Haliburton's Dagger & No Steph, No Problem With Tim Legler.
I filled in for Adam Mares on the All-NBA podcast with Tim Legler today. We dug into Game 2 between the Cavs and Pacers, plus Game 1 between the Wolves and Warriors.
I’ve attached my game notes, edits, and stats from both games. I hope you enjoy them!
Indiana 120 (2-0) Cleveland 119:
Tyrese Haliburton put a dagger in Cleveland’s heart with a step-back three from the top of the key over Ty Jerome. Between him, Brunson and Gordon we are getting some amazing finishes to these games!
Cleveland gave up five points on two missed Indiana free throws within the last minute of the game.
Cleveland Face Guarding Haliburton:
Indiana had success putting Haliburton on the strong two side of pick and rolls. Credit to Haliburton for trusting his teammates and playing the Steph Curry Davidson role of decoy. Credit to Nembhard for being the Swiss army knife that makes this Indiana team so difficult to handle in a playoff setting.
The Nembhard + Turner pick-and-roll was highly profitable producing 1.455 Points Per Direct PnR or 145 per 100 actions run.
The face guarding strategy on Haliburton opened space for Nembhard to widen the dribble out, creating bigger angles for Allen to defend and causing him not to be able to play two.
These bigger angles open pocket passes and forced switches for Turner. If the low man overcommitted to Turner, it resulted in skip passes for corner threes.
These open looks were created by Haliburton being a decoy in the right place.
Andrew Nembhard is one of the biggest reasons I have loved this team in a playoff setting all year. Any chance I’ve gotten to sing both his and Indiana’s praises, I have taken it! Like this appearance back in March on ALL-NBA:
The "Puncher's Chance" Contenders
I filled in for Tim Legler on the All-NBA pod with Adam Mares yesterday. We highlighted four teams with a puncher’s chance of making it to the NBA Finals.
End of 3rd and Early 4th:
Indiana's starters vs. Cleveland's bench was a bloodbath.
The end of the third and the start of the fourth were huge! In a few minutes, Indiana went from a 17-point deficit to 8. Starting with the Nesmith three off the Haliburton push with five seconds left in the quarter.
In a few minutes, Indiana went from a 17-point deficit to 8.
Golden State 99 (1-0) Minnesota 88:
Damn, that looks like a hammy for Curry.
13 points in 13 minutes to start the game. Basketball gods, please do not rob us of another Curry playoff run via injury!!
Big Picture:
They are all over the place, making life hell on every ball handler with smothering pressure and tight communication on switches. They created deflections, steals, and held Minnesota to an anemic 31 points in the first half.
Buddy Hield:
Buddy is a great shooter; he doesn’t cause Curry-level panic, but close.
One of the best things a great shooter can do to get himself open is to screen for his teammates. This is a great back-screen action to take advantage of that panic Buddy’s shooting creates.
Shout out
and for breaking down this fun SLOB action Golden State runs.Anthony Edwards:
The reads just aren’t there. Shoots it when he should drive it. Passes it when he should shoot it.
Not reading directional momentum, only the space in which the players are located.
I know this sounds granular, but it’s the type of stuff that puts guys like Curry, LeBron, Jokic, and Doncic over the top. He needs to be able to do this if he wants to reach the top.
3rd 12:00 He’s talented enough to finish these, which makes it hard to coach him here (I bet). He had plenty of these in the Los Angeles series, moments when the help comes and help-the-helper rotations happen. It’s an inflection point moment that can lead him to an easy pass or tough finish attempt.
He attempts a tough finish, falls, is late getting back, and gives up a wide-open corner three to GPII.
3rd 9:11 Same thing that leads to a Buddy Hield transition three.
3rd 4:00 When he beats the early help to the spot, it’s over. He’s on a different athletic level than his peers in the league, an outlier.
3rd 3:00 Empty corner actions with Randle, where Edwards makes the right read but throws the wrong type of pass, resulting in a turnover.
After all these misreads, he sprinkles in a few impressive decel finishes throughout the 4th. They’re a clear example of how special he is as an athlete and why it will need to be Edward who must realize the path forward is through trusting teammates by making the simple reads.
Coaching will help, but ultimately, he is special enough to finish some bad reads. Making it justifiable in his head that the other plays not as misreads but just misses (this is how the elite players I’ve worked with can hold themselves back from their ceiling).
This is why he must be the one to walk through the door and see the light.
4th 6:30: He misses a lob to Rudy when Looney breaks coverage and commits to him. Even if it's not a lob, it’s got to be a lefty finish; he doesn’t trust the left fully.
4th 3:00 Makes a wide open catch and shoot three from a possession where he started the advantage off a simple pass when they brought Looney up to the level on a screen. Reid presses the advantage, DiVincenzo does the same, and it’s a rhythm and balance catch and shoot three for Edwards. More simple!
Next play, he has an opportunity to hit Randle when Green is up at the level in a “get” action, and he forces a three. More simple!
Jonthan Kuminga:
Kuminga is coming back into the fold with some pop and a bit of self-awareness/hunger is fun to see and could be big for Golden State!
Two great WIMS reads on baseline drive + help the helper actions.
Marzie says “What Up Legs?!”
