I'll start with a quote from the enemy.

Good, because the Pacers have a lot of improving to do if they want to end the season with their heads held high. They need to start making shots, stop digging early holes, and recapture the spirit of the team that blazed its way to the IST Finals.

The loss on Sunday was Indiana's 10th straight postseason defeat, a streak that extends back to Game 7 against LeBron and Cavs in the first-round of the 2018 post-season. That's right, we haven't won a playoff game since Oladipo was all of our favorite player.

How do the Pacers end that run of losing? Let's address two of the major talking points.

Tyrese Needs to Score More

He only took seven shots in Game 1. I spent an embarrassing amount of time on a the video below showing where his shots came from. The takeaway? Mostly, they didn't come in the rhythm of the offense.

Even so, it wouldn't be right to say that the Bucks totally took him out of the game. Haliburton leads the league in assists for a reason. He takes what the defense gives him, which is often a pass to an open teammate. Unfortunately, when your teammates are as cold as the Pacers were on Sunday, passes to open teammates don't make the box score.

For a more detailed breakdown, check out Caitlin Cooper's write up on Basketball She Wrote.

The Rotation

Much has been made of Carlisle's lineups. Going into the series, his view was the best bench in the league deserved to play their normal minutes in the playoffs. However things change fast this time of year. I'd expect him to approach minutes distributions differently tonight.

Injuries

The Pacers remain healthy (at least no new injuries), while the Bucks are still down the Greek Freak himself. I won't say tonight is a must win, but it sure feels like we'll regret not stealing a game with Giannis out if this becomes a close series.

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 8:30 PM ET.

TV: NBA TV, Bally Sports Indiana, NBA League Pass

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

See ya in the comments!

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