A few thoughts about game two of the Pacers-Bucks series last night.
Once again the Pacers jumped out to a big, early lead. Not as much of an ass-kicking as in game one, but there was never any doubt who the better team was. And that was with Dame Lillard coming back. He actually played remarkably well in the first half, then clearly suffered a bit from his long layoff in the second half. The Bucks have so many holes, though, that his presence did not mask many of them.
The Pacers were rolling when, suddenly, the shots stopped falling in the third quarter. This was not because of anything the Bucks were doing. These were WIIIIIIIIDE open shots the Pacers just kept missing. They could have easily pushed the margin out over 20 and put the game to bed before the fourth quarter began.
Milwaukee did step up their defensive pressure eventually, and that did have an impact. The Pacers went stagnant on offense. The ball stopped moving and every possession turned into a slog of back-down, one-on-one nonsense resulting in forced, off-balance shots as the shot clock wound down. The Bucks made a couple runs thanks to this, even getting the margin down to just two points inside two minutes to play. The Pacers answered with consecutive 3’s sandwiched around a defensive stop and escaped with a 2–0 lead in the series.
The good news if you are Milwaukee is you found some things on defense Tuesday. You played well on offense most of the night. I still think they have too many holes, and the Pacers too many advantages, for that to swing the series. But I also don’t think this is an easy sweep for Indiana as it might seem after the first two games.
The bad news for Milwaukee, ironically, is that aside from the opening minutes, they played really well. Bobby Portis was draining 3’s. Giannis was doing Giannis things. Dame, as mentioned, looked solid and you assume will get better over the course of the series, although there is no telling how his body will react after spending weeks on blood thinners and not playing. Despite all that the Pacers still won, and only a 13–0 run late made it look competitive.
The road games are going to be harder than the first two, for sure. You figure Giannis has at least one GO OFF game in him this series that the Pacers won’t be able to do a thing about. But watching last night, I really appreciated how good this team is. They aren’t NBA title contenders, unless the Cavaliers and Celtics have multiple starters get injured in the coming weeks. But they are a damn solid team that is deep, can shoot, is pretty athletic, has gotten much better defensively, rebound better than a year ago, and play at a pace that is deadly to older teams without depth like the Bucks.
It’s hard to be in the middle in the NBA. For a decade the Pacers were on the wrong side of that middle, never getting those two really good players you need to challenge the best teams in the conference, but also never bad enough to get a franchise-altering talent. Even when they snuck into the high lottery, their reward was Bennedict Mathurin, a player I really like, but who is not THE guy you build around.
This is the perfect team for Indiana. They play hard. They are fun to watch. They win more than they lose. If you don’t have a true title contender, this is the kind of team you want.
There were two different double-technical foul moments Tuesday, and a ton of yapping back and forth. I was almost disappointed when Kevin Porter Jr. slapped hands with Thomas Bryant and apologized after earning a flagrant foul for tripping Bryant on a break. These teams have hated each other for over a year. There will be a genuine dust-up before this series is over. And I can’t wait for it.
While watching S asked me who my favorite Pacer was. I had a hard time answering. Haliburton should be obvious answer. He’s the guy who elevated the franchise after a decade of treading water. He was voted as the Most Overrated Player in the league in The Athletic this week. I’m convinced that is only because he talks so much trash. But it’s not fun trash, or menacing trash, the kinds that earn the respect of your opponent. It’s the always hiding behind a teammate trash. It’s the backing away during a timeout trash. It’s the deadball trash then acting surprised when the opponent takes offense. I’m fine with yapping, but his act can get tiresome.
As I said, I really like Mathurin. I think he’s a lower budget Anthony Edwards. Not as explosive or as purely talented as Ant, but a similar game and attitude. There’s an immaturity to his game (and Ant’s, coincidentally) that gives me pause. And I also wonder if he’s going to be the player that gets moved out as the front office has to deal with a salary/roster crunch this summer.
Pascal Siakam has such an interesting game, all weird angles and awkward lunges, and I admire it but I can’t say he’s my favorite.
Myles Turner has been on the Pacers longer than anyone else, and seems reenergized this year. But I still hold it against him for picking Texas over KU out of high school.
Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith both play their asses off, and keep getting better. But they are kind of quiet and anonymous and not the kind of players you get drawn to as favorites.
TJ McConnell is so much fun to watch. He should not be a good NBA player, but wills himself to it every night. But I’ve never been an “adopt the little guy” guy when it comes to picking my favorite player.
Obi Toppin is the best in-game dunker in the NBA, and has turned himself into a decent shooter. But can you really pick a bench player who sometimes disappears just because he has jaw-dropping dunks once a week?
I told S the obvious answer is Johnny Furphy. Jokingly, of course. I think Furph has a bright future, but he needs to be a rotation guy for my Jayhawk love to win out.
After all that the answer is that I don’t have a true favorite Pacer. And despite all those caveats and disclaimers, it’s more about this being a balanced team where everyone is a part of the team’s success than the positives and negatives of any particular player.
