Rick Carlisle is one of the best tacticians in the league. If you scroll Twitter after the Dallas Mavericks lose you might get a different impression, but NBA general managers certainly think so. In the last five years, Carlisle was voted twice as the best head coach at making in-game adjustments in the annual NBA GM survey. He was ranked in the top three in each of those five seasons.
Last year, the Mavericks finished the season as the most efficient offense in NBA history, playing a modern Five-Out offense. Yet, Carlisle’s latest brilliant offense is not about drawing the fanciest plays or having the thickest playbook.