Pacers vs. Lakers 12/09 IST Championship Game

Post #1 » by **boomershadow** » Sat Dec 9, 2023 10:38 pm

What can even be said? Did anybody really see us this far in the IST. I know the jury is still out some on exactly much weight this In season tourney is gonna have, but still. It's great to see the team playing big name teams like Boston and Milwaukee and competing.

Wizop · Post #2 » by **Wizop** » Sun Dec 10, 2023 2:25 am

We're hanging in there despite poor shooting

HarthorneWingo · Post #3 » by **HarthorneWingo** » Sun Dec 10, 2023 2:51 am

Rooting for you guys. Where is everyone?

Wizop · Post #4 » by **Wizop** » Sun Dec 10, 2023 3:03 am

HarthorneWingo wrote:Rooting for you guys. Where is everyone?

We're watching the game. We don't have long game threads here.

HarthorneWingo · Post #5 » by **HarthorneWingo** » Sun Dec 10, 2023 3:09 am

Wizop wrote:
HarthorneWingo wrote:Rooting for you guys. Where is everyone?

We're watching the game. We don't have long game threads here.

Haha, okay. Well, we’re jabbering away on the Knicks “Around the league” thread for those who’d like to talk it up. Go Pacers!

Pacers Forever · Post #6 » by **Pacers Forever** » Sun Dec 10, 2023 6:48 am

My observations of this loss first about the Lakers. Their game plan to smother Tyrese was huge in unsettling our offensive sets and shutting down his scoring.

Lakers going offensively to Anthony Davis was a huge advantage due to the Pacer’s inability to muscle him away from the hoop.

Shockingly 4 players did almost all of their scoring. Davis 41, Reaves 28 (inexcusable), Lebron 24, and Russell 13. Of course more players are given credit by me for being long defensively and contesting everything defensively. The Lakers players are tall, physical, and know to defer to Lebron and Davis on offense.

My take aways from the Pacers tonight is they didn’t give up. Nesmith is a dog. They sorely missed Nembhard and Smith who both in different ways would’ve made a difference. Could they have won with them tonight I doubt it. Could they win on another night with them available ? Absolutely

Brown, Hield, Turner, and McConnell had less than stellar games I expect from the Lakers defense. As a team we were 37% from 2, 24% from 3, out rebounded 55-32. Won the turnover battle 18-9.

A lot of missed Pacer’s shots throughout enabled the Lakers to keep a small lead. Luckily the Pacers didn’t let the Lakers bury them like the Pelicans did. They were scrappy enough to hang close until late in the 4th quarter.

Playing in tonight’s championship game is a great achievement for this young team. A good learning experience.

It clearly showed the deficiencies or needs we all talk about. The need for a bigger player to defend Lebron and the league’s top forwards, the need of someone to defend and rebound against strongest centers like Davis, another stud scorer who can take the pressure off of Tyrese, a defensive first mindset, and gaining valuable experience from going against the top echelon of the league due to our youth.

It was a good night and nothing to be down about, just not an excellent night like previous tournament games.

Pacers Forever · Post #7 » by **Pacers Forever** » Sun Dec 10, 2023 7:13 am

As you know I don’t like Lebron for his constant whining and theatrics. He’s not the only superstar who does this and I don’t think it belongs in the game.

The NBA has been full of this for years and some calls for superstars are excessive and unwarranted.

4 fouls on Lebron makes me feel like the refs were fair. I was again happy that the officiating didn’t feel blatantly biased or bad tonight. Lakers just outplayed and definitely out defended the Pacers tonight.

Janquinn87 · Post #8 » by **Janquinn87** » Sun Dec 10, 2023 12:37 pm

A great learning experience for a young Pacers team. Carlisle should replace Buddy and have Nesmith as the starting small forward. Obi starting at power forward and Walker as his backup to give us more size.

Post #9 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon Dec 11, 2023 4:29 pm

This is how Lakers stopped Indy in the Tournament Championship Game. Pretty basic stuff, similar to what Miami did to Hawks in 2022 Playoffs.

Trap Tyrese in the Pick-and-Roll
Pickup the ballhandler full length of the court to slow fastbreak opportunities
Form a wall with ,multiple defenders to prevent dribble penetration and rotate backline of the defense to cutoff lobs/kickouts

Easier to do with elite big man defender like Anthony Davis and a basketball genius like LeBron. And Carlisle and Pacers have the personnel to adjust and overcome this. But this is the blueprint on how to stop Indy.

Watch on YouTube