Tyrese Haliburton Is About To Put His Nut Sack On All The Hater's Faces
Tonight, it's do or die for the Playoff Pacers. That's dramatic for a game 2, but this young Pacers team needs some confidence if they want to be able to win this series especially with a Giannis Antetokounmpo waiting in the wings, ready for a come back. Winning game 2 is huge for this series, but statistically game 2 is massive for any series (sorry, Philly).
Game 1 was an absolutely PATHETIC showing against the Bucks. You could point the finger at a billion things that went wrong, but I want to forget Game 1 as quickly as possible. The Pacers came out of the gate looking terrified to even be on the court. It starts with leadership and coaching (Haliburton & Carlisle), but I think fans were too hard on them when looking for somewhere to place the blame. Yeah, Tyrese could have been more aggressive, TJ McConnell taking almost twice as many shots as your star player in the playoffs is insanity, but NO ONE on the team was hitting shots (excluding playoff veteran/ NBA champion Pascal Siakam.) Haliburton looks to get the team going by facilitating the ball (the whole reason he's on Team USA over a guy like Jalen Brunson) but when the team is starting 0-13 from the 3pt line, what's he supposed to do? The Bucks were throwing everything they had at Haliburton, (shoutout Pat Bev for a great game) I'd rather Hali get the team going than try to turn into Steph Curry and chuck up horrible 3 pointers like he can tend to do sometimes. A bit more aggression, a bit more killer instinct, but Hali wasn't the problem.
So Rick Carlisle having 11 man rotation in the playoffs the problem? Again, not great, but the Pacers bench has been their strength the entire season, and a big reason why they were able to beat some some of the best teams in the league, including why they went 4-1 against the Bucks.
No Ben Mathurin sucks ass through a straw, so who steps up in his place? NO ONE wanted to get going in game 1 so Rick throwing bodies out there hoping someone would figure it out. Jaylen Smith, Isiah Jackson, Ben Sheppard, Doug McDermott. Half those players forgot how to play basketball, so I understand not wanting to see Dougy Buckets dusty ass out there in the playoffs, but you throw him out there and see if your vet and get going and handle the moment (spoiler alert, he did not)
My problem with Carlisle was letting Haliburton, Siakam, and Turner ride the bench for way too long. This is the first series. Everyone has fresh legs. You had a week off. THIS IS THE PLAYOFFS. RIDE YOUR BEST PLAYERS.
My prediction for Game 2? I'm about to put my massive nuts on the table and guarantee a Pacer victory. Road teams are currently 0-11 in the NBA playoffs, but the CERS break the mold and put a W in the win column for the road dogs. I understand Dame had 35 points in the first half, but other than him draining uncontested 3's, the Bucks really didn't play out of their minds. It was the Pacers who suuuucked balls. Indiana doesn't come out looking scared, the whole team gets into the game early, and the Pacers win. See you Friday for Game 3 in Indy.