In an arena dominated by athleticism and superstar firepower, strategy and tactics rarely take center stage, making hardly any headlines. Yet in the 2025 NBA Finals, the defining edge isn’t just on the court, but it’s also coming from the clipboard inked with magic. As the Indiana Pacers surge ahead 2-1 in the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the spotlight has quietly but firmly shifted to one man calling the shots from the sidelines: Rick Carlisle.
Carlisle is reminding everyone why the game’s smartest minds often sit in suits. Carlisle, now deep into his second stint with Indiana, has turned the 2025 Finals into a clinic, which is not just for the basketball, but for the game theory. The Indiana Pacers may not boast the flashiest names or an MVP on their side, but they have something more valuable, and that is a coach operating at peak form. With Carlisle orchestrating every possession like a symphony conductor, he has already adjusted the tempo, switched defensive schemes mid-quarter, and made rotation changes that are more chess than checkers. But what’s truly standing out is how the Pacers are winning without dominating; they’re outthinking with their brains.
That was never clearer than in Game 3, as Tyrese Haliburton filtered with a triple-double and Benedict Mathurin exploded off the bench with 27 points. The real story unfolded in the shadows. Carlisle’s Belichick light blueprint against MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Borrowing a page from a whole different sport, the NFL’s playbook, Carlisle embraced a principle often used by Bill Belichick, which is to neutralize everyone except the star. Indiana collapsed the paint, cut off passing routes, and daring Gilgeous-Alexander to play alone instead of use the whole defense to downplay the MVP. There were traps, double-teams, and early assistance meant to separate him from his team rather than stop him from scoring.
The results spoke volumes. SGA still finished with 24 points, but his offensive load was a lonely, exhausting effort. Pacers’ strategy suffocated OKC’s rhythm. Players like Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Lou Dort looked uncomfortable, and they seemed quite out of sync and often hesitant, which was a product of Carlisle’s mental game plan that helped his team edge the Thunder. This wasn’t just a tactic. It was a psychological war. Like Belichick forcing quarterbacks to beat his defense with third-string receivers, Carlisle made sure the Thunder had no option but to lean on players who weren’t ready to deliver under such high high-pressure situation. And in doing so, he turned the finals from a shootout into a game of war where each and every movement counted. And the smarter one won.
Long-time coaching authority and championship assistant under Chuck Daly, Brendan Suhr has seen enough and made a huge statement. Suhr, who gave Carlisle his first break decades ago, was unreserved in putting his old colleague on top of the NBA ladder on the Hoop Genius podcast. “He’s the best coach in the league right now. That’s mass consensus, not just me,” Suhr stated. “He gives his team a great edge. He’s making every right move.”
“I’m proud of him for what he’s done,” Suhr said, reminiscing about their early coaching days together. “He’s got a terrific staff, he delegates.” Those statements did not follow a career tribute; they came in real time, as Carlisle continued to engineer a Finals run that is now being analyzed as a textbook example of tactical execution.
Coaching Pedigree on Display: Rick Carlisle’s Evolution from Protégé to Maestro
Carlisle’s mastery isn’t some overnight emergence; it is a product of decades of hard work and effort spent studying under legends and quietly redefining his own playbook. As a player, he won the ring with the Celtics in 1986. As a coach, he’s taken three different franchises to the postseason and reached the mountaintop with Dallas in 2011. But what he’s doing now, nearly a decade and a half later, might be even more impressive.
This time around, Carlisle isn’t riding the brilliance of a Hall of Fame scorer like Dirk Nowitzki. He’s building around a hungry, yet balanced squad with the likes of Haliburton, Mathurin, Nembhard and are now playing smartly on the court recently. He is assigning trust to a deep staff, switching coverages, and making players like Aaron Nesmith and TJ McConnell into brain extensions on the court.
May 21, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle reacts against the Boston Celtics during the second half for game one of the eastern conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
As the finals roll on, with Game 4 looming on June 13, Carlisle holds more than just a series lead, but now he even holds the narrative. So far, he has rewritten the expectations for this Pacers squad and re-asserted himself into the “best coach in the NBA” conversation. And if this Belichick-like blueprint continues to stifle the thunder, the rest of the league will be watching not just the scoreboard but even the playbook behind it before they enter the court against them.
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