A great start for the Pacers but now Lillard is expected to return, and that changes everything
The Bucks' All-Star guard is likely to play in Game 2 Tuesday at Gainbridge. I still see the Pacers winning in seven games, but the challenge now is greater than ever before.
Now the Pacers-Bucks series starts for real.
Not to diminish what the Pacers accomplished in their casual 117-98 victory over the Bucks in Game 1 at Gainbridge, but this series is getting ready to change with the likely return of Dame Lillard in Game 2 Tuesday. Granted, Lillard hasn’t played much since mid-March and may have to knock off some rust, but this remains a player who averaged 24.9 points per game and 7.1 assists.
The Pacers had to win Game 1, had to forge ahead in this series with that Game 1 win against a Lillard-less Milwaukee team. This is not to say the Bucks will suddenly win the series – I’m standing by the Pacers in seven – but now the challenge gets greater. Last year, remember, Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t play at all and Lillard missed two games in the Pacers’ six-game Round 1 victory. The Pacers, who heard all offseason they were a playoff fluke while playing injured teams in Milwaukee and New York, are poised to prove they can beat Milwaukee at full strength.
Lillard made sure to remind Tyrese Haliburton during a trash talk session with 1:32 remaining in Game 1. While officials went to the monitor for a review, Lillard, in street clothes, had works for Haliburton. I’m not a lip reader (not one of my many talents) but it surely appeared Lillard was telling Haliburton he would return for Game 2 Tuesday and “I’ll kick your ass.”
Aren’t budding rivalries grand?
Some other observations and thoughts from Game 1:
The Pacers have made some terrific trades in their franchise history; for a franchise that doesn’t dip into high-level free agency, trades and the draft are the primary ways they have improved their team over the years.
The trade for Mark Jackson – excellent. The deal for Detlef Schrempf – really good. Paul George for Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo – a masterstroke, one that led to one of the greatest deals in franchise history, Sabonis for Tyrese Haliburton. But for my money, the three best trades the Pacers have made were the aforementioned Haliburton trade, the Dale Davis-for-Jermaine O’Neal trade and the acquisition of Pascal Siakam for spare change. Two of those three top trades were made by Kevin Pritchard, who also – by the way – got Aaron Nesmith for Malcolm Brogdon.
Rick Carlisle was talking about Siakam a week ago and mentioned that he possesses “understated greatness.”
I asked Carlisle about that statement Saturday after Siakam went for 25 points (on 10-of-15 shooting, 3-of-5 from three) and seven rebounds. He was Indiana’s leading scorer in last year’s series against the Bucks and he figures to duplicate that effort. More, he spent most of his time on the floor guarding Antetokounmpo and did as a reasonably good job – or as good a job as can be reasonably expected against a generational player.
“I think the average person watching the game wouldn’t presume that he (Siakam) was 10 for 15 with 25 points,” Carlisle said. “I mean, I think that’s it. And a lot of his baskets come at timely parts of the game, and for some reason, they kind of get overlooked a little bit. But that’s part of his grace as a competitor.”
Think about this: Siakam came to the Pacers midway through last season and already, his team has won nine playoff games. The guy is just a perfect pro, a leader, a champion with the Toronto Raptors.
Andrew Nembhard is a playoff beast.
He averaged just under 10 points per game during the regular season. In 17 playoff games, he’s averaged 14.9 points per game, 5.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds while playing dogged defense.
He ended the season in a terrible shooting slump; a lot of that is attributable to the fact he routinely defends the opposition’s best backcourt player, often with heavy ball pressure, and that has a way of taking out your legs. But now it’s the playoffs, and Playoff Drew has shown up. It was his deep 3-pointer that saved last year’s series against the Knicks, and Saturday, he set the tone with early aggression and scoring, finishing with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting and five assists.
On a day when Haliburton struggled with his shot (3-of-13, 0-for-7 from 3), Nembhard seized control, especially early in the game, dissecting the defense and routinely getting to the basket, hitting seven of his first eight shots.
“Everybody on our team has got to be armed and dangerous to score,” Carlisle said. “Striking the right balance for our team is everything and so as we get into this, and you go from game to game, there’s going to be different storylines, there’s going to be different skirmishes during the game, all kinds of that stuff. We’ve got to maintain a level head and a high level of aggression while also maintaining poise.”
The Bucks are the No. 1 3-point shooting team in the NBA, but the Pacers did a tremendous job running them off the 3-point line. Milwaukee went 2-of-16 from 3 in the first half and finished 9-of-37. Looking for a stat that tells the story of the game: Antetokounmpo, who’s been averaging more than 11 assists since Lillard went out with deep vein thrombosis, had just one assist and five turnovers.
He also didn’t get any help, especially from his fellow starters. Kyle Kuzma became just the sixth player in NBA history to put up a statistical goose egg – no points, no rebounds, no assists, no nothing except two fouls – in over 20 minutes of playing time in a playoff game. Another starter, Taurean Prince, also had no points. Brook Lopez, outplayed again by Myles Turner (19 points), had nine points.
If you’re looking for a reason to be mildly concerned, the Bucks started coming back with a bench lineup of Antetokounmpo and four shooters – Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green and Bobby Portis. I would expect Doc Rivers will take note and will toy with his lineups.
Buckle up. This is going to be a long series.
“The series is one-seventh over,” Carlisle said, “and Game 2 will be monumentally more difficult than this one.”
Lillard, who is expected to return Tuesday, will see to that.
I’m not sure this goes 7. I had Pacers in 6 before it started but I also assumed a 2-2 after four. I’m no longer sure. I hate to overreact but it seemed like Carlisle was perfectly content to let Giannis dominate and foul him while shutting down the other four. IF Dame comes back they will relentlessly target a historically bad defensive player who won’t have his legs. And this team is so deep, they’ll just keep running in players and moving fast down court. I don’t know how the Bucks compete.
Can you explain the NBA rule on foul shooting lane violations? I thought if you stepped over line and touched the court, it was a violation. The Greek Freak did that almost every time while the Pacers shot the ball. Just wasn't sure if NBA has eased that rule like traveling.