Basketball, She Wrote posts
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Putting Tyrese Haliburton's immaculate exception into perspective
This low turnover thing is kind of one-of-one, to quote Rick CarlisleBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper Few players maximize resources while minimizing waste quite like Tyrese Haliburton. In addition to making use of every inch of the court, whether horizontally, vertically, and yes, oftentimes even aerially, he also plays as though he doesn't have a second to spare. Midway through the first quarter of what became a 119-103 win over the Minnesot...
Explain One Play: How Bennedict Mathurin takes up residence in "Omaha"
Who needs March Madness when you have the Pacers, amirite? By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper It appears that the Pacers will never play a normal basketball gameagain. After making three game-winning threes in the span of nine days, Indiana's 105-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets once again came down to late-game heroics. This time, with Bennedict Mathurin throwing the Pacers a line at the free throw line, as he stoically knocked down three free thr...
Why the Pacers continue to be pure cinema
By the numbersBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_CooperTurns out, sequels can be just as good -- or at least as much fun -- as the original. In standing still from his "lucky spot" above the break against the Dallas Mavericks, Andrew Nembhard didn't follow in the literal footsteps of Tyrese Haliburton and Obi Toppin. He wasn't rushing to the left corner out of a football-style play, as Haliburton did against the Milwaukee Bucks, and he didn...
From woe to whoa, how much do the Pacers have in reserve?
Taking stock of the bench headed into the playoffsBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper On Saturday, the reserves for the Pacers had nothing for the Bucks, as they were outscored 35-18 in bench points with Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell both finishing minus-34 on the court even though they each played less than 20 minutes. Granted, that's not an individual stat and single-game plus/minus can be noisy, but the blaring, minus-34 siren wasn'...
How the Pacers did better in giving the Bucks their best shot(s)
My work at Basketball, She Wrote is typically paywalled. This article, as an in-depth breakdown of why it arguably was a miracle that the Pacers needed a miracle, is available as a free trial. If you're new here and want to support independent writing about actual basketball, please consider subscribingand/or sharing it around. Alright, on to the words about the Pacers.By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_CooperBefore Tyrese Haliburton sprinted into the ...
Finding a highlight for the Pacers in a mess of hijinks
On a detail that shouldn't get swept under the rug just because the Hawks swept the two-game miniseriesBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper After the Pacers pulled ahead to take a 107-106 lead on a gutsy, pull-up three from Bennedict Mathurin with 5:50 to play in the second of two-straight road games against the Atlanta Hawks, a lot proceeded to go haywire during the crunch-time that manifested despite getting crunched in the first half. As a brie...
Houston, the Pacers have a lot fewer problems
What a difference three months makesBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper Three months ago, when the Pacers had a 6-9 record and ranked among the bottom-half of the league in both offense and defense, there was a 19-second sequence against the Houston Rockets that perfectly encapsulated everything that was holding back what appeared to be a beleaguered team. First, there was Bennedict Mathurin rejecting a screen from starting shooting guard Quenton Jac...
How Aaron Nesmith stayed hot without feeling the "burn"
On the player who, in just being there, can generally be counted on to be thereBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper When Aaron Nesmith made his first of three three-pointers in less than a minute against the Chicago Bulls, he didn't just heat up in a hurry for the Pacers, darting here and driving there while shaping up around the inverse gravity of his All-Star teammate, he also provided a flashbulb example of the difference he makes in avoiding u...
Should the Pacers double their trouble against mismatches?
On whether to hit the switchBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper When Austin Reaves amassed a career high of 45 points in a win over the Pacers at the start of February, he was sitting on 22 points in 24 minutes played when this possession occurred.Without either of LeBron James or Luka Doncic available, Reaves had the ball early and often for the Lakers, as he was presented with two potential paths at the top of the key: dribble left out of horns tow...
Mailbag: Catching up with the Pacers after the All-Star Break
Assessing the new (old) starting lineup, gauging concerns about the offense of the team's best defender, and looking ahead to the playoffs By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper There's never a good time to get sick, but it certainly would've been preferable to get sick during or right before the All-Star Break, rather than after the All-Star Break -- when the Pacers have won three of their last four games and just finished playing three gam...
Pacers take "liberties" with opening set
Another example of WNBA influence in the NBA, along with other observations from a win that didn't see the Pacers sleepwalking against MemphisBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper Back onthe first day of December, when the Pacers played the Memphis Grizzlies on the road, Tyrese Haliburton was inconspicuously present, operating almost like an invisible string that existed only to pull and tug at the geometry of the floor. In that regard, whereas roo...
On Tyrese Haliburton's flair for flare screens
How the player who is still working to regain his All-Star form enhances the star in others with off-ball actions (that actually really do exist in today's NBA)By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_CooperDespite the fact that this past weekend was All-Star Weekend, neither the All-Stars nor the All-Star Game were exactly the center of attention. Instead, there was a very strange cognitive dissonance between asking the players to take the game more serious...
On Bennedict Mathurin, choosing his own adventure
In running a maze, the third-year guard also ran through the finish lineBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_CooperWhen Bennedict Mathurin was a sophomore at Arizona, it was easy to picture how the brash 20-year-old would overlay into Rick Carlisle's playbook. Tommy Lloyd's Wildcats ran plenty of NBA-like actions, some of which were even identical to those that were currently in play for the Pacers. On one night, he would feign setting a stack screen...
Finding a fast fix for the Pacers' slow starts
Examining why the Pacers keep getting down big in the first quarterBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_CooperDespite posting a 2-2 record, while digging out of double-digit deficits in wins over both the Jazz and Clippers, the Pacers got outscored 145-86 in the first quarter of the four games they played out west, trailing by at least 10 points in each of the four opening frames. As can probably be inferred from the massive score discrepancy, the problems f...
Explain One Play: How the Pacers put Pascal Siakam in "line" to fire
Yes, this is another article about Pascal Siakam's shooting development, because there needs to be another article about Pascal Siakam's shooting developmentBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_CooperIt could've been mistaken for a comedy set, only Los Angeles Clippers head coach Ty Lue certainly wasn't laughing. Toward the end of the second quarter, LA committed six turnovers in a row, with each seemingly becoming more slapstick in nature (i...
Aaron Nesmith is coming up clutch again
Why the high-motor wing is closing the gap on closing timeBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_CooperTurns out, the Pacers are clutch again. Not just because Tyrese Haliburton hit a go-ahead three-pointer to put Indiana up 108-106 over the Utah Jazz with a minute left to play. Or, because Pascal Siakam (quite literally) sealed the deal, salvaging a sidelines out of bounds play with his indomitable will in the form of a driving dunk shot to (also, quite liter...
On Pascal Siakam's changing star chart
And the shooting progression that underscores his third All-Star selectionBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_CooperThe adjustment was understandable enough. After Myles Turner tied his career high for made threes in a game on January 16, going 8-of-11 from deep with Detroit big man Jalen Duren repeatedly losing track of him on the perimeter as his primary assignment, the Pistons decided to make a change. Two weeks later, when the two teams met again on Wed...
Pacers Mailbag: A trade deadline preview that isn't really a trade deadline preview
Who stays and who goes? (just kidding)By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper As you all likely know by now, I will always say no to questions of the "who says no?" variety when it comes to fake trades. I never get the itch to dust off the trade machine, and I prefer to spotlight what ishappening with the Pacers on the court, while experiencing the here and now, rather than speculating about what couldhappen for the Pacers in the murky unknown of...
On the tres bien set that epitomized the Pacers' turnaround in Paris
Breaking down a specific change that led to a specific breakdown for San Antonio in Part Deux of the miniseries By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper In a game that saw the Pacers score a season high of 136 points while holding San Antonio to just 96.1 points per 100 possessions, Tyrese Haliburton finally had his moment of stardom in Paris that never materialized during the Olympics. Wearing red, white, and blue shoes emblazoned with gold, he was a ...
How the Pacers can avoid déjà vu in Paris
Déjà vu, loosely translated, means the dominance of Victor WembanyamaBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_CooperAfter being on the wrong side of a hero's welcome for Victor Wembanyama, who finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and five blocks to go with innumerable "heck no's" and "what the heck's" in what was a 140-110 beatdown win for the San Antonio Spurs, the Pacers have another chance at avoiding déjà vu in P...
What the flexibility of the closing lineup says about the Pacers
A commentary about Ben Sheppard that isn't really about Ben SheppardBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_CooperWhen it comes to big, late-game shot-making, the Pacers aren't clutch anymore. Not because the lights are too bright, but rather because they've been so lights out that they've rarely even been in the position to take big, late-game shots of late. In fact, since the dreadful loss to Charlotte on December 8 and the four-consecutive pr...
How the Pacers leveled up w/ The Dunker Spot
Talking into a microphone about the basketball played by the PacersBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_CooperWith the Pacers on a roll at the midway point of the season, Steve Jonesand Nekias Duncanwere kind enough to extend me an invitation to come talk about what has led to the team's sudden surge on the internet's favorite basketball podcast about actual basketball: The Dunker Spot.A year ago, when I was a guest on the show, we predominantly talk...
The Pacers are still figuring it out
On the adjustments from Round 2 of Cavs-Pacers and what it might mean for a potential Round 3By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper When asked what he likes about playing two-game, home-and-home miniseries, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson told reportersduring pregame media availability on Tuesday, "It's playoff-like -- especially when you lose."After the Pacers snapped Cleveland's 12-game win streak on Sunday, the atmospher...
Six wins in a row! Why the Pacers are playing hotter than ever
Breaking down a road win over the top-seeded Cleveland CavaliersBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper Entering into Sunday's marquee match-up between two of the hottest teams in the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers were 20-1 at home and had yet to be held below 100 points in any game this season. After giving up a 10-0 run to start the game, the Pacers were down by 13 at halftime, with Pascal Siakam going 2-of-11 from the field. Meanwhile, the team'...
Andrew Nembhard fixed the Pacers
The writtenworkat Basketball, She Wrote is typically paywalled. This article from Samson Folk, as an explainer of Andrew Nembhard's quiet importance to the Pacers that is slowly becoming much louder, is available as a free trial. If you're new here and want to support independent writing about actual basketball, please consider subscribingand/or sharing it around. Alright, on to his words about the Pacers. By: Samson Folk I @samfolkkTyler...
The Pacers have reached an observation point on defense
My work at Basketball, She Wrote is typically paywalled. This article, as an in-depth breakdown of why the Pacers have been strategically, statistically, and spiritually better on defense, is available as a free trial. If you're new here and want to support independent writing about actual basketball, please consider subscribingand/or sharing it around. Alright, on to the words about the Pacers.By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_CooperIn contrast to la...
How the Pacers found their comfort zone against zone
New Year, New Zone BusterBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper When a 19-point lead turned into a six-point loss against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Pacers were stymied by zone, as they were outscored 56-29 over the final 18:56 of action while mustering just 0.731 points per chance on 25 zone possessions. For the game, the Bucks played 29 possessions of zone, which was the third-most played by any team in any game this season. Overall, for a team that has...
How Tyrese Haliburton stopped himself from stopping himself
And how he was there, both in being present and with his presenceBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper Less than a week ago, when the Pacers fell by a score of 120-114 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Tyrese Haliburton scored four points on six shots -- none of which were hoisted in the final three minutes of the game, as a two-point lead for the Pacers turned into a six-point loss. After the game, Rick Carlisle said the following with regard to the star ...
Finding meaning in the death of a winning streak
While I'm still on the mend, Samson offered to cover the Thunder game from Toronto -- which means a very talented Canadian got to write about a lot of great basketball being played by Canadians on both teams. Enjoy his words on the spark of intrigue the Pacers showed, even in a loss.By: Samson Folk I @samfolkkWith one minute left in the game and a 2-point deficit to climb over, the Pacers placed their 2-3 zone in front of Shai Gilgeous-Alexan...
Mailbag: Has winning cured all ills for the Pacers?
Answering questions about a team that is starting to get healthierBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_CooperUnfortunately, just as the Pacers started playing some of their best basketball of the season, I started feeling my worst of the season. Turns out, 'tis the season for illness as well as the holidays, which are currently postponed for me. That said, although I remain on the injury report, I made it my priority to catch up on all of the games while...
