Basketball, She Wrote
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On the tres bien set that epitomized the Pacers' turnaround in Paris
🕑 Added 2025-01-26 03:57:01 +0000 UTCBreaking 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 "triomphe" behind the arc, knocking down four threes along with a pull-up two as he exploded for 14 points over a stretch of just 2:10 in the third quarter.
And yet, long before that bombastic run came into being, there was a play that led to his first made shot of the game that was arguably just as tres bien, epitomizing how the Pacers went from losing by 30 a few days ago to topping the same opponent by 38 on Saturday, even if not involving a trey.
Just as a reminder, the Pacers scored a measly 0.619 points per chance when Turner was the screener on Thursday with Victor Wembanyama as the screener defender. Meanwhile, Turner was tracked as setting a total of 57.7 ball screens per 100 possessions, which was his third-highest total in any game this season. On Saturday, he was a far less frequent screener, only notching 37.3 picks per 100 possessions, with the Pacers tallying 1.192 points per chance on those plays.
In essence, less was more -- especially with regard to how much more they moved Wembanyama ahead of the screen while simultaneously attacking him less directly head on. Here's what happened.
With 7:13 to play in the first quarter, Myles Turner approached as though he was going to set a flex screen for Bennedict Mathurin, which actually turned into Mathurin clipping Wembanyama for Turner.
From there, the play progressed as flex offense normally would, with Turner then receiving a pindown screen from Andrew Nembhard to cut from the weak-side block to the weak-side elbow area.
Only, Turner didn't just cut to the weak-side elbow area looking for a shot, he sprinted into a ball-screen for Haliburton, with the pindown from Nembhard working to delay Wembanyama's ball-screen defense.
Then, if that wasn't enough, as Turner was darting to the rim, Nembhard made a subtle impact with his no-so-subtle impact, flipping around to set a bone-crushing stack screen in the lane so as to impede Wembanyama's ability to backpedal.
For those keeping track, that means the Pacers forced Wembanyama to navigate four different types of screens on the same possession.
In the end, Haliburton was able to glide easily to the rim, as the resistance from Chris Paul, quite literally, didn't measure up to that which had previously been applied by the towering French phenom in the prior game.
In addition to occupying Wembanyama from roaming with a maze of picks, those types of plays, which produced higher quality shots, also allowed the Pacers to set their defense, as Turner was repeatedly responsible for shadowing San Antonio's star the full-length of the floor.
That level of attention was evident on the next possession, as the ball-handler got around the edge of the defense with Turner hugging Wembanyama on the perimeter. This time, though, the improved aggressiveness and cohesion that didn't seem to make the trip in the prior game, apparently caught a later flight for Saturday. When Siakam rotated as the low-man, Haliburton sprinted to the corner. When Barnes walked Haliburton into the post, Siakam rotated to double. When Siakam stepped up to help, Nembhard deflected the drop-off pass, knocked the ball away again from behind, and then, somehow, also managed to save the rebound despite crashing alongside Wembanyama from outside the three-point line.
In that way, just as Haliburton went on an epic heater from three, Nembhard stayed consistently hot on defense.
After halftime, with Siakam getting more of the ball at different entry points through the first two quarters than what was the case in the first game, San Antonio made the adjustment to guard him with Wembanyama. Even so, the Pacers ran that same play again, connecting flex to stack as the opening set of the second half. Rather than chasing through and around multiple picks, Wembanyama was supposed to get to stay low, hanging out with all of his height in tall grass, waiting to pounce. The only problem is, when he pounced, Haliburton skipped the ball to the opposite corner, anticipating that the stifling big man would scram out the mismatch after the Spurs switched the ball screen.
With Siakam as the recipient of the pass against a smaller defender, he proceeded to do exactly what he does in his wheelhouse from mid-range against smaller defenders.
For that reason, while not a flurry of threes, those two possessions, jump-started by the same play, epitomize what the stunning turnaround was for the Pacers in that they made a concerted effort (with palpable effort) to avoid the déjà vu of Wembanyama's defensive presence -- along with Thursday's performance.
No one will be taking home a gold medal, but Les Bleu & Gold will be leaving Paris with a win, finishing the business trip with their stars shining brightly in the city of lights, as they found a means to somehow be less occluded by the far-reaching shadow of Wembanyama.
Comments
Jay Rigdon
I liked Rick taking Tyrese out for a chat at the scorer's table that lasted just a few possessions in the third, followed by Tyrese going on the big run. Obviously I'm not an expert, but it seemed like it was partly in response to Tyrese driving aimlessly and throwing two panic jump passes back out to no advantage across a few possessions. Excellent bit of star coaching, and an amazing response from Haliburton, too. I still believe it's going in whenever he shoots, so I like when he gets in that mindset too.
Flyover Country
No love for Tyrese drawing Wembanyama then dishing a no look pass past him to a cutting Myles 😉? As always, thank you for the fun and educational article. The game is more fun for me the more I learn to see it as you see it. I hope you are fully recovered from your recent downtime episode.
Quinn
I laughed out loud when Nembhard hit him with that second screen in the first quarter but I missed the evolution of that action in the third quarter - thanks for calling it out!
Norma
Enjoyed your breakdown
