Pacers Advance to Semis, Playoff Mailbag - w/ Caitlin & Samson

Reveling in the mayhem that was Game 5 and answering mailbag questions

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

The Pacers opened Game 5 in a 13-0 hole. They only had 13 points at the end of the first quarter. They trailed by as many as 20 points, and they were down by seven with 40 seconds to play. And yet, somehow, even with Pascal Siakam playing the entire overtime with five fouls and only chipping in 10 points on the night as the team's season-long, most rock-solid performer, Indiana still managed to find enough heroics to steal the game and the series.

Here to help me find the words for a win in which there were no words is Samson Folk, who also joined for a special playoff-edition mailbag, with the questions coming exclusively from patrons (oh hey, consider becoming a subscriber!).

Here are the relevant timestamps:

0:00 - Introductions

2:15 - Reliving the first half to revel in the mayhem of the second half

7:09 - Tyrese, back in the driver's seat + a call-back to his game-winner against the Bucks from last season (the same play still works!)

10:46 - Tyrese also making a quiet impact on defense, along with Nesmith

14:26 - Nesmith's standout series and three-level scoring

20:09 - Reacting to the last 40 seconds

29:15 - Mail time!

29:22 - What difference would Isaiah Jackson make in the playoffs for the Pacers relative to Thomas Bryant?

36:25 - Who on this Pacers' team and in recent NBA history is the biggest non-star playoff riser (shoutout the 2015-16 Raptors-Pacers series)

44:26 - Standout micro-skills added by Pacers this season

52:02 - Should Samson and Caitlin be coaches and the differences between coaching and analyzing

1:01:34 - The popsicle of the month

1:07:10 - Samson teaches Caitlin about YouTube video titles + Samson does an impression of Caitlin

1:16:55 - Thank you for enjoying our banter + goodbye