Rick Carlisle has been a head coach for over two decades, but there are two teams in particular with which Carlisle’s name is connected.
Of course, the veteran coach’s most notable team was the Mavericks in 2011, as Dallas won its first ever NBA title over the Heat that year. However, Carlisle’s work with the Pacers this season has rivaled what he did in Dallas as the only two teams that Carlisle has led to the NBA Finals.
So, how do Carlisle’s two most successful teams compare? Here’s. a breakdown.
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2025 Pacers vs. 2011 Mavericks
Team stats
| Stat | Mavericks | Pacers |
| Record | 57-25 | 50-32 |
| Playoff seed | 2 | 4 |
| PPG (Rank) | 100.2 (11) | 117.4 (7) |
| Opponents PPG (Rank) | 96.0 (10) | 115.1 (17) |
| Off. Rating (Rank) | 109.7 (8) | 116.5 (9) |
| Def. Rating (Rank) | 105.0 (8) | 114.3 (13) |
The 2025 Pacers are known for their offense, but their defense didn’t pick up until the postseason, as it’s been much better when it mattered most. In 2011, meanwhile, the Mavericks were more well-rounded with top 10 units on both ends of the court.
Of course, the style of basketball 15 years ago was much different than today, as the games were slower and more deliberate. However, when Carlisle made the move to Indiana, he adopted a higher-paced offense to run with the Pacers.
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Rosters
| Mavericks | Pacers | |
| PG | Jason Kidd | Tyrese Haliburton |
| SG | Deshawn Stevenson | Andrew Nembhard |
| SF | Shawn Marion | Aaron Nesmith |
| PF | Dirk Nowitzki | Pascal Siakam |
| C | Tyson Chandler | Myles Turner |
| Bench | Jason Terry | Obi Toppin |
| Bench | J.J. Barea | T.J. McConnell |
| Bench | Peja Stojakovic | Bennedict Mathurin |
| Bench | Brendan Haywood | Ben Sheppard |
| Bench | Ian Mahinmi | Tony Bradley |
| Bench | Brian Cardinal | Thomas Bryant |
| Bench | Corey Brewer | James Johnson |
| Bench | Johnny Furphy | |
| Bench | Jarace Walker |
Point guard
Haliburton is widely considered to be the Pacers best player, but the 2011 Mavericks were not built around their point guard. Instead, Dallas had veteran Jason Kidd running point, as the 37-year-old started 80 games in the regular season and 21 in the postseason.
Kidd actually averaged more assists than points in the regular season, producing just 7.9 points per game during the year. That is in start contrast to Haliburton, who averaged 18.2 points this year. However, both Haliburton and Kidd led their teams in assists over the season, leaning into the stereotypical definition of a point guard.
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Shooting guard
Stevenson was another low-scoring member of the starting lineup for the 2011 Mavericks, starting 54 of 72 games and producing just 5.3 points per game. However, his tenacious defense was a key part of the team, which is similar to Nembhard’s impact on this year’s Pacers.
Nembhard is a better offensive player than Stevenson was, averaging almost double the points that Stevenson produced that year, but the two players are similarly important pieces of their team’s defense. Where the two most differ offensively is in shooting, as Stevenson was a more efficient three-point shooter, while Nembhard is more of a versatile scorer.
Small Forward
On defense, Nesmith fills a similar role to Marion as a bigger defender who takes on tough assignments. Marion guarded LeBron James during the 2011 Finals, and Nesmith has taken on assignments like Jalen Brunson over the course of this playoff run.
On offense, the two players are very different. Nesmith is the Pacers’ best shooter, producing a 43.1 percent three-point percentage in the regular season. Marion, meanwhile, was a poor three-point shooter at just 15.2 percent. He didn’t make a three-point shot in the playoffs but still averaged 12.5 points per game that year thanks to his success inside the arc.
Power Forward
The engine of the 2011 Mavericks was Dirk Nowitzki, as the future-hall-of-famer was the best player on the team. Nowitzki led the team with 23.0 points per game in the regular season, and over 27 points per game in the postseason, earning Finals MVP in 2011.
While Pascal Siakam isn’t quite as important as Nowitzki was to his team, the power forward is still vital to Indiana’s success. Siakam has averaged at least 20 points per game in the regular season and postseason, and he won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP last round. Both are three-level scorers who can shoot from deep without relying solely on the three-point line.
Center
The 2025 Pacers and 2011 Mavericks have traditional centers, but Indiana’s has a more modern skillset. Tyson Chandler anchored the Dallas defense back then, along with leading the team in rebounds, but was offensively limited to points in the paint.
Myles Turner, meanwhile, is a stretch-five who shoots 39.6 percent from three, but his defense is more inconsistent than Chandler’s Both Turner and Chandler share that they are veteran presences that their team’s can rely on for their experiences.
Bench
Both of these squads relied on their benches to succeed. For the 2011 Mavericks, that was mainly Jason Terry, who was their second-leading scorer in both the regular season and playoffs and was the team’s biggest scoring option next to Nowitzki that year. Besides Terry there was J.J. Barea, a backup point guard who provided important offense off the bench.
The Pacers’ bench is led by the duo of Toppin and McConnell, who give starting-caliber impact off the bench. Toppin’s energy, pace and ability to stretch the floor have been crucial in the playoff run, especially the NBA Finals, although he’s not quite where Terry was. McConnell, meanwhile, is a pretty direct comparison to Barea, a backup point guard who helps keep the offense running when the starter is out.
Elsewhere on the benches, Brendan Haywood was Dallas’ backup center, compared to Thomas Bryant and Tony B4adley who share the duties for Indiana. Veteran Peja Stojakovic was a sharp-shooter for the Mavericks in limited action, compared to Bennedict Mathurin and Ben Sheppard’s sparks for the Pacers’ offense.
