By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk
A reminder: Caitlin’s deep dive comes later. This is just supposed to hold you over.
The matchups were as predicted to start: OG on Pascal. Donte on Tyrese. Andrew on Jalen. Early returns lean New York with Brunson shaking loose often, and the Knicks moving the Pacers offense away from Haliburton. Nembhard with a lot of the ball, and not many good looks. Good deny defe...
2024-05-07 02:32:49 +0000 UTC View Post
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
For the first time in a decade, the Indiana Pacers have advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Also, for the first time in over a decade, they're playing the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs. As such, in order to breakdown the latest installment of the once long-standing rivalry, 2024-05-03 22:29:52 +0000 UTC View Post
By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk
A reminder: Caitlin’s deep dive comes later. This is just supposed to hold you over.
The “break in case of emergency” Obi Toppin glass was broken early, and to great effect. Not only do we see the energy plays creating a difference, we get this big, sexy, live dribble lefty read to Nesmith for a layup. McConnell steals a point to wing pass and feeds Tyrese for a f...
2024-05-03 01:09:42 +0000 UTC View Post
Why the Pacers were stymied by switches in Game 5 loss
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
Turns out, the series isn't over until the series is actually over. After finding answers for most of the coverage changes from the Bucks through the first four games, the Pacers came up empty all too often against Milwaukee's attempt to flatten out the offense with switches. Whether downsizing with small-b...
2024-05-01 21:18:17 +0000 UTC View Post
By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk
A reminder: Caitlin’s deep dive comes later. This is just supposed to hold you over.
Quick note: This game was a nightmare for Pacers fans. Not only did things go poorly, but it was soundtracked by a Bucks fan who somehow kept finding his way into the TNT mics. Every Pacer shot was scored by “HE SUCKS! HE’LL MISS!”, “HE’S A JOKE!”, and all the classics...
2024-05-01 04:15:50 +0000 UTC View Post
Whenever the Bucks patch one leak, another starts to spring water
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
Myles Turner knocked down his sixth three as fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse were chanting his name. Those cheers, echoing throughout the arena as a show of appreciation for the longest-tenured Pacer's best-ever shooting performance in the playoffs, were quite different than the four-letter word that wa...
2024-04-30 12:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Turns out, the three-point line is a powerful deodorant
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
With the Bucks down but not yet out, the Pacers returned to a familiar strategy: banking on their ability to cash-in more threes than their opponent while likewise limiting three-point attempts on defense. At one end of the floor, Milwaukee attempted to a create a no-fly zone in the paint, doubling on the catc...
2024-04-29 21:05:39 +0000 UTC View Post
By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk
A reminder: Caitlin’s deep dive comes later. This is just supposed to hold you over.
Escalation! Siakam gets things started early by shifting Portis sideways – as if Portis had stepped on one of those Team Rocket floor tiles in the early Pokemon games – with a jab, and punching one home with authority. A bit of a stare down ensues between Siakam & Portis that ...
2024-04-29 01:40:48 +0000 UTC View Post
And found another way to win
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
In protecting homecourt with a 121-118 win in overtime over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Indiana Pacers attempted 105 shots, marking a franchise record for a playoff game, while reloading for 22 shots on 19 offensive rebounds for 32 second-chance points. Put simply, that's a lot of shots, and they needed a lot of shots, because after rackin...
2024-04-27 22:08:50 +0000 UTC View Post
On Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard, and staring straight ahead
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
Winning? Development? Depending upon whom within the Pacers organization was asked, it wasn't exactly clear what this season was supposed to be about. Rick Carlisle played both sides of the fence, saying the team would "keep an eye on development" while also trying to "take competitive steps." Chad Buchanan, meanwhile, s...
2024-04-26 13:21:42 +0000 UTC View Post
Pacers, popsicles, and poetry? Sure, why not.
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
To say thank you for subscribing, this is the latest installment of the patron-only mailbag. After recording a full-length video about how the Pacers evened up the series, 1-1, Samson Folk and Bucks.com writer Louis Zatzman both agreed to stick around for a bonus segment, answering some light-hearted questions in response to the Ga...
2024-04-25 16:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post
My work at Basketball, She Wrote is typically paywalled. These video podcasts with Samson Folk, providing in-depth coverage of the playoffs, are going to be available as free trials for everyone. If you're new here and want to support independent writing about actual basketball, please consider subscribing and/or sharing it around. Alright, onto the spoken and written words about th...
2024-04-24 21:40:30 +0000 UTC View Post
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 – wh...
2024-04-24 03:10:53 +0000 UTC View Post
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
As promised, this month's patron-only mailbag is coming in the form of exclusive bonus segments at the end of the off-day recap podcast videos that are being released in between each of the playoff games for the Pacers. This is the first installment featuring questions about what the team gains with Pascal Siakam and has lost without Bennedict Mathurin, as well as a deeper dive on ...
2024-04-23 15:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post
On how to increase the star guard's shot volume ahead of Game 2
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
In his debut playoff game, Tyrese Haliburton posted his lowest usage rate of the season, attempting only nine shots while seeing his volume of drives dwindle to just 8.9 per 100 possessions by comparison to 17.7 during the regular season. Granted, this isn't the only reason why the Pacers lost, or perhaps even the main reason why the Pacers lost. After all, there were plenty of...
2024-04-23 12:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Caitlin Cooper and Samson Folk look both backward and forward at the glaring contrast between Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard following Game 1 and ahead of Game 2
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
As was explained in our series preview, when the Pacers went 4-1 against the Bucks during the regular season, t...
2024-04-22 21:52:35 +0000 UTC View Post
By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk
A reminder: Caitlin’s deep dive comes later. This is just supposed to hold you over.
It’s all about weathering the storm in the playoffs. Basketball is a game of runs, yada-yada all that jazz, but you have to counterpunch. Damian Lillard threw a flurry of punches to open up the game. The Pacers pick n’ roll cov...
2024-04-22 02:08:43 +0000 UTC View Post
And what changes to expect from how he changes the match-up
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
On New Year's Day, when the Pacers played the first of a two-game, baseball-style mini-series against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum, Buddy Hield was still on the roster, Bennedict Mathurin had yet to be ruled out for the season with a torn labrum, and Pascal Siakam was about to go off for 36 points on...
2024-04-18 12:53:01 +0000 UTC View Post
My work at Basketball, She Wrote is typically paywalled. These video podcasts with Samson Folk, providing in-depth coverage of the playoffs, are going to be available as free trials for everyone. If you're new here and want to support independent writing about actual basketball, please consider subscribing and/or sharing it around. Alright, onto the spoken and written words about th...
2024-04-17 13:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post
And into the playoffs
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
Long before Max Strus snagged the back-breaking offensive rebound that resulted in Darius Garland banging in a step-back three over Pascal Siakam to put the Cavaliers up 123-118 with less than a minute to play, the Pacers gave up 70 first-half points, botching a few specific defensive coverages that, if not fixed, could come back to bite beyond that...
2024-04-13 14:06:36 +0000 UTC View Post
And the implications and timing of how often they're relying on him to shine in standing out
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
T.J. McConnell can't typically be compared to negative space -- at least not in the artistic sense. Granted, when he doesn't have the ball, and sometimes even when he does, his defender tends to wander, but that pertains to the actual spacing of the offense. When considered from t...
2024-04-08 13:08:29 +0000 UTC View Post
And whether the glass, as it pertains to the latest loss against a below .500 opponent, should be considered half empty or half full
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
After giving up 42 points in the second quarter and going almost four minutes without scoring to start the second half in what became a dismal, 115-111 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the Pacers have moved to 18-14 on the season against teams wit...
2024-04-04 16:13:24 +0000 UTC View Post
And why it isn't quite as, ahem, blurry
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
As you might recall, the Pacers were held under 100 points for the first time this season last week against the Chicago Bulls. It was the final game of a five-game road trip, and the Pacers definitely looked like a team playing the final game of a five-game road trip. Nothing to see here, right? To borrow from Rick Carlisle, " 2024-04-01 12:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post
On the ongoing extremes of the defense
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
Not unlike the unpredictable weather in Indiana, which saw snow accumulation during NBA All-Star weekend only for the NFL Combine to be greeted by 70-degree temperatures, if you don't like the defense played by the Pacers, wait a few days -- it'll change. After all, less than a week ago, the Los Angeles Lakers scored 150 points agai...
2024-03-30 13:20:44 +0000 UTC View Post
A late-night tale of two games in the same city
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
In the NBA, there's always another game right around the corner, including sometimes even in the same city against a different team on the second night of a back-to-back. For the Pacers, that meant moving on quickly from the loss to the Lakers with a win over the Clippers, providing an obvious contrast in terms of outcome ...
2024-03-26 13:34:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Answering mailbag questions about the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
As promised, for this month's edition of the patron-only mailbag, I was once again joined by a guest: Samson Folk from Raptors Republic. After ...
2024-03-23 12:40:00 +0000 UTC View Post
A last two minute report on the ghost screens that have been ghosted & more
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
En route to a 108-103 loss to a depleted Cleveland Cavaliers team, the Pacers closed the game going 3-of-10 from the field, including 0-of-7 from three, while being held scoreless over the final two minutes. During that span, with the Cavs switching or going ice-to-switch on most ball-sc...
2024-03-19 17:26:55 +0000 UTC View Post
By handling more of the ball
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
When it comes to running the fast-break, Tyrese Haliburton has been very open about his desire to start possessions as the ball-handler in the open floor. In fact, during a recent appearance on The Old Man and the Three with JJ Redi...
2024-03-17 14:36:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Talking into a microphone about the basketball played by the Pacers
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
Following the overtime loss to Chicago, Tony East and I teamed up to take stock of the Pacers with 15 games left to play. After discussing what's changed about the team since acquiring Pascal Siakam and trading Buddy Hield, we also did a progress check on Jarace Walker and debated who should round o...
2024-03-15 13:16:50 +0000 UTC View Post
Turns out, the starting backcourt can also dish out help at the other end of the floor
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
By the end of the regular-season opener, way back in October, when Bruce Brown was still on the team and Bennedict Mathurin was still starting, both point guards for the Pacers finished the night with double-doubles -- a benchmark which was only reached once during the entire prio...
2024-03-13 13:24:10 +0000 UTC View Post