[Observation] The most overrated player? The Pacers are the most underrated team!

Sports Weekly All-Media Reporter Li Hui

The first team to win the match point in the division final: Indiana Pacers.

There is no doubt that this is beyond everyone's expectations. Before the Pacers and Cavaliers' series, not many people were optimistic about the Pacers who only won 50 wins. Most people believe that the Cavaliers who won 64 wins in the regular season will resolve the battle in 5-6 games.

But just like last year's doubts, the Pacers' playoff performance this season was once again amazing. Now, they are only one victory away from their great achievements in the Eastern Conference Finals for two consecutive years. The last time the Pacers entered the Eastern Conference Finals for two consecutive years was in 2013 and 2014. At that time, they had George, West, Hibert and Stephenson. Their two Eastern Conference Finals battles with the Heat are still vivid in their minds. Compared with the past, the Pacers now have not changed much in terms of their characteristics, and team basketball is still their supreme concept.

The most overrated player? The most underrated team!

Before the start of this year's playoffs, Halliburton was voted anonymously as the most overrated player in the league. Judging from his performance so far, Halliburton was undoubtedly inspired by such an evaluation. In the second game of the series against the Cavaliers, he completed an incredible 1+3 at the last moment, helping the team win a victory that was enough to change the balance of the series. Although we have to admit that Halliburton is indeed not a good enough player and his performance is not stable. For example, in Game 3 of the series, he only scored 4 points, which is undoubtedly contrary to an excellent player, Halliburton has proved with his performance at a critical moment in the playoffs this year that he is at least not "the most overrated".

Instead of worrying about whether Halliburton is overrated, it is better to give more attention to the Pacers. It can be said that this is the most underrated team by the outside world. In the competitive landscape of the Eastern World, the Pacers are never a popular team. Whether it was the period of Reggie Miller or Paul George, not many people would put the Pacers in the first tier of the Eastern Conference, because there were teams more star-like than their lineup at the same time. For example, when George was the core, in addition to the Heat, there were also the Knicks led by Anthony, but the final result was that George led his team to eliminate the Knicks.

Now, the Pacers led by Halliburton also have this treatment. When people mention the competitive landscape in the East, the Celtics are naturally the only one. Next, more people think that it is the Bucks with Antetokounmpo, the 76ers with Embiid, the Cavaliers with Mitchell, and the Knicks with Bronson + Downs. Then it may be the Pacers' turn.

However, except for the Celtics, you can never find an Eastern Conference team that has performed better than the Pacers in the past two years. They can not only guarantee a certain lower limit in the regular season, but also play surprisingly in the playoffs. Last season, the Pacers eliminated the Bucks and the Knicks one after another, both of which were not favored by the outside world. In the East Finals, the Pacers also caused great trouble to their opponents in the first two games. In the playoffs this season, the Pacers eliminated the Bucks for the second consecutive year and took the lead in the series with the Cavaliers. It can be said that they have always proved that they have certain competitiveness and are underestimated by the outside world.

famous coach! Can! After defeating the Cavaliers to get the match point, Carlisle won his 33rd playoff victory in coaching with the Pacers, surpassing Larry Bird in one fell swoop and becoming the coach with the Pacers' most playoff coaching in the playoffs. This is Carlisle's second coaching Pacers. In the early 21st century, he served as the Pacers' head coach and once built the Iron Division. If it weren't for the Auburn Palace incident, the Pacers would have a very good chance of competing for the championship. In 2021, Carlisle, who took the initiative to leave the Mavericks' position as coach, once again became the Pacers' head coach. In four years, he completely changed this team that was tepid. In the past four years, the Pacers' regular season wins were 25 games, 35 games, 47 games and 50 games respectively. In the past two years, the Pacers began to occupy a place in the East.

Just like leading the Mavericks to the championship in 2011, Carlisle's coaching philosophy is still mainly offensive. Compared with the team with Dirk Nowitzki, the Pacers' offense is undoubtedly more focused on the team. In the regular season, the Pacers' offense ranks more on the top ten in the league in multiple offensive data, ranked 7th in the league in scoring per game, third in the league in assists per game, 9th in the league in offensive efficiency, fifth in the fast break scoring, third in the league in shooting percentage, and ninth in the league in shooting percentage. In the playoffs, the Pacers' offense has been further improved. So far in the playoffs, they averaged 118.1 points per game, ranking second in the league in assists per game, ranking first in the league in the fourth game against the Cavaliers. They played 25 assists in the first half, completely defeating their opponents.

The Pacers do not have an absolute superstar, so they do not rely on any players on the offensive end. So far in the playoffs, the team's scoring champion Siakam averaged less than 20 points per game, but the team has 6 players with double-digit scores, and also includes two players with nearly double-digit numbers: McConnell and Toppin. These 8 players together form the Pacers' scoring group. For opponents, they don't know who will become the Pacers' offensive vanguard on any night. Just like in the series with the Cavaliers, Nemhard performed the best in the first game, with 23 points in the whole game, Nemhard played the best in the second game, Nesmith played the best in the second game, with 23 points, and Turner's turn in the fourth game, scoring 18 points in the half. It can be seen that this does not include the two leading figures of the Pacers, Halliburton and Siakam, but Siakam's stability and Halliburton's performance at critical moments are undoubtedly an important part of this team's offense..

Therefore, if we want to talk about the real superstar of this team, it must be Carlisle. His existence allows everyone in the team to play their greatest advantage. More importantly, Carlisle's ability to judge the situation and adjust is more popular in the playoffs. In the third game of the series against the Cavaliers, the Pacers were completely suppressed by their opponents who fought against each other. However, in the fourth game, the Cavaliers, whose lineup is still neat, could no longer find a way to break the enemy. Therefore, Carlisle has completed the adjustment. Halliburton said after today's game, "Carlisle is a genius who makes adjustments. Our performance in the last game was disappointing. Carlisle stabilized the morale of the army and helped us respond. "

Conclusion

Authentic, the Pacers have gained a lot of "injury benefits" in the past two years of playoff progress. For example, Antetokounmpo and Lillard have both missed the game due to injuries, such as the injury of the Knicks last year and the injuries of Cavaliers Mobley this year, which also makes the outside world question the Pacers continue, believing that they still need to continue to prove themselves, but the so-called opportunity is left to those who are prepared. In such a season that seems to lack a dominant enough team, the Pacers will be themselves and have the opportunity to achieve final success.