Oh I already knew that whoever was coming outta the east was losing to OKC from the jump. The only team that could have been decent comp was Boston but they decided to shoot 120 3s and blow Tatum's Achilles out...smh
But OKC just has a better overall team and IND doesn't have anyone that can get consistent points when they need it like SGA can. I was just annoyed listening to the so called sports experts talk like IND actually has a chance and they get paid to analyze these games. They even have Hali and undeserved nickname outta it too. If he didn't hit that shot they would be crushing him right now. He literally played the exact game tonight he did game 1. He just hit that game winner and flipped the narrative lol
i hear you, but i do think IND has a chance. Analysts have been saying Indy doesn't have a chance since the 2nd round, some even the 1st. can only have egg on your face for so long before you give in. Hali having a big moment in each stage of these playoffs..if anyone else did some shyt like that they'd get a nickname too, i can't even be mad at it even if it's a garbage nickname. at each level too? (layup/three/long 2/middy) can't deny that imo
as for the game, they had a lot of good looks when they started being down and the shots weren't falling. in the 2nd half, they were getting matched bucket for bucket; i get SGA is a bucket but it felt like nobody on that team were missing threes all night. i'm not gonna bank on that level of contribution from the bench again, them mfs hit 10 threes, 9 outside of when Carlisle waved the flag
second game where no pacer even touched 20, and Pascal/Hali had 11/13 FGA. I get they aren't superstars and they are definitely not guys (unless its the final minute for Haliburton for some reason), but they gotta step up and and get leader-amount of touches and attempts. doubly so if they're on the road
I can't bank on the pacers always having these performances just yet, they always seem to find the answer although admittedly this is the first time i feel like they've been straight up lost on D. We'll see if that still translates in the venue change
lastly i think the pacers gotta figure out an answer to starting slow. looking at game 1 scoring by quarter: 20/25/31/35 and game 2: 20/21/33/33 they really get clicking in the 2nd half. the Thunder ending g2 with 34/30 as opposed to 28/25 didn't feel like an anomaly, so maybe an early defensive scheme gotta be drawn up a little better because even the full court press doesnt feel as effective as it did in the previous two series'
