Isiah Thomas says Rick Carlisle is bringing the Indiana Pacers the impact Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan needed

Isiah Thomas explains Rick Carlisle’s importance with Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan comparison

Isiah Thomas spoke to Shaquille O’Neal ahead of Game 2 of the NBA Finals. He reminded O’Neal that, much like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, he needed Phil Jackson to win an NBA championship.

Thomas then explained how Rick Carlisle, an experienced and old-school coach, gives the Pacers an edge against the Thunder that no other team has, something Jackson did for his Bulls and Lakers teams.

“You went to the NBA Finals, but you didn’t win an NBA championship until you met Phil Jackson. Kobe Bryant did not become Kobe until Phil Jackson got there. Jordan did not win until Phil Jackson got him.”

“You’ve got a coach in this series by the name of Rick Carlisle, 65 years old, and we saw him the other night run a triple stagger that none of these OKC players had seen before.”

“Rick Carlisle is bringing out some old-school stuff… OKC is playing against an old-school offense, five-six-seven players in double figures.”

“Sometimes they come down and they don’t even dribble the ball in half court, and they’re passing, moving, and cutting, and it ain’t no isolation, one on one, shaky-shaky-shaky-shaky go left. This is a different style of basketball that OKC ain’t used to playing against.”   

Indiana Pacers must fix turnover problems in Games 3 and 4

After a drubbing in Game 2, where the Indiana Pacers never looked like they could come back, Rick Carlisle will go back to the drawing board.

Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton knew the challenge after Game 1. And tonight’s performance showed that the work they have to do is a lot more than any of them realized.

Carlisle will drill his players relentlessly ahead of Game 3 so they avoid making the same mistakes they did in the first two games.

The most important change they must make is in how they protect the ball. The Pacers had 39 turnovers over two games, while the Thunder had just 19.

Carlisle must make sure his players do better, as if they can keep the ball in their hands, they can force the Thunder into uncomfortable situations on every play.