Basketball, She Wrote
patreon
Pacers In-Season Tournament Quarterfinal Preview
🕑 Added 2023-12-03 14:00:08 +0000 UTCBreaking down the knock-out round match-up with the Celtics from the film room
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
The Pacers went undefeated in the group stage of the NBA's In-Season Tournament and their reward for those efforts is playing the Boston Celtics -- the team with the best record in basketball who, as you likely recall (or, maybe, purposefully chose to forget?), hung 155 points on the Blue & Gold at the beginning of November. In allowing what their defense typically discourages, the Pacers were undone at the three-point line, getting outscored by 45 points from deep while surrendering their highest number of attempts (35) in a game this season.
Of course, Tyrese Haliburton wasn't available for that meeting, which should even out some of the discrepancy beyond the arc, assuming he's good to go. The film, meanwhile, suggests that both teams may have left some meat on the bone as far as making things difficult on each other. This is a prickly match-up for the Pacers, but there is plenty of room for improvement.
Let's dig in! As a note, Haliburton sat out Saturday against the Heat with an illness and Kristaps Porzingis is day-to-day with a left calf injury. For this exercise, we're going to operate as if both will be available -- although that may not turn out to be the case on Monday.
We'll see.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Introducing the match-up (this is a safe space)
0:42 - Tyrese Haliburton makes a difference
3:14 - Double Trouble -- To Three or Not to Three?
6:00 - Allowing what they typically discourage
8:35 - Avoiding transition cross-matches
9:52 - Jrue Holiday guarding up; the propensity for the Celtics to get weird on defense
14:08 - Dialing up the pressure
15:45 - Will the Celtics take a page from the Trail Blazers?
18:00 - Aaron Nesmith as a potential X-Factor
20:38 - Thank you and goodbye (enjoy the quarterfinals!)
Comments
LeoB95
Thank you for the analysis! Really helpful! Go Pacers!
Caitlin Cooper
That's so nice. Really glad you enjoyed it.
Marc
Ok, just saying Thanks for make me smarter basketball wise. Very didactic, very enjoyable. Awesome.
Caitlin Cooper
Appreciate it. I wish I would've known whether Porzingis was playing before I had to record it, but I still think most of it is evergreen -- hopefully! Thanks for the feedback.
Mike Harvey
Same with me. Really enjoyed this
Caitlin Cooper
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the feedback
Gavin
Really great stuff! Makes me look forward to the game on Monday even more. Gives me some things to look for. I've really enjoyed following all the changes the Pacers have implemented as the season has gone on, and there is no way I would be able to notice all them without your work!
Caitlin Cooper
Thanks, Kyle :)
Kyle Taylor
Love the preview content! It helps me understand the game a lot better when I'm watching it live. The game happens so fast on and off ball that it can be hard to take in exactly why things worked vs. broke down. Your analysis helps identify those things, which also makes the game more fun to watch.
