Rick Carlisle made all the right moves to lead the Dallas Mavericks for their first ever NBA title
After a dramatic meltdown in the first round of the play-offs against the Portland Trailblazers, the 51 year old coach Rick Carlisle pushed all the right buttons and guided the Dallas Mavericks towards their first NBA Championship
title.
The third-year Mavericks’ coach known for his rigidness turned more flexible and allowed the veteran talent on the roster to take ownership by defining the responsibilities and roles to each. The Mavericks’ line-up responded brilliantly
by sticking with the plan and stood behind their influential coach.
The chemistry that was built this year between Carlisle and the team propelled the franchise to the level of perfection which no one from the team had experienced before. The elongated hunt to land the championship title started
to look easier day to day as they kept soaring and scoring against each opposition.
The face of Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki said on Carlisle’s, “He's challenged us in ways. Sometimes he's backed off. Sometimes he's letting J-Kidd run the show. Sometimes he feels like things are not going the way he wants to
and he's clamping down a little more. So I think that was the challenge the first two years, to find a good mix between play calls and freedom and still play enough defence to win. And, I just think he found a good mix and he found all the right buttons to
motivate us every single night to get to this spot."
Accompanied with brilliance of Rick, Dallas swept out the defending champions Los Angeles Lakers in the semi-finals and eliminated the spirited Memphis Grizzlies in the Finals of the Western Conference to race away into the NBA
Finals for the first time since 2006.
After losing the game-3 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, Rick made a brave move by introducing the reserve point guard Jose Juan Barea in the starting five when they were down 2-1 in the series. The reason was to infuse
another player maker on the top to stimulate the offensive system of the Mavericks. The option to start with Barea turned in the favour of Dallas as they never faced a defeat after that and eliminated Miami from the race of the championship title in the game-6
of the Finals.
"He's doing a phenomenal job. He's done that throughout these playoffs," Terry said. "He knows his team. He knows the beat of this team.” The prolific bench player Jason Terry said on Rick.
Mavericks’ instrumental coach transformed the team into an unyielding power and they stood confident against all the odds as they were anticipated for an early exit in the play-offs. The success achieved by Carlisle will enable
him to stay with the Dallas Mavericks for a longer period as the team will only improve further under his guidance.
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