Pacers make Game 1 look (Nemb)easy -- w/ Caitlin & Samson (Patreon)

My work at Basketball, She Wrote is typically paywalled. This video podcast with Samson Folk, breaking down how the Pacers took advantage of homecourt advantage, 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, onto the spoken and written words about the Pacers

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

Leading by as many as 28 points in what became a 117-98 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, you might say the Pacers made Game 1 look (Nemb)easy. For the game, they outscored the Bucks 22-5 in fast-break points, while also limiting the Bucks to only eight offensive rebounds. On the season, the Pacers are 10-5 when their opponent grabs eight or fewer offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, Indiana committed fewer than 10 turnovers for the twelfth time this season. Just by those numbers alone, this game had blowout written all over it.

Then, add to it that, while Giannis Antetokounmpo amassed 36 points, he was held to only 8.5 potential assists per 100 chances -- down from 13.069 during the regular season and 13.314 in games against the Pacers. Needless to say, with the exception of Milwaukee's small-ball lineup, featuring Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green, and Bobby Portis with Giannis, which was plus-4 in 15.6 minutes played despite shooting just 4-of-14 from three, almost everything came up Pacers in Game 1.

As such, Samson Folk is here to share his thoughts on the dominant Game 1 performance while also looking ahead to what changes should be expected from the Bucks in Game 2. Enjoy!

Here are the relevant timestamps:

0:00 - Introductions

2:23 - How did the Pacers double Giannis while also limiting his playmaking? (i.e. his potential assists were way down by comparison to the regular season)

5:11 - Andrew Nembhard isn't just a terrific on-ball defender; he's also terrific away from the ball (Nobody said it would be Nembeasy!)

10:00 - Mathurin and Walker looked the part in playoff debuts

14:45 - Improved ball-handling/patience from Nembhard against ICE coverage + highlighting Turner's flashes to the the top of the key against Milwaukee's zone

17:03 - Still, the Pacers will probably see more zone

19:16 - Managing the toll on Siakam by dialing back the full-court pressure against Giannis as the bring-up ball-handler + Siakam salvaging broken plays

22:56 - Are the Bucks going to keep starting Kuzma and Prince?

26:15 - What else can the Pacers try against Milwaukee's shallow action + containing Kevin Porter Jr. at the point of attack

36:09 - Will the Bucks play the KPJ-GTJ-AJ-Giannis-Portis lineup more + film breakdown on Indiana's late-game wedge rolls

46:49 - S/O Danny Green and Danny Green cuts

49:00 - Samson teaches Caitlin about Pokemon

50:29 - Milwaukee didn't crash the glass or limit fast-break points for the Pacers, something has to give, right?

55:42 - Offensive rebounding + tagging up as a transition defense scheme

58:15 - Nembhard's decel step against Lopez

1:00:50 - Being descriptive rather than predictive

1:07:12 - Another Dune reference enters the chat + Caitlin shames Samson for never reading her book recommendation

1:10:16 - Thank you and Goodbye!