Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was among those taken aback by the New York Knicks' decision to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau after their loss to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.

Carlisle was so surprised that he initially thought the news was one of "those fake AI things." Carlisle later elaborated on what made the firing of Thibodeau so unexpected to him, noting the success Thibodeau achieved with the team.

"I'm at a loss to explain it," Carlisle said on SiriusXM NBA Radio. "This was something I didn't believe was possible. Ownerships in the NBA have the right to make these decisions, unilaterally, it's their right. When we get into coaching, there are dynamic and difficult elements of the business."

"The job that Tom did there after a lot of lean years ... completely changed the culture," Carlisle continued. "You look at the acquisition of Jalen Brunson, I don't think they get him unless Thibs is there. There's a lot of elements to it. They've come up a notch each year. They won in the first round a couple years, then the second round, and then got to the conference finals. You would've thought they were right on track for what was gonna happen next. As I said, I was very surprised. Thibs will be fine. He's a guy that's very, very well established in this league and highly respected."

Ultimately, the Knicks' decision came down to their pursuit of a championship. Per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, the organization reportedly felt that the Knicks should've beaten the Pacers to advance to the NBA Finals. Shelburne pointed to the team's collapse in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals being particularly detrimental, and after the series loss, doubt emerged that Thibodeau could lead them to a title going forward.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rick Carlisle Reacts to Tom Thibodeau's Firing After Eliminating Knicks From Playoffs.

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