Breaking the Seal

A reminder: Caitlin’s deep dive comes later. This is just supposed to hold you over.

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

We have found the pace! If ever there was a team that needed to exude their namesake on the court? It would be these Pacers. A massive 30-percent of their first quarter possessions came in transition, and let them burst out to an early lead. A stark contrast to what we saw in game 1 – wherein we discussed punches, counterpunches etc. – and a meaningful change. Damian Lillard still went ballistic, and Brook Lopez even joined him. Those two provided 21 points from the 3-point line for the Bucks in the first quarter alone. However, the Pacers could eat those scoring spurts because – largely led by Tyrese Haliburton – they pushed with vigor and they did it often. 

Siakam didn’t fall to the wayside with the new Pacers, though. He still led the scoring early and often, but Obi Toppin was able to press the Pacers advantage at the 4. 45 cuts directly to the rim in transition, made triples after the Pacers sunk elsewhere, and grab-and-go opportunities allowed the Pacers forward duo to do the heavy lifting early on, to the tune of a combined 20 points on 12 shots. Still though, Lillard continued to be the best player in the series. Shaking loose into driving lanes, keeping his primary defenders on the back foot constantly, and putting major pressure on a Pacers defense that – while it did a much better job of walling off the rim – struggled immensely to put the clamps on. 

The ask, of course, of these Pacers: play acceptable defense, as your offense leads you to victory. Coming out of the first half with a lead while eating a really strong shooting performance from the Bucks? That’s a massive win. It was all the better that the difficulty on a large proportion of the Bucks threes were extremely high. The Pacers played faster, they played with more intention, more grit, and they created better looks. 

On top of all that, Siakam – who was the NBA’s leading playoff scorer after 1 game – continued along at his torrid pace. The motivation for trading for Siakam was pretty clear: get a forward who can provide a bit more flexibility and stopping power; but more than that, get a player who can organize offense for himself and others. 

Through six playoff quarters, Siakam had provided a tremendous floor with his driving game that always puts pressure on opposing defenses. What popped in the second quarter of game 2, was the 3-point shot. 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and with 9 of his points coming from downtown. With Lillard providing true throwback performances, Siakam was meeting him at the top of the mountain and leaving the rest of the Pacers to handle the rest of the Bucks. If someone offered you that battle before the series started? You’d take that 10 times out of 10. 

In the third quarter the Pacers continued to exact their preferred style on the game. Push quick, push hard, push often. A little bit more volume at the rim, still a lot of volume in the short mid-range - places to score from and playmake reliably - evidenced, quite easily, by the fact that they passed the game 1 assist total in almost half the time. More energy in that ball, more energy in the offense, more agrarian buckets as it were. The Pacers were still waiting for their star guard to put his foot in this game from a shotmaking point of view. He was still stirring the pot, as is asked of him routinely by his squad, but with over 75-percent of the game having passed, he still sat at 6 points on 28-percent shooting. 

The fourth quarter? A flex. A celebration of the Pacers getting back to their expected offensive dominance. Not only did Haliburton hit a pull-up three and start to undress the Bucks defense through the pick n’ roll. The speed of the game opened up the floor for a wide variety of scoring opportunities across the roster. Ben Sheppard – whose defense was paramount in this game – soared in transition, weaved through the Bucks, and kissed a reverse layup off the glass. Nembhard hit two sterling fall away faders in the mid-range in the fourth quarter. Siakam busted off mini-runs by operating in his office – the short mid-range – and delivering a handful of billables. 

Maybe we can close this out by focusing on Siakam a little more, because he’s competing with Lillard for the defining player of the series thus far. He has been unbelievable. Perfect, so far. Working hard for post-touches where he can reward the team as a whole by shouldering so much of the offense; sealing early for hit-aheads, and doing all of it without commandeering the offense in an uncomfortable way. The offense is partially his, as it should be, but he’s been striking the perfect balance. Extending his dribble is done for the danger of the team, not for ball-sticking purposes. The early threes helped dissuade the Bucks away from exaggerated defense against him. More than anything, Siakam is exhibiting for the moment, a superstar level of shotmaking and he’s doing it in the flow, with his hand perfectly measuring the pulse of the game. 

Your Pacers have won their first playoff game since April 27th of 2018. Cherish this one. To refer back to the first piece? The Pacers have provided the counterpunch, and maybe most importantly, played at a level that makes it more believable that they can hang with the Giannis version of the Bucks. We’ve got ourselves a series. 

Have a blessed day.