The Indiana Pacers Finessed The NBA

The Indiana Pacers Finessed The NBA

Trade, trade, trade, draft, and draft. That right there is the Indiana Pacers starting lineup that just made the NBA Finals. And unlike some teams who have the luxury of players requesting to join them in free agency or through a trade, none of this was a result of luck. The none of this was a result of luck. The Indiana Pacers just made the NBA Finals because they were smarter and better than everyone else in the Eastern Conference. Oh, they might have had a little bit of luck as well. Th This is little bit of luck as well. Th This is some form of malpractice on the Kings part. This is some form of malpractice. Yeah, anytime you make a trade with the Sacramento Kings or in a position to draft right after the Kings, there is a bit of luck involved. But the Pacers took that luck with the Tyrese Hallebertden trade and built a perfectly crafted team around him to go from winning a combined 60 games across the 2022 and 2023 seasons to nearly 100 over the last 2 years and more importantly making the Eastern Conference finals in both seasons and now the NBA finals as well. And the other major part of crafting this perfect team was, of course, the trade they made for the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, which included Bruce Brown, Kyra Lewis Jr., Jordan Noora, the 19th overall pick, the 29th overall pick from 2024, and then a 2026 first round pick as well. And whilst the Raptors have done okay from that deal, I can tell you this, none of that deal, I can tell you this, none of those assets have and likely will turn out to be half the player Pascal Seakum is. And I’ve seen some people ridiculing the Eastern Conference because Pascal Seakkum was the Conference Finals MVP. Regardless of what people want to say about that, this is a guy who over his about that, this is a guy who over his last two playoff runs for Indiana is averaging over 21 points, just under seven rebounds and 3 and 1/2 assists per game on good efficiency as well, whilst always competing. And more importantly, he’s just a perfect fit because of plays like this where off the missed shot, Howie gets the board and it’s that simple outlet pass to Pascal who is running the floor and then the euro step around OG for the reverse finish or again this time where it’s with the ball and again Pascal is ahead of the field and Harley finds him for the easy dunk. This is what I mean when I say he’s a This is what I mean when I say he’s a perfect fit. And a lot of the time it perfect fit. And a lot of the time it simply just involves him being fitter, faster, and more willing to run than everyone else on the opposition. Obviously, you pair that with his size, his skill, his ability to actually take the ball in transition and score in addition to the easy buckets that are created by Tyrese Hallebertton. But in general, just having someone who is an elite transition scorer and who is so willing to take advantage of what Tyrese can do as a playmaker, that’s what makes them a perfect fit. And it shows up in them a perfect fit. And it shows up in the numbers as well, leading the playoffs in total transition points. And he is doing it while shooting 73% from the field on 55 field goal attempts. Look at the field goal percentage compared to everyone else on that list. And it goes beyond just him scoring in transition. He’s also a guy that can take advantage of mismatches. If you put a smaller defender on him, he can use his size. He can get you in the block, his size. He can get you in the block, the turnaround fade away, the hook shots, yes, the spin moves occasionally, but he has a deeper bag than what people but he has a deeper bag than what people used to give him credit for. And if he used to give him credit for. And if he has a bigger defender, well, he can take advantage of that as well. Like here, where he has cat against him. And this time, even though he doesn’t have the space to go past him and to the rim, he space to go past him and to the rim, he uses that quick footwork to set up Cat leaning backwards before then hitting the pull-up jump. Just having two guys who are both willing to take advantage of each other’s best strengths and two guys who are unselfish but also mismatched nightmares. That’s the kind of combination that leads you to the NBA finals. It is also worth mentioning that a huge part and in my opinion the most a huge part and in my opinion the most impressive part of Indiana’s finals run are the decisions they have made outside of the trades for Tyrese Hallebertton and Pascal Seakum. Those were great deals, but everyone knew they were allstar level players. Even if they didn’t realize they would be this good and even if one team in particular didn’t realize they were trading away a future AllNBA player for the next 10 years. But the real genius of what the Pacers have done has been the moves around the edges. What doesn’t get discussed enough is the fourth and fifth starters for Indiana. Andrew Nemhard and Aaron Smith. the same initials, the same genius moves from Indiana to get those guys for cut cost deals with Nemhard picked 31st in the 2022 draft and has since been one of the best five or six since been one of the best five or six players from that draft class and someone who has risen in the playoffs both years, averaging 14 and five in those two seasons. And it goes beyond just the scoring. It’s the playmaking. It’s the ability to create his own shot with Tyrese off the floor. It’s the defense. Shot clock at four. Yeah, how about six steals in game six against the Knicks. Looking like prime Scotty Pippen out there. And more importantly, almost all of them led to transition buckets as well. Like this play where he gets screened by Cat initially. So he then tags Cat as the roller, but he doesn’t give up on the play as he then gets back into the play as he then gets back into the play to swipe the ball away from Brunson, getting the steal and then finding Tyrese running the floor for the dunk. He did that all night long. And the best He did that all night long. And the best part about all of this, the Pacers signed him for a three-year, $57 million deal starting next season, which compared to other good starting players in the league, that’s an absolute steal. And speaking of steals, how about getting Aaron Nay Smith alongside an extra firstround pick in a trade for Malcolm Brogton, who has since struggled to even get on the court. And what’s been really incredible about Nmith is just the journey. Initially, when Boston drafted him, there was one major reason for that decision, his shooting. Unfortunately, that fell off a cliff during his second year as a Celtic when he couldn’t make a shot. But he was able he couldn’t make a shot. But he was able to get some minutes through his hustle and his defense. And Indiana decided they would take a chance on a guy who they would take a chance on a guy who had proven he can play defense and hustle at the NBA level. And he had proven he was an elite shooter at the college level. And now that those two things have pieced together, well, you have an elite 3 and D wing and you can have an elite 3 and D wing and you can say for certain the Pacers don’t win game one in New York and maybe aren’t in game one in New York and maybe aren’t in the NBA finals if it isn’t for Aaron Nmith turning to Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Damen Lillard, any of those names in the fourth quarter of the game against New York when the game seemed over. That was the shooting of Aaron Smith in addition to the defense that he has provided all season and all playoffs long. Even Miles Turner, how often did we see the reports of Miles Turner being linked to a trade? I swear it’s been an linked to a trade? I swear it’s been an offseason story for at least the last 5 years. And knowing NBA media, it’ll probably be a story this off season, even if the Pacers win a title. Oh, wait. It’s it’s a story whilst they’re still playing. That’s been the Miles Turner experience for the last 5 years. But in spite of that, he’s been consistent for Indie as a floor spacer and as a shot blocker. And that’s the third, sometimes fourth option for Indie on any given night. This is why they’re in the position they are. And you can go in the position they are. And you can go even further than this. I mean, did you think I was going to go the entire video think I was going to go the entire video without mentioning the man who turned into Durk Nitzky in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals? the corner play three. Oh my goodness. The same Thomas Bryant who couldn’t get any minutes for Denver during their playoff run, but he became a crucial piece for Indie this year after Isaiah Jackson went down with an Achilles tear. Or how about Ben Shepard, who definitely doesn’t light up the box score, but he hustles on defense. He knocks down the occasional three when he needs to. And then of course the GOAT TJ McConnell who has been a microwave off the bench these entire playoffs and pretty much his entire career as a Pacer. These aren’t the first names that you think of when you talk about a finals team, but they don’t get here without having the depth they do. And all of this was done through astute moves, drafting, trading, and signing players way below their

They’re pretty damn good…
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