And found a new way to win in Orlando
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
Despite shooting just 8-of-23 on threes, Indiana rallied for a 111-97 victory over the Magic on Sunday to pull within a game of Orlando in the standings. These aren't games that the Pacers normally win. In fact, entering into Sunday's contest, the Pacers had gone just 6-18...
2024-03-11 14:50:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Putting the ball back in the hands of Haliburton with an unexpected stack screener
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
Prior to Tuesday's win over the Dallas Mavericks, Tyrese Haliburton had gone from playing out of 51.4 ball screens per 100 possessions to averaging just 32.3 over the prior five games. With Ben Sheppard and Doug McDermott both si...
2024-03-07 14:22:05 +0000 UTC View Post
My work at "Basketball, She Wrote" is typically paywalled. This article, as an explainer of what's contributing to the recent skid for the Pacers, 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. Alr...
2024-03-04 16:32:55 +0000 UTC View Post
On why the Pacers struggled to score against zone in New Orleans, and whether they should be playing zone themselves
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
With 6:16 to play in the first quarter, the Pacers were still within striking distance, trailing by only seven points, down 23-16, despite the fact that New Orleans had started the game shooting 10-of-...
2024-03-02 18:49:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Answering questions about the basketball played by the Pacers
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
As promised, for this month's mailbag, I was once again joined by a guest: Alex Golden from Setting the...
2024-02-28 13:30:02 +0000 UTC View Post
at least for now
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
In a span of less than five minutes, the Pacers went from clinging to a narrow, four-point lead to building a commanding cushion, reeling off a 20-4 run en route to snapping what was a seven-game win streak for the Dallas Mavericks. Following the win, Rick Carlisle credited the all-bench lineup, feat...
2024-02-26 13:44:18 +0000 UTC View Post
And the continued rise of inverted spacing
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
According to Cleaning the Glass, this is the exact definition of garbage time: "the game has to be in the fourth quarter, the score differential is greater than 25 points ...
2024-02-24 15:58:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Analyzing the far-ranging effects in the long run of having a short fuse
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
Just as the NBA is notorious for not starting games on time, Rick Carlisle also has a bit of a reputation for stopping games before they've ba...
2024-02-21 16:09:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Detailing the win with Samson Folk of Raptors Republic
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
Despite giving up 84 points in the paint, while spending a bunch of the first half getting run over in transition, the undermanned Pacers were able to manufacture enough timely stops (oh hi, Ben Sheppard) in combination with timely scores to head into the ...
2024-02-15 13:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Oof
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
For the majority of the season, the Pacers have demonstrated strength in numbers. In addition to being a balanced attack, with seven players averaging double figures in scoring, they also typically get a huge boost from their depth, 2024-02-13 14:26:59 +0000 UTC View Post
And seemingly always having an out
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
Magic tricks don't always go to plan. Sometimes, with a sophisticated flourish, the wrong card gets revealed and the gimmick awkwardly falls apart. The same can apply to basketball. Just ask Obi Toppin. On the season, Toppin ranks third among all players in two-point per...
2024-02-11 13:33:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Looking back at past versions of Doug McDermott, both with the Pacers and when previously coached by Rick Carlisle, to project his second stint in Indiana.
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
Happy "the trade deadline is finally over" to everyone who celebrates. Also, happy "the Warriors-Pacers game is finally over" to everyone who, well, probab...
2024-02-09 13:02:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Answering questions about the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
As promised, for this month's edition of the patron-only mailbag, I was joined by a guest: James Boyd of The Athletic, who for my money (2024-02-06 12:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post
(My work at Basketball, She Wrote is typically paywalled. This article, gazing through the looking glass of post-ups and frontcourt changes, is available as a free trial. If you're new here and want to support independent writing about actual basketball, please consider subscribing and/or sharing it around. Alright, on to the wor...
2024-02-05 15:12:03 +0000 UTC View Post
And the double-edged sword of doubling
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
The New York Knicks, who were down by Julius Randle and O.G. Anunoby as key starters, clawed back from a 15-point deficit against the Pacers for a ninth-straight win despite shooting just 39 percent from the field, largely, for two reasons: Jalen Brunson played b...
2024-02-02 15:08:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Celebrating the one-year anniversary of "Basketball, She Wrote" with fire t-shirts
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
Time flies when you're writing, editing, and publishing blogs, apparently. As All-Star weekend fast approaches in Indy, so too does the one-year anniversary of Basketball, She Wrote -- 2024-01-30 14:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
How Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard helped the Pacers to score without scoring
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
As the saying goes, if at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. In a game that started out as though it was being played in mud, creeping and jerking between periods of choppy flow punctuated by rapid bursts of highlights...
2024-01-29 22:36:23 +0000 UTC View Post
And continue re-writing the future of their past in games without Tyrese Haliburton
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
After halting the momentum of both the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns, the Indiana Pacers are currently on a winning streak of snapping winning streaks. Coming on the second night of a back-to-back, the Blue & Gold tur...
2024-01-27 17:01:05 +0000 UTC View Post
And what his signature moment could reveal about a signature move
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
With liquid hustle pumping through his veins, it was the signature sequence of Ben Sheppard's young career. In a span of roughly 10 seconds, the 22-year-old rookie dove after a deflection on one side of the floor and then got up to convert points...
2024-01-25 14:19:28 +0000 UTC View Post
The Suns searched for Hield under every rock and cactus, which likely also would've been the case if Haliburton had been available. What should the Pacers do to avoid getting, figuratively and literally, needled?
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
With less than two and a half minutes to play in what was a tied game following free throws from A...
2024-01-23 13:26:01 +0000 UTC View Post
And whether he impressed with his first impression, fitting in by standing out
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
One game is clearly not enough to accurately gauge to what degree Pascal Siakam will be a difference maker for the Pacers, especially when said game is coming on the second night of a road back-to-back without much opportunity for ei...
2024-01-21 14:10:13 +0000 UTC View Post
(My work at Basketball, She Wrote is typically paywalled. This film study, as an in-depth breakdown of how Pascal Siakam will mesh both offensively and defensively with his new team, 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, on to the words -- in video form -- about the Pacers.)
By: ...
2024-01-18 18:39:34 +0000 UTC View Post
Key takeaways from the extended minutes played by Indiana's pair of first-round picks
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
For the first time since prior to Christmas, the Pacers have lost two games in a row, with the second defeat coming against the Utah Jazz on the second night of a back-to-back, in altitude, without Tyrese Haliburton, Aaron Ne...
2024-01-16 18:25:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Tracing what's changed on that end of the floor through the lens of the match-up with Atlanta
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
At least in this particular match-up, the Pacers have come a long way on the defensive end. After surrendering 152 points to the Atlanta Hawks during the group stage of the In-Season Tournament, in which both teams eve...
2024-01-13 18:18:49 +0000 UTC View Post
And the unique moment that he was uniquely suited for
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
After defeating the Boston Celtics, 133-131, in what was a game that went from heart-stopping, when Tyrese Haliburton had to be carried off the floor after slipping on the court, to heart-pounding, as his teammates came up big in the second half despite not...
2024-01-09 13:25:31 +0000 UTC View Post
On the defensive techniques the Pacers are deploying to protect mismatches
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
More often than not, late-game and late-season offense tends to hinge around mismatch hunting -- especially when the player being hunted leads the league in points created from assists, not only for this season but also since the beginning of ...
2024-01-08 15:11:40 +0000 UTC View Post
High scoring is commonplace for the Pacers, but it certainly isn't ho-hum
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
The Pacers scored a 150 points, again -- marking the third time they have done so this season, with two of those outings coming against the Atlanta Hawks. This says a lot about the Hawks, but also something about the Pacers, who tallied a franc...
2024-01-06 14:30:22 +0000 UTC View Post
And how he can be both unsettling for opponents and a sign of what isn't settled for the Pacers
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
For the final 7:33 of Indiana's latest win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Pacers played a lineup that had previously only logged four minutes of action together, with none coming during the fourth quarter. In this game, however, Bennedict Mathurin was decisive and engaged (on a night wh...
2024-01-03 13:50:45 +0000 UTC View Post
Even when he commits a turnover, he still finds the advantage
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
After the Indiana Pacers defeated the New York Knicks by a score of 140-126 while shooting 60 percent from the field and making 23 3-pointers to tie the team record, 2023-12-31 15:09:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Answering questions about the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
As promised, for this month's edition of the patron-only mailbag, I was joined by a guest: Pacers beat writer and podcaster, Tony East. Before diving into the Pacers of it...
2023-12-29 13:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post