Indiana Pacers Finding Offense Easy, Take 2-0 Lead Vs Milwaukee Bucks

INDIANAPOLIS – The second half of Game 2 in the Indiana Pacers vs Milwaukee Bucks playoff series started off like many other possessions in the best-of-seven set – the Pacers had the ball, and they walked it across the timeline only to be met by a Bucks zone defense. Without thinking, and with calm demeanor from each player on the floor, the Pacers worked the ball to All-Star forward Pascal Siakam in the middle of the floor, and he instantly identified that wing Aaron Nesmith was wide open for a three-point shot.

Nesmith drilled it. That was just one possession, but it represents the entire series between the Pacers and Bucks so far. The Pacers are up 2-0 after a pair of games in Indianapolis, and they are scoring with ease against a Milwaukee defense that ranked as the 12th best during the regular season.

Four minutes and 10 seconds into the series, the Bucks took a timeout after giving up 15 quick points and several wide open shots. The Pacers rolled in that game, leading by 10+ points for the final 30:01 of action.

Game 2 began with Indiana up 10-2, then 16-8 before Milwaukee stopped to talk things over. While the second clash had a closer score in the fourth quarter, the same story remained. The Pacers scored easily and were able to get shot attempts that they liked for almost all of the two-hour, 34-minute contest.

“We know we can score points,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said before pointing to some other things his team needs to do better. But one thing they haven’t needed to do better yet is generate quality looks. Siakam drilled a wide-open three to help put the second game away late, another example of the Pacers’ effortless offense. “I was wide open, and it was like that for a lot of the shots that we had at that time,” Siakam said. “So just take it with confidence and shoot it.”

The Pacers are a prepared team and an offensively gifted group. They’ve been able to put up big numbers against just about anybody for the last two seasons, and that includes the Bucks.

Why have the Pacers been able to score so easily so far in the playoffs?

Milwaukee and Indiana played 11 times across the regular season and playoffs in 2023-24. This season, that number sits at six and will reach at least eight. The Central Division foes will meet 20-ish times across a two-season time period, a remarkable number of battles between two franchises.

That heightens tension. It also gives the blue and gold built in knowledge of what the Bucks hope to do defensively. Across those nearly two dozen outings, which includes multiple important NBA Cup duels and almost double-digit postseason meetings, the Pacers have seen what Milwaukee can do against them on the less glamorous end of the floor. Star guard Tyrese Haliburton said he feels as if he’s seen every coverage that can be thrown his way from the fifth-seeded roster.

It’s clear that the Pacers are comfortable. The NBA’s tracking data says that only the Oklahoma City Thunder are generating “wide open” shots in the playoffs more often than the Pacers. Their offense has been as good as they could have hoped to open the series.

“Just continue to be us,” Saikam said. “I’m sure we’re going to watch film and try to find ways to continue to have the flow and the things that make us dangerous as a team.”

Indiana has the second-best offensive rating in the postseason so far – only the Cleveland Cavaliers have scored more points per 100 possessions. That’s the identity of the blue and gold, but the postseason can lead to more challenges. Defenses are more dialed in. But they still can’t stop the Pacers.

It hasn’t been just one player leading the charge. Every Pacers starter scored 15+ points in Game 2. Six players reached double figures in Game 1. The stars have led the way, but balance has been just as important.

It’s all possible because of the Pacers’ preparation. Their first basket of the second half on Tuesday night was proof. The moment that Indiana recognizes what the Bucks are doing on defense, they flow right into whatever attacking strategy they have planned.

“I feel like we’re prepared. We had a good week of prep,” Haliburton said. “We know we’re going to see some man [defense] out there, some drop with [Bucks center] Brook [Lopez], switching with [Bucks forward] Bobby [Portis], some zone. We’re prepared, and I feel like we’ve done a great job of adjusting to whatever is being thrown at us.”

The Bucks have tried to mix up their defensive plans from possession to possession, but Indiana hasn’t been phased. Milwaukee shifted their personnel around and the Pacers were ready for different coverages. It has been easy. Indiana’s flow has never gone away.

The Pacers have the best assist-to-turnover ratio of any postseason squad. Their turnover rate is the lowest of any group. Not only are they generating quality shots, they are getting a ton of chances to do so thanks to their ball movement. It’s exactly how they hope to play at their best, and it’s clear why. They’re winning games.

Haliburton loved the shots he wiggled free for in Game 1, but he only made three of his 13 attempts. In game two, he shot 8/19. His threes haven’t gone in yet during the playoffs, but history says they will. Every other Pacers starter is taking, and making, shots they are comfortable with essentially every trip down the floor.

The team’s reserves have been hit and miss. They’ve done better against Milwaukee’s zone than they did in the regular season, but as a unit they’ve had moments of stagnation. They can be better. But Carlisle has done well to always plant one of his stars on the floor this series, and mixed starter-reserve units have held up.

It hasn’t all been rosy on the offensive end for the Pacers. A few smaller Bucks units have caused issues with switch-heavy strategies. They have forced Indiana to get late into the shot clock before earning a good field goal attempt – though the Pacers have made those shots. At their worst, the Pacers beat themselves and slow down too much, which usually leads to someone settling for a jump shot. The team has done that at times in both games, particularly in the fourth quarter, and noted it being a poor stretch during media sessions after the final buzzer.

There is still room for improvement. But the Pacers have to feel great about their offensive execution and shot diet so far in this series – and they have to feel even better about being up 2-0. Many predicted a longer series, and that’s still possible. So far, the blue and gold have controlled the action.

That doesn’t mean they will keep doing so going forward. Siakam noted that every game in a series is different, and the Bucks erased a 0-2 deficit during the 2021 NBA Finals. With Giannis Antetokouonmpo playing, Milwaukee will be tough to vanquish.

Pacers center Myles Turner agrees. “Still got a lot of work to do,” he said just after the final buzzer of Game 2. But to this point in the series, Indiana’s offensive process has been excellent, and they’ve been able to adjust to almost anything the Bucks throw at them. It has guided them to a 2-0 series lead.