"Last year we fell apart, so it came down to this might not work and we decided we probably have to change," said
Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh about the decision to fire Isiah Thomas as head coach.

"We had young players and you have to keep them. Most of the time the coach is out.?

The Pacers lost in the first round three straight years but new coach Rick Carlisle is close to taking the same team minus All-Star center Brad Miller to Indiana's second Finals in five years.

To Thomas? assertion that he would have been fired even if he had won the championship: "Well, that's not true," Walsh said. "When teams fall apart, you have to make a change. A new coach came in and started things off in a different light. I didn't know if Isiah came back if we could've come back as a team."