Some news that I’m very excited about that @1kyletaylor.bsky.social teased on Locked on Pacers today:

We’re starting a live post-game show where we’ll be streaming after one game every week with some fun, interactive segments.

First show after the opener. See you there.

a cartoon character from nickelodeon with a purple cape ALT: a cartoon character from nickelodeon with a purple cape

Join me, the Czar of Zany, as we play center-less lineups with Furphy on the floor, run Andrew Nembhard off pin-downs, require Benn to throw skip passes, play dribble-hand off offense through Jarace Walker at the elbow, and run 10 zone possessions a game.

Today, @1kyletaylor.bsky.social got me to think differently about the Pacers upcoming season. I think we can get others to do so as well. How should the team play this year, and what does it mean for the future?

Listen: open.spotify.com/episode/6knQ...
Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zab9...

Hope, agony, and a season that gave Pacers fans everything, even as it ripped it away “I said this when I came from Sacramento, who I am as a person, I love hard.” – Tyrese Haliburton in 2023 to The Athletic There will never be catharsis for Pacers fans who watched Tyrese…

Impossibility and inevitability. Ecstasy and agony. A ball bouncing high off the rim and a fist slammed into the floor.

My reflections on a Pacers season that gave us everything.

ipacers.com/2025/06/24/h...

Thanks!

Thanks Leo 💛💙

Hope, agony, and a season that gave Pacers fans everything, even as it ripped it away “I said this when I came from Sacramento, who I am as a person, I love hard.” – Tyrese Haliburton in 2023 to The Athletic There will never be catharsis for Pacers fans who watched Tyrese…

On hope, loving hard, sheer agony, and a season that gave Pacers fans everything even as it was all ripped away:

From @1kyletaylor.bsky.social:

It's 451-438 OKC through four games.

The article makes two points: (1) that OKC has taken Indiana's offense out of their style and (2) that Indiana's defense has simultaneously played with a level of force and pressure OKC hasn't faced all season.

A really great encapsulation of the degree to which Oklahoma City has taken the Pacers out of their offense through four games (and a look at how Indiana's defense has done similar work). Worth your time walking up to Game 5.

Lol I mean, yes, but also, of Tyrese's 15 live ball turnovers, 9 have been "bad pass turnovers" -- just throwing the ball to the other team.

That is also more bad pass turnovers than he threw in the entire post-All Star break period (8).

OKC’s defense has the Indiana Pacers in hell Why the Pacers path to basketball salvation may lie with their defense, not their offense The contest and contrast between the Pacers random offense and OKC’s smothering defense was framed as …

From the ASB through the end of the regular season, a period in which he played 21 games, Tyrese Haliburton committed two fewer live ball turnovers (13) than he did through these four most meaningful games of his career (15).

OKC's defense has Indiana in hell.

My story: ipacers.com/2025/06/16/o...

OKC’s defense has the Indiana Pacers in hell Why the Pacers path to basketball salvation may lie with their defense, not their offense The contest and contrast between the Pacers random offense and OKC’s smothering defense was framed as …

OKC’s defense has Indiana in hell. Why the Pacers path to basketball salvation may lie with their defense, rather than their offense

Via @1kyletaylor.bsky.social: ipacers.com/2025/06/16/o...

Grabbed @1kyletaylor.bsky.social today to look at the Pacers issues in Game 3 + broader challenges in the series. Can they get out of their own way? The Knicks defense is getting better & bigger. The Pacers need answers.
Listen: open.spotify.com/episode/30Hi...
Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuzf...

YouTube video by Locked On Pacers Where the Indiana Pacers need to change their ways in Game 4 to recover from loss to New York Knicks

Cleveland put an obstacle in Indy's path with their 3-2 zone; the Pacers figured it out.

The Knicks are edging the stylistic tug-of-war in their direction, and the Pacers will need to play better in many facets of the game to wrest control back.

We talked about it: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuzf...

An impossible Eastern Conference Finals gives the Pacers (and Knicks) a chance to dream Almost nothing about these teams says they should be here. They don’t care. When the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers resume their decades-long rivalry this Wednesday, they will do so in perhaps …

Upset winners of 60-win juggernauts, picked by no one to advance, architects of all-time comebacks and late game heroics, these two rivals stand alone among the rubble of a conference they destroyed.

Now, they have a chance to defy history—and to make it. My story: ipacers.com/2025/05/20/a...

Through two rounds, the Pacers starters have dominated their minutes: +15.8 net rating as a 5-man group in 143 non-garbage time minutes.

Nembhard leveling up again, somehow. Tyrese, doing it on both ends?? Fun run so far.

Zero- and one-pass possessions into contested jumpers are gross, and the basketball gods are right to punish teams for it.

Houston is sort of similar in this statistical profile (low passing and low driving), with the difference that they take more pull-up twos than pull-up threes -- and their offense was also, very often, flat out horrible to watch!

I have not liked watching Boston's offense all year, and the start of this Knicks series is why.

No other NBA team has the combination of low passing, low driving, and high volume pull-up 3P shooting that Boston does.

Every team is great when their offense is great. That isn't the point.

The point is that last year it was a *reliable* way Indiana beat teams. This year, Indiana has been winning in other ways, inc. w/ defense! If they figure out a way to blend the two regularly, they will be contenders.

When the Pacers offense catches fire, they are undefeated: 20-0 in the last 2 years.

Last season, it was a key part of what made playing the Pacers so dangerous. They'd have 1-2 of these performances every 10 games.

This season, it had only happened twice until the last month.

Had @1kyletaylor.bsky.social help me dive into Pacers-Bucks Game 4 by looking at issues from Game 3. Where to begin - Is defending Giannis and shooters possible? How can Haliburton get going? Offense or defense worse?

Listen: open.spotify.com/episode/0EgT...
Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQYb...

Agreed. I liked his "2 seconds away from a great possession" remark. Most of the Pacers shots are either within 5ft or else wide open 3's. Together, 54% of Indiana's FGA are these "great shots" which is T-2 among playoff teams. At least to my eye, they are getting enough of these early AND late.

Good discussion about this on @lockedonpacers.bsky.social with @tiwindisch.gspn.info today.

Milwaukee has largely succeeded at shifting *when* the Pacers take shots, but breakdowns are still just as punishing.

IND regular season ➡️ Playoffs
📉% FGA in first 8s: 38%➡️23%
📈% FGA in last 8s: 19%➡️29%

2) Late shot clock domination. Milwaukee is forcing actions WAY later into the shot clock, but IND keeps making just enough.

Indiana is posting an eFG% of 49% in the last 8 seconds of the shot clock (ranks 7th out of 16 this playoffs) vs. 27% (a playoff worst) for the Bucks.

Two shooting trends defining IND-MIL:
1) Pacers annihilating Milwaukee on corner 3's. A symptom of getting beat off the dribble leading to kickouts + Tyrese's cross-court passing punishing Milwaukee's help and inattention.

🔥NEW EPISODE🔥

🏠Protect This House🏠

Game 2 Preview with @1kyletaylor.bsky.social:

•Bucks biggest adjustments
•3 man lineup that’s dominated for MIL
•Dame’s potential return & impact
•Expecting more zone
•How Indiana wins Game 2
•Things Indiana did well

🔗 linktr.ee/settingthepace

I think Rick's doing what he did last year against Milwaukee: playing roughly the full rotation first, then trimming down when it becomes untenable.

I like broad experimentation. Try tons of weird stuff and see it succeed or fail so you have more info when you're forced to adjust later.

Things I'm curious about:
- When it's Aaron on-Pascal off, try Aaron picking up Giannis up full court when he wants to initiate + keep fronting him in the post
- I thought Jarace's positioning against Giannis was good; just fouled some. Keep trying that matchup imo

For Aaron, it was the stretches of him playing without Siakam against Giannis: Aaron was -10 when he played without Pascal overall vs. +18 when he played with him.