Pacers' revised roster faces different challenge after break

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When Rick Carlisle started job hunting last summer, Indiana quickly emerged as a favored destination.

The Pacers had an experienced roster, playoff aspirations and a hungry group eager to fulfill its full potential.

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Eight months later, a rash of injuries, COVID-19 absences, and a flurry of trade-deadline moves changed the plan. Expectations were lowered dramatically with a suddenly fresh-faced team hovering near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and trying to rebuild on the fly.

It's forcing everyone to embark on a new journey..

"You kind of scale down the menu of things you're doing offensively. You get to the core of what's most important and you kind of rebuild based on personnel," Carlisle said. "It's been a little bit of a whirlwind for these guys, but it's a great opportunity for them and for us."

This is not uncharted territory for Carlisle, the Dallas Mavericks career wins leader.

Honorary coach Isiah Thomas, left, talks with Team Isiah's Tyrese Haliburton, of the Indiana Pacers, during the final of the NBA basketball Rising Stars event against Team Barry, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, in Cleveland. Team Barry won the event.  (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)

Coaches who stick around the league for two decades, like Carlisle, have been down this course multiple times. They've endured the midseason swaps, the changing philosophies, the mixing and matching of rotations as each game becomes a new audition — and survived..

For Indiana, though, this is a stark departure from standing operating procedure.

Since the early 1990s. Indiana's decision-makers — Donnie Walsh, Larry Bird and president