In the words of the great Yogi Berra: "It's like deja vu all over again, except with a funkier court."
Ok, I made up the last part but that doesn't change the fact that, for the second game in a row, the Pacers are playing the 76ers in Philadelphia. After dropping the first game by a score of 137-126, the Pacers will hope that deja vu plays out a bit differently tonight.
What Happened Sunday?
Sunday was a game of runs. Despite getting down early the Pacers fought back and even managed to take a brief lead in the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, as has become a recurring theme since the end of the McMillan era, the Pacers were done in by their inability to get stops or finish defensive possessions on the glass. I wrote in my keys to the game that winning the offensive rebounding battle would be one of the determining factors and the stats show exactly that. The Pacers played well enough offensively to win but that discrepancy in OREB% is glaring.
If we dive in further, the Pacers basically executed the offensive game plan as well as could be expected. Take a look at the shot distribution: over 80% of their attempts came at the rim or from three. Moreover, you might argue they forced Philly into the shots the Pacers want to concede, with the Sixers taking as many threes as midrange attempts.
The problem, again, comes down to finishing possessions. No matter how efficient the Pacers offense is, the team will struggle if it can't grab rebounds.
Not only is getting dominated on the glass back breaking defensively, it robs our gazelles of fast break opportunities.
Stopping Philly's Two-Man Game
Philly rode its stars to victory on Sunday. Both Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey had monster games, putting up 37-13-17 and 50-7-5 respectively. They did it mainly by emptying one side of the floor and letting the two of them work the pick-and-roll in space. I was going to write a bit on what the Pacers might do to counter that action, but Caitlin Cooper beat me to it. I highly recommend watching her video below as it will help you track whether/how Carlisle has adjusted during the game tonight.
The gist of her observations is that the Pacers need to revert a bit to their defensive strategies of years past. By having more of a nail presence and "icing" the pick-and-roll (aka sending Maxey to the sideline rather than the middle), the Pacers can disrupt Maxey's penetration and force him and Embiid into tougher reads. The flip side is that these strategies will put the Pacers into rotation and surrender more three point opportunities. It's likely a worthy gamble considering 1) how efficient those two players are, and 2) the quality of the shooters that surround them.
Reses Cup
Maxey wasn't the only Tyrese who had a monster game on Sunday, as Haliburton was in full point god mode.
Writing out "In-Season Tournament" is a pain and the acronym IST bores me. I've been thinking the league needs to find a sponsor for the tourney so that we can call it something a bit more lively. For tonight at least, that sponsor should be a certain chocolate-peanut butter candy, for obvious reasons.
Injuries
The other way to stop the Maxey/Embiid pick-and-roll is if the reigning MVP doesn't play. Sometimes lucky is better than good, am I right?
How to Watch
Tipoff is at 7:00 PM ET.
TV: Bally Sports Indiana, NBA League Pass
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
See ya in the comments.
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