By now, anyone who follows the NBA knows of the firing of New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale. With such a rough start to the season for the Knicks, and their tendency to let go of coaches before their contract is up, no one was that surprised. Many people were vocal with their opinions on the situation, including Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle.
Carlisle finds himself at the other end of the coaching spectrum. The Mavericks have exceeded the expectations they had before the season began. While some pegged the team to be outside of the playoff bubble at best, most thought they’d be a low playoff seed in a stacked Western Conference.
Led by sophomore sensation Luka Doncic, the Mavericks are currently sitting in the third spot in the Western Conference standings. FiveThirtyEight is projecting the Mavericks to be a near lock for the playoffs, giving them a 97 percent chance at one of the final eight spots in the West. It’s safe to say that the Mavericks’ head coach isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
In May of 2008, Carlisle signed a four-year contract to be the Mavericks’ head coach. He became the franchise’s ninth at the time, and is now embarking on his 12th year with the team. To put that into perspective, the Knicks have now hired seven different coaches during Carlisle’s time with the Mavs.
This isn’t a slander piece against the New York Knicks, but instead one highlighting the benefit of having consistency in an organization. Carlisle was hired into an ideal situation: the Mavericks had made the playoffs eight straight seasons and featured an enthusiastic owner who trusted him.
The past few seasons for the Mavericks haven’t exactly been pretty, and the franchise’s direction seemed unclear at times. However, they’ve already begun setting course for one of the quickest rebuilds in recent NBA history.
A model of consistency
A coach who can lead a team to a championship, and also manage a rebuild well, is hard to find. Carlisle was the head coach of the Indiana Pacers during the infamous Malice at the Palace. Many assumed the season was over for the Pacers. However, Carlisle continued to prove his coaching chops. Indiana secured the sixth playoff seed and upset the Boston Celtics to advance to the next round.
Back in 2017, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told the Star-Telegram, “I’ve said a million times, hiring a coach is the hardest job in professional sports, and we got lucky; we’ve got a good one.” In addition to Carlisle having longevity with the team, they also employ a handful of assistant coaches who have been with the team for many years as well.
The Mavericks haven’t finished a season with a winning record since 2015-16. However, because of their commitment to coaching and personnel consistency, that should change this season.
