Basketball, She Wrote
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What the IST Finals revealed about the Pacers
🕑 Added 2023-12-11 02:02:12 +0000 UTCBy: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
To quote Dr. Seuss (which admittedly is a very strange and corny thing to do when blogging about NBA Basketball): "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." With Tyrese Haliburton taking his game to the next level, that's exactly how the Pacers should view the run they made in the In-Season Tournament -- not only because they advanced to the Finals, but also because the Finals provided them with a test-run for what can be expected when and if they return to the playoffs. As such, with the Los Angeles Lakers blitzing Tyrese Haliburton and laying waste to the paint, there's reason to return once more to the film room, concluding this series with a look at some potential lessons in defeat.
Timestamps:
0:00 - It's always LeBron
0:51 - The Lakers getting the other Pacers involved, for better and worse
8:09 - Pointing out the increase of Bennedict Mathurin at the point of attack
11:45 - Obi Toppin going over the top of screens (why?)
13:55 - LeBron as the screener and in the post + IJax as a bright spot
17:14 - The possession that best epitomizes this game, this defense, and these defenders
18:56 - Slice screens strike again!
20:53 - Thank you and Goodbye -- on to the rest of the season
Comments
Caitlin Cooper
For sure
Caitlin Cooper
This is the way!
Frank M Cook
I liked hearing Tyrese tell the team that they needed to figure it out. It's great that he viewed the situation as a puzzle with a solution he needed to find.
DrClumber
Looking forward to sitting down and watching this with a hot chocolate and a popsicle. (A lemon sherbet one).
Rafa
Awesome job (as always). You confirmed the thing that confused me all game. If the Pacers aren't going to help off anyone on the perimeter why are they picking up ball handlers 40 feet from the basket? None of those guys are Steph Curry. I think asking Toppin to try lead to him sitting down after about 2 mins of play in the 2nd half. They seem to love the pressure that TJ and Nasmith bring but I don't think you can ask everyone on the squad to recreated it. Even with them I question it sometimes. Nasmtih wind up fouling non shooters a ton. The team fouls a lot in general. They can push pace off makes and are great at it I don't think you can push pace off foul shots though. Everyone starts bunched up under the hoop and it easy to identify your man. The other side of the coin is they only gave up 2 three point makes and if they shot better they could have won. regardless, inviting the opposition to drive on mismatches doesn't seem right. Anyway sorry about the rant and thank you for the content.
Gavin
Good stuff! More than any game this season, it was clear the Lakers (and specifically Lebron/AD) were going to attack the paint over and over. I really thought the Pacers might try to make the Lakers beat them from three.
