Defining Random Offense: How the Pacers play without plays - w/ Rick Carlisle

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By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

Just because the NBA calendar is deep in the offseason portion of the offseason doesn't mean that August is the offseason for Basketball, She Wrote. Rather, with several weeks still remaining until the start of training camp, Indiana Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle stopped by for a wide-ranging conversation in which we attempted to define "random" offense, in as much as it can be defined, while also wending between his respective runs to the NBA Finals with the both the 2011 Mavericks and 2025 Pacers. On the influence he's drawn in his coaching from jazz music, as well as his playing time in Boston and New York, and why the goal is for every possession to look different.

Plus, some breaking news on who he plans to start at the two on Day 1 next season, along with a discussion on whether feel can be taught and the ongoing development of Bennedict Mathurin and Aaron Nesmith with regard to playing without plays. Also, insights on how Pascal Siakam is always adapting, even as a veteran player, and what changes the team may need to make to preserve Andrew Nembhard in the absence of Tyrese Haliburton. Then, we also dig into some league-wide trends, explaining why the pick-and-roll has become less prevalent and answering the all-important question of whether every team plays the same as it pertains to the prevailing notion that the NBA has become too homogenized.

Taken altogether, it's a bunch of talk about all things basketball and especially the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers. Enjoy!

Here are the relevant timestamps:

0:00 - Introductions

1:32 - In March, long before the NBA Finals, Mark Daigneault said that Rick was "way, way ahead of his time" with his use of random movement in 2011 when the Mavericks won the Championship. With that in mind, what is "random" offense, what does it ideally look like in action, and what was the impetus for implementing that play-style

3:00 - Turning the play-calling over to Jason Kidd at point guard with the Mavs + why unpredictability was necessary against Miami's type of defense in the Finals

8:21 - Illustrative points on random offense from his playing time in Boston and New York (i.e. the Larry Bird-era Celtics "just playing basketball" with very few play-calls)

10:32 - Drawing coaching inspiration from jazz music

13:25 - Is playing "random" more or less difficult to implement in 2025 than 2011 (Also, which players on the Pacers roster does playing without plays come to most naturally)?

18:28 - Breaking News! Bennedict Mathurin will be the Day 1 starting two guard next season

21:35 - Pascal Siakam & Aaron Nesmith adjusting their games to the style that is most effective for the team

22:40 - Can feel be taught?

24:02 - Whether there would ever be a roster that would lead him not to play this system (or to play this system significantly less) + coaching to the players you have while also looking for players, via the draft, free agency, etc, who fit the system

28:00 - Trendsetting with ball pressure defense as a complement to this style of offense

31:15 - Pascal Siakam, "great" player (who will likely have more ball-handling responsibilities next season)

33:06 - The anomaly of playing random while also limiting turnovers

34:43 - Managing Andrew Nembhard as a lead initiator who also guards the other team's best perimeter player

40:37 - Listen to Rick and subscribe to Basketball, She Wrote (please and thanks!)

42:24 - Okay, let's watch an actual clip of random offense and playing after the play

43:18 - Why is the NBA running less pick-and-roll? (i.e. the league averaged the fewest ball-screens per 100 possessions in the tracking era last season)

47:34 - Pros/cons of playing 5-out versus 4-out and the different means by which the Pacers could potentially try to replicate either alignment without Myles Turner

50:34 - Getting Rick's thoughts on the prevailing notion that every team plays the same way and that the NBA has become too homogenized (Caitlin also gives her answer to this question)

53:26 - The importance of focusing on solutions and player empowerment, as it pertains to players believing they're in control of their individual and team destiny, as the unifying threads throughout Rick's coaching tenure

57:01 - Retiring as the President of the NBA Coaches Association at the end of this calendar year and what that position has meant to Rick over the last 20 years

58:49 - Thank you & Goodbye!