Basketball, She Wrote

How the Pacers flipped the "switch"

And found a new way to win in Orlando 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

Despite shooting just 8-of-23 on threes, Indiana rallied for a 111-97 victory over the Magic on Sunday to pull within a game of Orlando in the standings. These aren't games that the Pacers normally win. In fact, entering into Sunday's contest, the Pacers had gone just 6-18 this season when shooting below 35 percent from d...

How the Pacers can "stack" the deck in their favor

Putting the ball back in the hands of Haliburton with an unexpected stack screener 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

Prior to Tuesday's win over the Dallas Mavericks, Tyrese Haliburton had gone from playing out of 51.4 ball screens per 100 possessions to averaging just 32.3 over the prior five games. With Ben Sheppard and Doug McDermott both sidelined, the Pacers continued to run "stack" (i.e....

The Pacers are missing their engine

My work at "Basketball, She Wrote" is typically paywalled. This article, as an explainer of what's contributing to the recent skid for the Pacers, is available as a free trial 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, on to the words about the Pacers.

Zoning Out: Should the Pacers take a page from New Orleans?

On why the Pacers struggled to score against zone in New Orleans, and whether they should be playing zone themselves

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

With 6:16 to play in the first quarter, the Pacers were still within striking distance, trailing by only seven points, down 23-16, despite the fact that New Orleans had started the game shooting 10-of-11 from the field. From then on, as the Pelicans c...

Pacers Mailbag: Basketball, They Spoke w/ Alex Golden

Answering questions about the basketball played by the Pacers 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

As promised, for this month's mailbag, I was once again joined by a guest: Alex Golden from Setting the Pace. Coincidentally, yesterday marked a...

How the Pacers got out of double trouble

at least for now

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

In a span of less than five minutes, the Pacers went from clinging to a narrow, four-point lead to building a commanding cushion, reeling off a 20-4 run en route to snapping what was a seven-game win streak for the Dallas Mavericks. Following the win, Rick Carlisle credited the all-bench lineup, featuring T.J. McConnell, Ben Sheppard, Doug McDermott...

How the Pacers are evolving the dunker's spot

And the continued rise of inverted spacing

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

According to Cleaning the Glass, this is the exact definition of garbage time: "the game has to be in the fourth quarter, the score differential is greater than 25 points for minutes 12-9, greater than 20 for minutes 9-6,...

Rick Carlisle and the impact of early timeouts

Analyzing the far-ranging effects in the long run of having a short fuse

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

Just as the NBA is notorious for not starting games on time, Rick Carlisle also has a bit of a reputation for stopping games before they've barely started. In his world, it's never too early t...

Pacers beat Raptors, 127-125 - Live Reaction Podcast

Detailing the win with Samson Folk of Raptors Republic 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

Despite giving up 84 points in the paint, while spending a bunch of the first half getting run over in transition, the undermanned Pacers were able to manufacture enough timely stops (oh hi, Ben Sheppard) in combination with timely scores to head into the All-Star Break with a narrow, (eventually) hard-fo...

On the Pacers' bench and the no good, very bad play

Oof

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

For the majority of the season, the Pacers have demonstrated strength in numbers. In addition to being a balanced attack, with seven players averaging double figures in scoring, they also typically get a huge boost from their depth, 2024-02-13 14:26:59 +0000 UTC View Post

An ode to Tyrese Haliburton choosing magic

And seemingly always having an out 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

Magic tricks don't always go to plan. Sometimes, with a sophisticated flourish, the wrong card   gets revealed and the gimmick awkwardly falls apart. The same can apply to basketball. Just ask Obi Toppin. On the season, Toppin ranks third among all players in two-point percentage, and he's converted 88 percent of his dunk...

Getting reacquainted with Doug McDermott

Looking back at past versions of Doug McDermott, both with the Pacers and when previously coached by Rick Carlisle, to project his second stint in Indiana. 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

Happy "the trade deadline is finally over" to everyone who celebrates. Also, happy "the Warriors-Pacers game is finally over" to everyone who, well, probably isn't celebrating but at least the game is over...

Pacers Mailbag: Basketball, They Spoke w/ James Boyd

Answering 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 joined by a guest: James Boyd of The Athletic, who for my money (2024-02-06 12:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post

On Pascal Siakam and the end of the beginning

(My work at Basketball, She Wrote is typically paywalled. This article, gazing through the looking glass of post-ups and frontcourt changes, is available as a free trial. If you're new here and want to support independent writing about actual basketball, please consider subscribing and/or sharing it around. Alright, on to the words about the Pacers.)

By: Caitlin Coope...

On the Pacers' "garden" variety rebounding struggles

And the double-edged sword of doubling

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

The New York Knicks, who were down by Julius Randle and O.G. Anunoby as key starters, clawed back from a 15-point deficit against the Pacers for a ninth-straight win despite shooting just 39 percent from the field, largely, for two reasons: Jalen Brunson played big, scoring 40 points against all types of match-u...

New Merch: Heyyyy, do you like t-shirts?

Celebrating the one-year anniversary of "Basketball, She Wrote" with fire t-shirts

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

Time flies when you're writing, editing, and publishing blogs, apparently. As All-Star weekend fast approaches in Indy, so too does the one-year anniversary of Basketball, She Wrote -- 2024-01-30 14:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post

On the in-game progress of Indiana's sophomores

How Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard helped the Pacers to score without scoring 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

As the saying goes, if at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. In a game that started out as though it was being played in mud, creeping and jerking between periods of choppy flow punctuated by rapid bursts of highlights (i.e. 2024-01-29 22:36:23 +0000 UTC View Post

How the Pacers flipped the script on iso-ball

And continue re-writing the future of their past in games without Tyrese Haliburton 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

After halting the momentum of both the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns, the Indiana Pacers are currently on a winning streak of snapping winning streaks. Coming on the second night of a back-to-back, the Blue & Gold turned the table on the 10-3 run that was surrendered...

On Ben Sheppard's projected presence

And what his signature moment could reveal about a signature move 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

With liquid hustle pumping through his veins, it was the signature sequence of Ben Sheppard's young career. In a span of roughly 10 seconds, the 22-year-old rookie dove after a deflection on one side of the floor and then got up to convert points out of a steal on the other. Over that stretch, a...

Should the Pacers buddy up to protect Buddy Hield?

The Suns searched for Hield under every rock and cactus, which likely also would've been the case if Haliburton had been available. What should the Pacers do to avoid getting, figuratively and literally, needled? 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

With less than two and a half minutes to play in what was a tied game following free throws from Andrew Nembhard, the Phoenix Suns started searching...

On Pascal Siakam's debut for the Indiana Pacers

And whether he impressed with his first impression, fitting in by standing out 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

One game is clearly not enough to accurately gauge to what degree Pascal Siakam will be a difference maker for the Pacers, especially when said game is coming on the second night of a road back-to-back without much opportunity for either side to get to know each other. Still, it's o...

Pascal Siakam's Impact w/ Samson Folk

(My work at Basketball, She Wrote is typically paywalled. This film study, as an in-depth breakdown of how Pascal Siakam will mesh both offensively and defensively with his new team, is available as a free trial 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, on to the words -- in video form -- about the Pacers.)

By: Caitlin Cooper I 2024-01-18 18:39:34 +0000 UTC View Post

Catching up with Jarace Walker & Ben Sheppard

Key takeaways from the extended minutes played by Indiana's pair of first-round picks 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

For the first time since prior to Christmas, the Pacers have lost two games in a row, with the second defeat coming against the Utah Jazz on the second night of a back-to-back, in altitude, without Tyrese Haliburton, Aaron Nesmith, or Bruce Brown. Needless to say, if ever th...

Are the Pacers better than "merely bad" on defense?

Tracing what's changed on that end of the floor through the lens of the match-up with Atlanta 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

At least in this particular match-up, the Pacers have come a long way on the defensive end. After surrendering 152 points to the Atlanta Hawks during the group stage of the In-Season Tournament, in which both teams eventually resorted to 3/4 court trapping in what bas...

On Bennedict Mathurin's shot less taken

And the unique moment that he was uniquely suited for 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper  

After defeating the Boston Celtics, 133-131, in what was a game that went from heart-stopping, when Tyrese Haliburton had to be carried off the floor after slipping on the court, to heart-pounding, as his teammates came up big in the second half despite not having their usual big, late-game playmaker, 2024-01-09 13:25:31 +0000 UTC View Post

Keeping Tyrese Haliburton out of the hunt

On the defensive techniques the Pacers are deploying to protect mismatches

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

More often than not, late-game and late-season offense tends to hinge around mismatch hunting -- especially when the player being hunted leads the league in points created from assists, not only for this season but also since the beginning of the tracking data-era. On Saturday, however, the C...

How the Pacers blitzed the blitz to score 150 -- again

High scoring is commonplace for the Pacers, but it certainly isn't ho-hum

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

The Pacers scored a 150 points, again -- marking the third time they have done so this season, with two of those outings coming against the Atlanta Hawks. This says a lot about the Hawks, but also something about the Pacers, who tallied a franchise record of 50 assists on 60 made field goals. ...

On the elbow grease of T.J. McConnell

And how he can be both unsettling for opponents and a sign of what isn't settled for the Pacers 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

For the final 7:33 of Indiana's latest win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Pacers played a lineup that had previously only logged four minutes of action together, with none coming during the fourth quarter. In this game, however, Bennedict Mathurin was decisive and engaged (on a night when neither Buddy Hield nor Aaron Nesmith was makin...

How Tyrese Haliburton exploited his own mistake

Even when he commits a turnover, he still finds the advantage

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

After the Indiana Pacers defeated the New York Knicks by a score of 140-126 while shooting 60 percent from the field and making 23 3-pointers to tie the team record, the NBA shared the following stat about Ty...

Pacers Mailbag: Basketball, They Spoke w/ Tony East

Answering 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 joined by a guest: Pacers beat writer and podcaster, Tony East. Before diving into the Pacers of it all, Tony also agreed to join me for, let's say, ...