Pacers lean on Rick Carlisle’s influence in roster makeup: ‘NBA has become a play-hard league’

The 2025 playoffs showed that youth and depth may be the way forward in today’s NBA. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle learned that first-hand, guiding his team to within a game of the championship.

In an interview with Caitlin Cooper of Basketball She Wrote, Carlisle said the Pacers relied on spreading minutes across the roster.

“We played a lot of guys to try to keep our minutes reasonable and try to get into the legs of our opponent,” Carlisle said. “It’s a hard style to play, but the NBA game has now become a play-hard league. It’s not just being top-heavy with stars. Roster construction is changing. It’s become more important to have more good players than be top-heavy with two or three great players that get all the touches.”

Carlisle’s influence in Indiana extends beyond the sideline. According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the veteran coach has more input on roster decisions than almost any coach in the league.

“From my understanding, behind the scenes, Rick Carlisle is one of the more active coaches in the league when it comes to influence over the roster,” Fischer said during a recent Bleacher Report livestream. “He is known around the league to have as formidable of a finger on the Pacers’ roster construction and overall talent evaluation … player scouting and draft evaluations.”

Indiana’s front office and coaching staff have worked to build a roster that fits Carlisle’s system, and the results nearly delivered the franchise’s first championship. Injuries to Tyrese Haliburton prove d costly, but the Pacers’ long-term outlook remains promising.

Haliburton will miss the upcoming season with an Achilles injury, and Myles Turner signed with Milwaukee in free agency. Even so, the Pacers signed Carlisle to a multi-year extension, signaling confidence in their coach and their young core.

The franchise now faces questions about whether to keep players such as Bennedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker as long-term pieces. Regardless, Carlisle’s presence and influence give Indiana reason to believe it can remain in the title mix.