that
he would also resign from his position as Executive Vice-president
of the Pacers.
After leaving Indiana, Carlisle worked as a studio analyst for
ESPN before signing with the
Dallas Mavericks as its new head
coach.
Dallas Mavericks
On May 9, 2008 Carlisle signed a four-year deal with the
Dallas Mavericks, replacing
Avery Johnson. He led them to a 50-32 record
including a first round win against the San Antonio Spurs. They
would lose to the Denver Nuggets 4-1 in the Western Conference
Semifinals
Coaching record
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