Caitlin Cooper
Appearances
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Thanks for having me on. That feels a little hyperbolic, but I appreciate it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I think the biggest turning point was, ironically, they went winless in the in-season tournament after being the darlings of the in-season tournament a year ago. And because of that, they got four days off to really recoup from practices to finally get healthy again. I think that they went back to the drawing board on some things.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
And the most important returns was Andrew Nembhard was no longer on a minutes restriction. He was the biggest motivating factor in my mind on the strides that they made at the defensive end. He sets the tone there. Aaron Neesmith, it took him a little bit longer to come back, but they got their point of attack defenders back. Tyrese Halliburton made some strides on that end of the floor.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
They started turning the ball over a lot less, which is important to them, not only offensively, but also defensively, especially for a team that plays so quickly. It can be very hard for them to stop on a dime and get back. Plus, that allows them to set their ball pressure defensively defense, which is very important to their scheme there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
They found a role that suits Pascal Siakam, Miles Turner got better. A lot of things were all coalescing at the same time, but them having that practice time and being healthy, I think was the biggest motivating factors and what the turnaround ended up being.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
In addition to this, I think it was, I think it was most people expected that Tyrese Halliburton, once he started looking more like Tyrese Halliburton, that the offense would come around and it did. What they did defensively was a much bigger surprise, at least to me and what my coverage was.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Yeah, I think games one and game five both point to the answer to that. So at the end of game one, Tyrese actually got three stops in a row just by himself on possessions against Donovan Mitchell, against Ty Jerome, and then on a closeout to Max Struess. So Ty, in and of himself...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I think very quietly made strides on the defensive end where the Pacers were a little bit more willing to switch with him than what you would have seen in the playoffs a year ago when it was a lot more show and recover. And then just his overall activity, his deflections are up. He's very good at using his length over like roughly the last two years.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I think that he leads all guards and blocks on three point shots. Some of what they do defensively, there's a lot more peel switching now. So when he peels out to the perimeter, he gets to use that length against shooters more. And then also I think he's fairly self-aware. He looks for places defensively to scram himself out of mismatches and he can be creative with that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
And he talks before the season started that he felt like when he reviewed the film that he just wasn't always in the right place at the right time, especially as an off-ball defender. And I think that speaks to some of his better forced turnover rate, his better deflection rate. He's in the right places at the right time and he's been better at knowing where he can cheat and win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
But also the Pacers defensive scheme at the end of game five was very good at insulating him. It was, you know, if he does get that switch, Andrew Nembhard sinking off, he's getting his hand on a ball. Miles Turner being effective as a rim protector behind him. Aaron Neesmith in the key sequence in the fourth quarter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I think it was Darius Garland went after Tyrese and he reached from behind, poked it from Garland and then made the layup at the other end. So just the overall fabric of the defense with the other four guys, particularly in that starting lineup, I think has supported him as well when you're looking at just what Tyrese's
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
numbers are when he's the screener defender and they're not as bad as you would expect them to be when you're just looking at his individual defense and isolation.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
it was like polar opposite approaches from the two teams, right? Because the Cavs were trying to take out the Pacers' strongest links. They were having Max Struis and Okoro face guarding Tyrese pretty much nonstop in that series.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
And at the other end of the floor, Donovan Mitchell was kind of quote unquote dominating the Pacers in part because the Pacers were like, we're going to take away the lyricism and movement in your offense. You were the number one pick and roll offense in the NBA. You had tons of cutting around the pick and roll. They decided to stay home on everything. And
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
And as it turns out, the Cavs ended up finishing with fewer passes per 100 in that series than the 30th ranked team during the regular season. And the Pacers, conversely, ended up finishing with fewer closeouts per 100 possessions than the 30th ranked team in the NBA this season. So they really stayed home on those shooters. They weren't having to close out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
And that allowed Donovan Mitchell in some games to get 40, 50 points. But speaking specifically of the Pacers, because... the Cavs were like, you know, we're going to test your weak links. The Pacers are a deep team, especially with the strides that Andrew Nembhard has made.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
He was very critical in that series because the Pacers were playing four-on-four pick-and-roll possessions a lot, with Tyrese being more like, you know, negative space and art. He likes to stand out on the perimeter and give his teammates space. And, you know, four-on-four can be very effective for the Pacers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
So I think at one point in time, in the middle of that series, Nembhard and Turner were the number one pick-and-roll combo in the NBA. And that, of course, speaks to Nembhard being capable as a secondary ball handler, but also, like I just said, It can be advantageous for teams with the extra space that you have on the court when you're playing four on four.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
So I think that's in part why the Cavs weren't as successful as they wanted to be, because they were, you know, gearing up more towards Tyrese and Pascal. And then Aaron, Andrew and Miles Turner have been three of the most effective shooters in the playoffs. So when you forget about those guys, they're capable of making you pay as well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I think Aaron in particular, since he came back from the ankle injury, what I've noticed from him is he's simplified his reads against closeouts. He's been one of the most effective players attacking closeouts in the postseason. He's improved as a movement shooter, so he can shoot on the move more.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I think a lot of times when people are looking at how effective Neesmith and Nembhard have been, in particular as shooters in the playoffs, Nembhard's a little bit harder to explain because he's just like upped his volume on three pull-up threes and suddenly he's just drilling over 50% of them. But it's almost like a trickle-down effect.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Because teams are geared up more on Tyrese and face guarding him, that means Nembhard's running more pick and roll. And because Nembhard's running so much more pick and roll, that means that Aaron Neesmith, teams are hiding their smaller guards on Aaron more because they don't want him navigating so many picks against Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
So that's been very advantageous for Aaron in these playoffs where he's now more often being guarded by Garland, Mitchell, Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green, almost all of which he has a size advantage on. So I think that people are looking at his three-point percentage and thinking, oh, that's just solely an effect of Tyrese.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
And certainly Tyrese sets the table, has a lot of gravity, creates open shots for his teammates, but Aaron's actually making a higher percentage while being guarded more in the playoffs because he's able to still shoot over the top of those contests.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
His average, I think last year I looked at his average matchups were more like Jalen Brown, Jason Tatum, Chris Middleton last year, all guys with a size advantage. So he was shooting like 27% from three in the playoffs last year. Now he's up over 40. So I think, and he's just capable of making tougher shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Like I mentioned, he's been more effective as a movement shooter than what you would have seen in the past. He does more of that now that Buddy Heald isn't on the roster. So I think that's two of them. And then just for Nembhard,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I think he's been the best defender on the Pacers for two seasons now, but he's taken that to an extra even, you know, he didn't, he didn't average enough minutes and games to be qualified for all defense, but I think he's an all defense caliber defender.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Yeah, if you would have asked me this question during the regular season, I would have been like, the Knicks aren't really capable of playing the type of defense that limits the Pacers the most. And the Pacers aren't really capable of playing the type of defense that limits the Knicks the most. And now both have kind of adjusted that in the postseason.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
So the Knicks have done a lot of switching against Boston. And that worked for them through the first four games. And game five, they did a lot of switching. And this is not me trying to...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
denigrate Jason Tatum at all but because they didn't have Jason Tatum the Celtics had to rely on a lot more ball movement in that game and the Knicks switching was harder because of that there was a lot more ghost screening a lot more Spain actions and this is a team that didn't switch all year they're not really used to having to navigate all of that so once the Celtics were moving the ball more the switching became a lot less effective for them so I think
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Using that game as a guide and we'll see how game six goes. I think that bodes somewhat in the Pacers favor because they're the number one passing team in the NBA. They're going to move the ball. They don't isolate a lot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
So if they're going to be switching, it's going to look a little different than what the Celtics were doing in the first four games with, you know, some of their offense, you know, becoming a little bit catch and hold with Tatum on some of those isolations where it became easier for OG on an OB and Mikkel Bridges to be loading up on some of those actions.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
It was harder for them to do that in game five when the ball was moving for Boston. And that's how the Pacers prefer to play. So I think defensively, it could be a comfortable matchup for both teams. I'll put it that way.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Let's go with number two, Andrew Nembhard's number.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Ever made consecutive. Well, we know it's not Boston, not Cleveland, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I doubt it's Detroit. It's got to be a team that just hasn't had a lot of success. I mean, one of them has to be the Hornets, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Well, my first inclination was Giannis because I know that the Raptors played the Bucs in the playoffs and the Pacers have played them twice, but Giannis didn't play last year. It's an active player that he's played the most playoff games against.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
They played Milwaukee in that run. Who else did they play in the run to it? The other inclination is LeBron because it feels like every Eastern Conference player probably plays the most playoff games against LeBron. Let's go with LeBron. I feel like that's the safe answer here.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I should have thought of that. I didn't think about it until you phrased it like that. I don't know why I didn't think of that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Okay. 99th percentile in swing during the regular season, too. Let's go number four.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Here I thought we were talking about the consecutive conference finals against the Heat. I was going to be like, I don't know. Is it Roy or Lance Stevenson? Let's go number six.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
i'm gonna let andrew guess it all right andrew where would you like to set the bar think back to all those james johnson playoff moments 21 and caitlin would you like to go higher or lower than 21 kind of think what what which team he would have been playing for where he would have a career high was this going to be like the heat i feel like he's going to be more apt to be like racking up
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
handoff assists, then he's going to be racking up points. But I'll go lower. I feel like it's going to be less than 21, but it's probably wrong.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Was he playing for the East? Which team was it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
He played for the Raptors. He played for the... Yeah, who else in the East? All that's coming to mind is the Raptors and the Heat.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I didn't even remember he played for the Memphis Grizzlies. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I feel like we need people who would have been making longer playoff runs. So did George Hill do it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I was like thinking about the past. I don't know. Stuck in the past.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Yeah, I'm always thankful for people to subscribe at Basketball She Wrote. There's free membership as well as paid membership over there. I'm happy to have you at either option. And then Samson Folk, who I'm doing post-game pods with after every playoff game, is also writing gamers for me over there. He's my favorite basketball writer slash talker in the internet sphere.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
And I'm really happy that after, as I told you guys ahead of time, after being sick for a lot of the portion of this season that I get to podcast again. So thankful for the invitation here and thankful to anybody that wants to check us out doing podcasts