Basketball, She Wrote

Defensive holes result in 0-2 series hole for Pacers

Added 2024-05-09 21:22:12 +0000 UTC

On why there weren't enough stops and what else stopped the Pacers in Game 2 loss

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

A New York Knicks team that was already down by Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Mitchell Robinson scored 130 points against the Indiana Pacers while also sustaining injuries to Jalen Brunson, who missed time due to foot soreness in the first half, and O.G. Anunoby, who made an early exit and never returned with a hamstring injury during the third quarter.

That's the story from this game. Full stop. There were not enough stops -- especially when considering that the starters for the Pacers gave up a 20-2 run over a six-and-a-half minute span in the third quarter while also once again getting outscored 25-18 during crunch-time with comparably fresher legs as they attempted to throw the kitchen sink at Brunson and, in so doing, ended up springing a whole bunch of concurrent leaks elsewhere.

For an in-depth discussion of what led to the Pacers falling into a 0-2 hole on the road, Samson Folk is back to talk about the challenges facing the team on defense, what led to some of the untimely scoring lulls, and whether rotation changes should've been made.

Here are the relevant timestamps:

0:00 - Introductions

0:45 - Should T.J. McConnell and/or Obi Toppin have been in the closing lineup?

5:15 - What is gained or lost with McConnell guarding Brunson instead of Nembhard

11:27 - Dispelling of blame and acknowledging that the Knicks are playing really well

12:45 - Achiuwa guarding Siakam compared to Brunson defending Toppin

17:03 - Siakam's defense against Anunoby

19:33 - Offensive woes during the third quarter

22:40 - How effective was the half-court trapping against Brunson

27:16 - Toothless help defense and the stark contrast in commitment between both teams

29:07 - Thoughts on the officiating

32:20 - Defending Josh Hart one pass away

38:08 - Potential defensive adjustments

45:39 - Is T.J. getting more on-ball creation reps because of his playmaking or the off-ball spacing concerns, and why the answer says a lot about the team's current predicament

48:04 - Thank you and Goodbye