Basketball, She Wrote

Why Myles Turner is no longer the "center" of attention

On losing a franchise fixture while searching for a potentially better long-term fix

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

After advancing to the NBA Finals with the team that drafted him 11th overall in 2015, Myles Turner is no longer the "center" of attention in Indiana. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the starting ...

2025 Pacers Summer League: Rookies

Taking a look at what to watch for from the newest Pacers

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

In the wake of Game 7, it seems as though time is both standing still and flying by. Although fans of the Pacers may still be trying to process the harsh conclusion to what was a fairy tale-like run to the NBA Finals, the league has continued to march on. Somehow, the NBA Draft already came and went, and the calendar is ...

Pacers End-of-Season Mailbag Recap and Lookahead - w/ Caitlin & Samson

Thanks so much for allowing us to add and be part of your playoff experience

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end and despite the bitter ending that was Game 7, the 2025 Pacers were certainly a very good thing that deserves to be celebrated. Joining me to both ruminate and reminisce about the harsh conclusion to their incredible run, while also looking ahead ...

Moving on from Game 7 without letting go of Game 7

What follows is my response to a mailbag question in which I was asked by patron Matthew Hogg, "Why do we do this to ourselves?" in the wake of the nightmare fuel that was Game 7. Just this once, a blog that isn't (specifically) about the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers, but rather our relationship to the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers.

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

Toward the end of the 2...

Thunder cap off historic season with championship

Sad end to a very fun season

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

The pressure that changed in Game 6, remained different. Not shying away from what worked, the Pacers kept meeting the Thunder at half-court and were able to keep them bottled up early and often. On the other side, they were fueled by three early bombs from Tyrese Haliburton that he launched over the Maginot line the Thunder had put up. 

It w...

Pacers put the pressure on OKC, force Game 7 by dialing back their press

Indiana is one win away from an NBA Championship

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

Turns out, the series isn't over until it's actually over. For a team that somehow picked up a reputation as frontrunners, the Pacers have been incomparably elite at finding ways to find a way, whether pulling off late-game miracle comebacks or, in the case of Game 6, amassing an unexpected 31-point lead in order to force an all...

Pacers comeback in series to force Game 7

Mandate of Heaven is back in play.

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

The opening featured a good bit of Tyrese Haliburton feeling out where his comfort zone was on ball, and to little effect, with a little bit of Aaron Nesmith grenade BLOB catches mixed in. A slow start on offense as they started 0-8 from the field before Pascal Siakam hit a jumper. Nothing too bad on defense really, but Jalen Williams had carried over the juice he’s had in the three previous games and conti...

Pacers take turn(over) for the worst, return to Indiana down 3-2

The basketball is (ahem) the most important part of basketball

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

As if racking up 22 turnovers, leading to 32 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder, wasn't bad enough, the Pacers also seemed to take a bad turn with Tyrese Haliburton, who finished with postseason lows in both shots per touch (0.089) and drives per 100 possessions (8.451), as he was deployed mainly as a decoy while ...

Thunder backcourt dominates, as OKC takes Game 5

Game 5! Hold onto your butts!

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

Early screen and roll for Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. A made middy and a made triple come from it for the Pacers dynamic forward. The Pacers had great energy in their actions and were outfoxing the double-big lineup on one end, however, the Thunder were doing a tremendous job of scoring at an even higher clip on the other side. The step up scr...

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out-clutches Pacers, as series changes with series of changes

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

After leading by as many as 10 points in Game 4, the Pacers were outscored 31-17 in the fourth quarter. For a team that was previously 9-1 in clutch games throughout the playoffs, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out-clutched the Pacers all by himself over the final five minutes, tallying 15 points to just seven for Indiana. Whereas the Pacers struggled to regain traction while screening Gilgeous-Alex...

SGA steals Game 4 with 4th quarter explosion

By: Samson Folk | @samfolkk

Harkening back to the cozy confines of their winning basketball, the Thunder started double big. The Pacers forced the change at the outset of the series and the change in the middle. It was a boon (boon, baby??) offensively for the home team, who got out to their best offensive start of the series, and doing so by pulling the Thunder bigs away from their strengths. Siakam hit a corner tri...

Pacers strike back in electric Game 3 win, storm to 2-1 lead over Thunder

Talking about the sights and scenes from Game 3

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

In what was a 116-107 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Pacers stood their ground, providing reason for the fans in attendance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to stand for a large portion of the fourth quarter. Like trade winds that abruptly change in strength and direction, Indiana found stability, striking back in Game 3, by ov...

Pacers find brilliance everywhere as they take Game 3

By: Samson Folk | @samfolkk

Walking around Indy prior to the game was like being inside of a beehive without any animosity. Simply walking among the buzz. Once inside the arena, with every second that ticked closer to game time, the buzz grew into a roar - and a roar that maintained its punch well into the first quarter when people finally relented and sat down. Indiana was golden clad, extremely loud, and ready for ...

Thunder keep Pacers off-balance in lopsided Game 2 loss

Indiana needs find a means to get downhill in order to avoid fighting another uphill battle in Game 3

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

In what was a lopsided 123-107 loss for the Indiana Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton struggled to find space to be effective as a driver, and, in the reverse, Pascal Siakam had to drive in order to effectively find space. Meanwhile, just as Oklahoma City narrowed the court on defense,...

SGA dazzles as Thunder constrict Pacers in Game 2

Indiana couldn't create or take away space

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

Two teams overloading on the ball. Two teams hitting some catch and shoot triples. The pressure was on. For one, players were met high up court, and with bothersome, poking, intrusive arms. For two, the Oklahoma City faithful, at their quietest, provided a loud humming and buzzing to score the game. At their loudest? A raucous cheering wi...

Tyrese Haliburton silences Thunder, pulls Pacers up to 1-0 series lead

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

Like a ray of sunlight streaming through a gap in the clouds, Tyrese Haliburton silenced the roaring Thunder, pulling off his latest miracle by pulling up to his preferred right for a game-winning two with 0.3 seconds left to play that saw the Pacers overcome a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter as they closed big even while playing small. In that regard, Oklahoma City didn't just blink o...

Tyrese Haliburton steals Game 1 of Finals, as Pacers continue to perfect the heist

It happened again.

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

The Thunder abandoned the double big lineup immediately. Meaningful. No time wasted thinking about locker room politics or anything like that. Cut the fluff, go straight to the better lineups.

A winding, twisting layup from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got the Finals started, and his downhill momentum was the motivator of everything OKC did early on (Aaron Nesmith and A...

The Definitive Pacers vs Thunder NBA Finals Preview

It's about to get weird

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

When it comes to the two teams that advanced to the NBA Finals, abnormal is the new normal. One team, helmed by arguably the most unconventional mover in the NBA, also defies conventional wisdom on defense, overhelping and swarming the ball with just as much unpredictable efficacy as the league MVP's next step. The other team, meanwhile, makes room for e...

Pacers run past Knicks in Game 6, advance to NBA Finals!!

Another round of Pacers basketball!

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

By loading up in transition against the New York Knicks in Game 6, the Pacers are now transitioning to the NBA Finals for the first time in a quarter century. Turns out, one of many solutions to shedding the increased pressure was simply passing the ball overhead, rather than trying to maneuver (or disengage) side-by-side. For the game, the ...

The stars come out as the Pacers run to the Finals

The Pacers are going to the NBA Finals

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

I told you, I write WINS not tragedies.

The first play was for Siakam to attack Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson through an inverted action and Aaron Nesmith slips wide open to the bucket. Nice. Brunson shook loose for two lefty fin...

Changing of the "guard" leads to Game 5 letdown for Pacers, resulting in 3-2 series

On what changed for Indiana's guards and may still need to change with regarding to guarding Karl-Anthony Towns

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

With a chance to advance to the NBA Finals, the Pacers let their guard down and vice versa. After amassing a historic triple-double in Game 4, Tyrese Haliburton was held to just eight points on 2-of-7 shooting in Game 5, as the Knicks notched their highest average pick-up poin...

Hapless Pacers drop Game 5 to Knicks

That basically says it all

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

The first quarter belonged to Jalen Brunson. Both teams come into every game looking for ways to unleash their star point guard on the other team and the Knicks were tremendous at funneling possessions to Brunson, and away from Tyrese Haliburton on the other end. The Knicks star guard had 14 points in a rush, on seven shots, and scored in a variety of ways. 

The Knicks really upped their pressure on the o...

Tyrese Haliburton outpaces Knicks, pushes (Pace)rs up 3-1 in series

Indiana is on the brink of the NBA Finals

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

In what was a 130-121 win for the Indiana Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton didn't let the pressure get to him. Not only, figuratively, in rebounding from the 20-point lead that was squandered in Game 3, but also literally, as his persistence to rebound ignited the offense in transition, with him amassing 32 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists, fou...

Haliburton makes history as Pacers outlast Knicks in Game 4

One more win.

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

We were going fast, ladies and gentlemen. Everyone was out and running, but especially Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, whose offense fueled basically everything that the Pacers did well on that end (although Aaron Nesmith was quite good as well) as they combined for 26 first quarter points on 12 shots. 

The early returns of the double big lineup out of ...

Look what the KAT dragged in: Pacers collapse in Game 3 loss to Knicks

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

Whether referring to it as a KATnap or asking what the KAT dragged in, the Pacers squandered a 20-point lead to the New York Knicks in what became a deflating 106-100 loss in Game 3, as they struggled to maintain their (ahem) "center" of attention, both in stopping Karl Anthony-Towns in the fourth quarter as well as scoring against Karl Anthony-Towns (with foul trouble!) in the fourth quarter.

Joining me to discuss what led to the second-half collap...

Pacers lose pace, offense in Game 3 loss

Well.

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

Everything is bigger in Indiana, or at least the Knicks starting lineup is. The Pacers zipped the ball around and forced the double bigs to step up and around the perimeter, but a bad run of shot making put them in a bit of a hole early. Also, Jalen Brunson seems almost impossibly good at carving space from the middle of the floor. The talent he has to navigate that traffic ...

Pascal Siakam makes a mismatch out of Knicks, leads Pacers to 2-0 series lead

Breaking down the starring performance of Indiana's non-centralized star

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

Following Game 1, with the Pacers guarding Jalen Brunson by forcing him to guard, it seemed as though this might be a more muted series for Pascal Siakam. After all, there were times (for good reason), that he could be seen merely standing in the corner, removing O.G. Anunoby from the action, as the guards proceed...

Pascal Siakam dazzles to steal Game 2 in the Garden

Let’s rock

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

The Knicks opened by switching out on to Tyrese Haliburton first thing, meaning Karl-Anthony Towns would have to move his feet a lot. No more drop. So, the Pacers shifted to a lot of looks for their max player early. Pascal Siakam scored the Pacers first 11 points! He was super aggressive going at O.G. Anunoby with the post up and the turnaround twice, two great finis...

Mission Improbable: Pacers pull off all-time stunner in Game 1 win over Knicks

Indiana "bounced" back in the clutch after trailing by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

The Indiana Pacers were down 108-92 when Rick Carlisle called a timeout with 7:22 to play in the fourth quarter. After breaking from the huddle, his team went on to outscore the New York Knicks 46-27 while erasing a 14-point lead in the final three minutes of regulation to pull off...

Nesmith & Haliburton guide Pacers to heist of Game 1

Wow, again.

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

The Pacers started 10-of-11 from the floor. The Knicks struggled mightily to keep tabs on all of the motion, and Karl Anthony-Towns in particular was caught up in the mixer. Have to credit the Pacers for being able to rope Jalen Brunson into a Tyrese Haliburton action early that netted a layup for the Pacers. It was elite, elite offensive process. To their credit, the Kn...