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Basketball, She Wrote

Basketball, She Wrote

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Basketball, She Wrote posts

On Ben Sheppard and the art of misdirection

Explaining the play that has the No. 26 overall pick emerging as a surprise

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

As if the piercing sound of non-stop whistles wasn't already disorienting enough, the Pacers added to the confusion, at least for a brief moment, with a dizzying set to free up the player who currently leads the team in made threes: Ben Sheppard. On Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets,...

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What matters from the Pacers' preseason debut

On the overarching trends and standout takeaways, presented as winners and losers

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

Watching preseason basketball can be like looking in a funhouse mirror, with the reflection that meets the eye being a distorted version of reality -- only the reality, insomuch as you can't discern the future in the same way that you are likely already intensely familiar with the true natur...

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How the Pacers spent their summer vacation

As told by Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard 

By Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

Shortly after 10 PM EST on Monday night, the Pacers started uploading player interviews from Media Day to YouTube. Why they waited so long to meaningfully engage with fans after not providing a livestream was certainly an interesting choice, but that's a topic for another day. With a roster full of rotation-caliber ...

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Who should come off the bench for the Pacers?

A detailed attempt to project the pecking order for the second unit

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

When it comes to the starting lineup for the Pacers, there aren't that many unknowns. Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner are locks. After reaching agreement on a contract that will make him the highest paid player on the team, it seems unlikely that Bruce Brown is going to earn $22.5 million to come...

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Pacers Player Previews: Haliburton, McConnell, Nembhard

Talking into a microphone about the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

As the saying goes, all good things must eventually come to an end. Of course, with this being the final player preview podcast, that also means that training camp is only just beginning. At any rate, today's episode with Tony East from Locked on Pacers covers the point guard position, looking ahead at what's to come for Tyrese Haliburton, T.J. McConnell...

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Pre-Preseason Mailbag Road Trip

Answering mailbag questions while traveling to South Bend, Indiana

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

As promised, this is the second part of the mailbag. After providing detailed, written analysis for some of the more technical questions dealing with the immediacy of the news surrounding the possibility of trading Buddy...

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Pacers Player Previews: Brown, Nesmith, Nwora

Talking into a microphone about the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

Unlike the reportedly stalled contract negotiations between the Pacers and Buddy Hield, Tony East and I continue to be in lockstep with our partnership to forge ahead with player previews. For this episode, we discussed what we termed as the small forward position and centered the con...

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Buddy Hield, Bennedict Mathurin, & trading spacing

Answering mailbag questions about potentially trading Buddy Hield, making space for and with Bennedict Mathurin, and what it means for Haliburton.

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

Michael Prather - What's your feel for extending Buddy, and what is a number that makes sense for the organization? It wouldn't seem to make sense with our cheaper, younger and more well-rounded potential starters...

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Pacers Player Previews: Jackson, Theis, Turner

Talking into a microphone about the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

With training camp just around the corner, Tony East and I are gearing up for the upcoming season with player previews. For this episode, we turned our attention to the center position, mulling over the options at back-up...

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Pacers Player Previews: Mathurin, Hield, Sheppard

Talking into a microphone about the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

After previously diving into the power forward position, Tony East and I are back with another player preview pod. For this episode, we look at what's ahead for Bennedict Mathurin, Buddy Hield, and Ben Sheppard, w...

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Pacers Player Season Preview: Walker, Toppin, Smith

Talking into a microphone about the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

With training camp less than a month away, Tony East and I are teaming up for another podcast series. This time, previewing the upcoming season for every player on the standard roster, with the following format as t...

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How Tyrese Haliburton hits the mark with hit aheads

I have this friend, Evin Gualberto, who coaches at one of the most prestigious high school basketball programs in the country and has over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, where he cuts together granular aspects of player skill...

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How the In-Season Tournament will test the Pacers

And why the NBA's new competition should serve as a measuring stick for Indiana's defense

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

The 2023-24 NBA season will be the first with an In-Season tournament. Where some people view this development as a meaningless gimmick, others see an opportunity for extra marquee match-ups while potentially giving young teams a chance to have a bigger stage and play games und...

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Podcast: Indiana Pacers 2023-24 Season Outlook

Talking into a microphone about the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

'Tis the season for preview pods! As part of his annual outlook series at Dunc'd On, Nate Duncan invited me over ...

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FIBA-Themed Mailbag (Plus, Pacers and more!)

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

With the FIBA Men's World Cup beginning this weekend, it seemed fitting to honor the occasion  with red, white, and blue popsicles in a nod to Tyrese Haliburton playing for Team USA. As such, after catching a free Kroger gift card at the Indiana Fever game I recently attended, this month's mailbag has once again been combined with the patron-only popsicle content and features a trip to the grocery store to buy supplies on the cheap. So, join me...

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On Tyrese Haliburton's progress with Team USA

And how it applies to the Pacers

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

After signing a max contract extension and covering the most recent addition of SLAM Magazine, the Summer of Tyrese Haliburton is about to stretch into late-August, as Team USA plays the first of three FIBA World Cup group games in the Philippines against New Zealand on August 26, followed by Greece (Aug. 28) and Jordan (Aug. 30). Of cours...

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How the Pacers are advancing the past in the present

On the play that connects two eras and why the common thread also doubles as a line of demarcation 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

Deep in the heart of the offseason, when the schedule has yet to be released, transactions are at a standstill, and The Discourse is consumed by debates over NBA2K24 ratings, the void of actual NBA basketball is generally filled by offseason workouts or the occa...

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Talking about Obi Toppin w/ The Strickland

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

Obi Toppin is not the only topic discussed during this wide-ranging conversation, which also covers the basketball played by the Pacers and their long-time rival (if that's still a thing?) New York Knicks, but he is the main reason why we're gathered here today.

I already wrote a deep d...

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On Myles Turner, jump balls, and staying grounded

An analysis of what the tipping point should be for the Pacers on opening tips

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

A little less than a month after 2023-08-07 12:40:59 +0000 UTC View Post

Change is coming for Bennedict Mathurin in Year 2

And what can be learned from the passes he made and didn't make

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

It's October 26 and Bennedict Mathurin is seeking additional instruction from his coach following a timeout. Reading lips is tricky, but the general message is clear enough: slip the screen and drive, if open.

<...

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Basketball, She Wrote Offseason Mailbag Road Trip

Blacktops & Popsicle Shops, anyone?

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

With this being the offseason portion of the offseason, there seemed like no greater time than the present to go on another excursion, combining the monthly mailbag with the patron-only popsicle content. For July, I decided to make the trek to Fort Wayne, where I toured around various parks and answered your questions about the Pace...

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Pacers Summer League Takeaways with Tony East

Talking into a microphone about the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

With Summer League coming to an end for the Pacers, Tony East and I decided to team up for an exit survey of sorts, reviewing the performances of the players who will be on standard contract next season, as well as w...

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How the Pacers are using bait and switch tactics

Plus, the real of what one false action encapsulates about two players, being Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin, at Summer League

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

For those of you who have been staying up to date with Basketball, She Wrote since the beginning (you know, way back in February), you might remember that I'm a big fan of Gilmore Girls. After all, when I introduced this ...

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What was learned by what could be overheard from the Pacers

Learning through listening: On why the sounds from Summer League might reveal as much as the sights with regard to the upcoming season for the Pacers

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

Well, here's a sentence you don't read everyday: there was a lot to be gleaned about the defense that was played in a summer league game. With rosters that are brimming with youth and fraught with unfamiliarity in an ...

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How Obi Toppin can stay active with the Pacers

And how active is too active?

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

If and when Chris Duarte gets traded to the Sacramento Kings, it will almost be like the Pacers swapped him for Obi Toppin. Two second-round picks is all it took to land Toppin from the Knicks, and some form of draft compensation is expected to be the return for Duarte. Toppin was selected No. 8 overall in the 2020 draft, and Duarte went to t...

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How Bruce Brown's adaptations can adapt to the Pacers

And why the Pacers can't have too much of a good thing 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

I have a confession to make. Despite blogging about the NBA for nearly a decade, I've never been to Las Vegas for Summer League or any other purpose. From what I've heard, it's an amazing atmosphere for basketball, networking, and food. Media members meet up with other media members, fans can watch games w...

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2023 Pacers Summer League: What To Watch For

The meaningful guide to meaningless basketball 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

It's that time of year again, when rosters chock-full of young players and short on familiarity gather in Las Vegas, playing basketball in an environment that breeds bucket-getting. Well, maybe that applies to the rest of the teams. For the Pacers, who are apparently sending two players who could both be starters...

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Basketball, She Wrote Mailbag Road Trip

Answering post-draft questions about the Pacers

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

As you likely recall, I sent out a general call for mailbag questions following the NBA Draft on Thursday night. What follows is my answers to those questions, presented as a multi-media extravaganza, meshing the mailbag with the monthly patron-only popsicle content. While traveling to Frankfort, Indiana, I recorded response...

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NBA Draft Analysis: GG Jackson, Chris Livingston

A lightning round version of Stock Up, Stock Down, analyzing players who the Pacers could select with their additional first round picks or in the second round. 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

Believe it or not, the draft is this week. Apparently, times flies when you're pulling all-nighters, glued to your laptop watching film of prospects like you're cramming for finals week. When I started this ...

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NBA Draft Analysis: Gradey Dick

Analyzing whether Gradey Dick fits the Pacers as well as they fit him 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

Turns out, after bringing in Jarace Walker, Taylor Hendricks, and Cam Whitmore, the Pacers weren't quite done visiting with players projected to be in range for them at No. 7 on Draft Night. Ausar Thompson cancelled his meeting that was set for Friday, and Gradey Dick stopped by on Thursday....

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