OT - Pascal is the First Scoring Option on a Contender - Apologize To Pascal

[iBall101]

I’m not apologizing for ****. I said Siakam was not a first option and he’s proving that he was miscast as first option on this team. Happy for him but no apology is owed.

He most definitely is not a first option. I said this years ago on a post. He's at his best when he's not the defenses #1 focus (which he's not in Indy).

Brandon Ingram > Pascal Siakam. BI has more upside in talent, especially on the offensive end. Watch next season.

[EastonEddy]

It keeps getting repeated that Siakam isn't a #1 option but let's look at his achievements.

2019 Playoffs 2nd leading scorer on the champs
2020 Reg Season leading scorer on a team with 2nd best record in the NBA.
2022 Leading Scorer on 48 win team
2024 Reg/Playoffs Leading scorer on an ECF team
2025 Reg/Playoffs Leading scorer on a Finals team

There are a lot of superstars and 1st option guys who haven't had close to the team success Pascal has had as the leading scorer. I think he blurs the line between a 1A, 1B or 2nd option more then people realize if he is in the right situation.

I think it more so speaks to the amount of depth you need around Siakam to make it work.

He’s averaging 21/7/3, we all know that isn’t superstar numbers. 2018-2020 Raps had so much depth on the team. Multiple guys capable of scoring 20 a night and can defend their positions.

The same is with the Pacers. Those are some of the deepest teams this league has ever seen in quite a while.

Having playmaking savants like Lowry and Haliburton make it very easy to build a good roster too. we should get a guard of that caliber, seems easy enough. /s

This is such nonsense. The Pacers have one other all-star. They just beat a team with 4! They were an okay to bad team with Haliburton prior to the Siakam trade. They got him for peanuts and the rest is history.

Hali wasn't an all star this year lol
Siakam is the only all-star on the team.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I think it more so speaks to the amount of depth you need around Siakam to make it work.

He’s averaging 21/7/3, we all know that isn’t superstar numbers. 2018-2020 Raps had so much depth on the team. Multiple guys capable of scoring 20 a night and can defend their positions.

The same is with the Pacers. Those are some of the deepest teams this league has ever seen in quite a while.

Having playmaking savants like Lowry and Haliburton make it very easy to build a good roster too. we should get a guard of that caliber, seems easy enough. /s

This is such nonsense. The Pacers have one other all-star. They just beat a team with 4! They were an okay to bad team with Haliburton prior to the Siakam trade. They got him for peanuts and the rest is history.

Hali wasn't an all star this year lol
Siakam is the only all-star on the team.

I mean, at least making it one time.

[HumbleRen]

I think it more so speaks to the amount of depth you need around Siakam to make it work.

He’s averaging 21/7/3, we all know that isn’t superstar numbers. 2018-2020 Raps had so much depth on the team. Multiple guys capable of scoring 20 a night and can defend their positions.

The same is with the Pacers. Those are some of the deepest teams this league has ever seen in quite a while.

Having playmaking savants like Lowry and Haliburton make it very easy to build a good roster too. we should get a guard of that caliber, seems easy enough. /s

This is such nonsense. The Pacers have one other all-star. They just beat a team with 4! They were an okay to bad team with Haliburton prior to the Siakam trade. They got him for peanuts and the rest is history.

Hali wasn't an all star this year lol
Siakam is the only all-star on the team.

Haliburton is an all nba player btw.

Haliburton was also leading a top 5 offence of all time before the Siakam trade too.

[HumbleRen]

It keeps getting repeated that Siakam isn't a #1 option but let's look at his achievements.

2019 Playoffs 2nd leading scorer on the champs
2020 Reg Season leading scorer on a team with 2nd best record in the NBA.
2022 Leading Scorer on 48 win team
2024 Reg/Playoffs Leading scorer on an ECF team
2025 Reg/Playoffs Leading scorer on a Finals team

There are a lot of superstars and 1st option guys who haven't had close to the team success Pascal has had as the leading scorer. I think he blurs the line between a 1A, 1B or 2nd option more then people realize if he is in the right situation.

I think it more so speaks to the amount of depth you need around Siakam to make it work.

He’s averaging 21/7/3, we all know that isn’t superstar numbers. 2018-2020 Raps had so much depth on the team. Multiple guys capable of scoring 20 a night and can defend their positions.

The same is with the Pacers. Those are some of the deepest teams this league has ever seen in quite a while.

Having playmaking savants like Lowry and Haliburton make it very easy to build a good roster too. we should get a guard of that caliber, seems easy enough. /s

This is such nonsense. The Pacers have one other all-star. They just beat a team with 4! They were an okay to bad team with Haliburton prior to the Siakam trade. They got him for peanuts and the rest is history.

You do know the top 2 scoring options on the Pacers before the trade was Buddy Hield and Hali? And they still had a better record than us when we had Siakam, OG, Scottie and Poeltl.

Haliburton is one of the best offensive engines in the league.

They have more than several guys averaging 10 points in the playoffs.

No one plays more than 35 minutes on the roster in the playoffs outside of Haliburton.

They are the definition of being deep lol.

[DG88]

First of all congrats to Siakam on playing well for his new team and is 1 win away from going back to the Finals.

Second what apology? The only one who would need to apologize is Masai and the FO for not building a team that made sense and holding on to players for too long.

I'm personally happy seeing our former players showing out on the biggest stage.

[mihaic]

Pascal plays so well against OG in this series. OG cannot stop him and Pascal is agile and gets the 50/50 balls. One on one OG can only score via contested jumper. OG is so limited on offense.

Bridges is good but doesn't see the ball enough. Would be perfect in Darko's system, I hope that is what Ingram will provide.

[tsherkin]

First of all congrats to Siakam on playing well for his new team and is 1 win away from going back to the Finals.

Second what apology? The only one who would need to apologize is Masai and the FO for not building a team that made sense and holding on to players for too long.

I'm personally happy seeing our former players showing out on the biggest stage.

I'm with this. Pascal's doing great, it's nice to see. I wish we hadn't traded him, didn't like it at the time either, but at least he's in a positive environment and thriving.

[Wannabe MEP]

Again...

• Haliburton has been third team All-NBA twice. So has Siakam. Top 15, but not top 10.
• Haliburton has never received any votes for MVP. Siakam has: he finished 10th in 2020. So by MVP accolades, he's not considered a top 10 player. So maybe 11-20 range?
• Haliburton was voted "most overrated" by fellow NBA players in March/April.

^ Honestly are those "superstar" accolades? Would you honestly have called him a superstar a couple months ago? What about two years ago when the Pacers had Hali, Turner, Carlisle, Nesmith, Nembhard, and finished out of the playoffs at 35-47?

I don't think you would have called him a superstar then. I think if that was the Raptors, a bunch of y'all would have said, "Tear it down. Treadmill team. We need a superstar. Hali is overrated." (Ya know, "overrated", like fellow NBA players called him.)

But now he's a superstar because this is your worldview:

1. You have to have a "superstar" to be a contender.
2. Siakam is not a "superstar".
3. Therefore the Pacers must have a "superstar" besides Siakam.

My worldview is different. I think you have to have a good core that fits to be a contender. I think Hali, Siakam, and Turner is a good core. I think the "superstar" designation is arbitrary, and it has y'all twisting yourselves in knots.

[Spates]

What a glazefest. And coming from a chorus of people with consistently terrible takes on Pascal. The Pacers run hasn't unveiled anything new about Pascal if you've been paying attention.

He has always been an superb finisher that thrives playing behind an elite lead guard who pushes pace. Lowry/Haliburton.

While on Toronto post-bubble he was a victim of poor roster construction, having too long of a leash, and contract year FVV.

Pascal's ideal is being a moderate to high touches, low time of possessions player, who can create their own shot from the middle of the floor. It's what it was during our title run and Indy is following the mold.

What's amusing is that Darko was tinkering with utilizing Pascal in this fashion and there was a heinous uproar. He was putting our best player in the positions for him to thrive and people wanted him fired. Funny how it's so different with Carlisle.

[nikster]

What a glazefest. And coming from a chorus of people with consistently terrible takes on Pascal. The Pacers run hasn't unveiled anything new about Pascal if you've been paying attention.

He has always been an superb finisher that thrives playing behind an elite lead guard who pushes pace. Lowry/Haliburton.

While on Toronto post-bubble he was a victim of poor roster construction, having too long of a leash, and contract year FVV.

Pascal's ideal is being a moderate to high touches, low time of possessions player, who can create their own shot from the middle of the floor. It's what it was during our title run and Indy is following the mold.

What's amusing is that Darko was tinkering with utilizing Pascal in this fashion and there was a heinous uproar. He was putting our best player in the positions for him to thrive and people wanted him fired. Funny how it's so different with Carlisle.

People completely forget how great Darko had Pascal playing. He had a slow first few games but finished the last 32 games averaging 24/5 on 61.5 TS%

[gp2015]

It keeps getting repeated that Siakam isn't a #1 option but let's look at his achievements.

2019 Playoffs 2nd leading scorer on the champs
2020 Reg Season leading scorer on a team with 2nd best record in the NBA.
2022 Leading Scorer on 48 win team
2024 Reg/Playoffs Leading scorer on an ECF team
2025 Reg/Playoffs Leading scorer on a Finals team

There are a lot of superstars and 1st option guys who haven't had close to the team success Pascal has had as the leading scorer. I think he blurs the line between a 1A, 1B or 2nd option more then people realize if he is in the right situation.

I think it more so speaks to the amount of depth you need around Siakam to make it work.

He’s averaging 21/7/3, we all know that isn’t superstar numbers. 2018-2020 Raps had so much depth on the team. Multiple guys capable of scoring 20 a night and can defend their positions.

The same is with the Pacers. Those are some of the deepest teams this league has ever seen in quite a while.

Having playmaking savants like Lowry and Haliburton make it very easy to build a good roster too. we should get a guard of that caliber, seems easy enough. /s

This is such nonsense. The Pacers have one other all-star. They just beat a team with 4! They were an okay to bad team with Haliburton prior to the Siakam trade. They got him for peanuts and the rest is history.

Okay to bad team? And you're calling out other comments as nonsense?

Would an okay to bad team go all in for a guy like Pascal if they didn't expect to compete with him for a championship?

They were already a good team with potential. They just needed Pascal and internal development from guys like Nembhard and Nesmith to put them over the top. They needed more consistency from Hali as well. Pascal just fits in perfectly with their team and their chemistry is great. They've improved together.

Pascal is a major factor in their success but not the singular factor that made them into a contender.

[Tripod]

Siakam has been the perfect fit for and with the Pacers, but we also have to be honest here.

He joined the team with the leagues best offense and that's with Hali dealing with that nagging hamstring. You can't say "they only have 2 All Star" because their system is set up to not rely on 1 or 2 guys getting all the FGA. Ironically we are built the same way barring some big trade. On any given day we could 4 different guys lead us in scoring or be 2nd.

What is also funny is that when traded, lots of people thought OG would be better fit for them since they already had offense in spades.

[Scase]

Siakam has been the perfect fit for and with the Pacers, but we also have to be honest here.

He joined the team with the leagues best offense and that's with Hali dealing with that nagging hamstring. You can't say "they only have 2 All Star" because their system is set up to not rely on 1 or 2 guys getting all the FGA. Ironically we are built the same way barring some big trade. On any given day we could 4 different guys lead us in scoring or be 2nd.

What is also funny is that when traded, lots of people thought OG would be better fit for them since they already had offense in spades.

Major difference being they have a bunch of guys who could shoot the 3, and a guy who is elite at running an offence.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I think it more so speaks to the amount of depth you need around Siakam to make it work.

He’s averaging 21/7/3, we all know that isn’t superstar numbers. 2018-2020 Raps had so much depth on the team. Multiple guys capable of scoring 20 a night and can defend their positions.

The same is with the Pacers. Those are some of the deepest teams this league has ever seen in quite a while.

Having playmaking savants like Lowry and Haliburton make it very easy to build a good roster too. we should get a guard of that caliber, seems easy enough. /s

This is such nonsense. The Pacers have one other all-star. They just beat a team with 4! They were an okay to bad team with Haliburton prior to the Siakam trade. They got him for peanuts and the rest is history.

Okay to bad team? And you're calling out other comments as nonsense?

Would an okay to bad team go all in for a guy like Pascal if they didn't expect to compete with him for a championship?

They were already a good team with potential. They just needed Pascal and internal development from guys like Nembhard and Nesmith to put them over the top. They needed more consistency from Hali as well. Pascal just fits in perfectly with their team and their chemistry is great. They've improved together.

Pascal is a major factor in their success but not the singular factor that made them into a contender.

Yeah when they acquired Haliburton they were a bad team for two seasons. Then they were an okay team when they acquired Siakam.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I think it more so speaks to the amount of depth you need around Siakam to make it work.

He’s averaging 21/7/3, we all know that isn’t superstar numbers. 2018-2020 Raps had so much depth on the team. Multiple guys capable of scoring 20 a night and can defend their positions.

The same is with the Pacers. Those are some of the deepest teams this league has ever seen in quite a while.

Having playmaking savants like Lowry and Haliburton make it very easy to build a good roster too. we should get a guard of that caliber, seems easy enough. /s

This is such nonsense. The Pacers have one other all-star. They just beat a team with 4! They were an okay to bad team with Haliburton prior to the Siakam trade. They got him for peanuts and the rest is history.

You do know the top 2 scoring options on the Pacers before the trade was Buddy Hield and Hali? And they still had a better record than us when we had Siakam, OG, Scottie and Poeltl.

Haliburton is one of the best offensive engines in the league.

They have more than several guys averaging 10 points in the playoffs.

No one plays more than 35 minutes on the roster in the playoffs outside of Haliburton.

They are the definition of being deep lol.

So last year's Boston Celtics weren't deep? The Pacers have 5 guys they trust and 3-4 guys depending on gameflow, like every team. This is absolutely not one of the deepest teams we've seen in a long time

[ATLTimekeeper]

What a glazefest. And coming from a chorus of people with consistently terrible takes on Pascal. The Pacers run hasn't unveiled anything new about Pascal if you've been paying attention.

He has always been an superb finisher that thrives playing behind an elite lead guard who pushes pace. Lowry/Haliburton.

While on Toronto post-bubble he was a victim of poor roster construction, having too long of a leash, and contract year FVV.

Pascal's ideal is being a moderate to high touches, low time of possessions player, who can create their own shot from the middle of the floor. It's what it was during our title run and Indy is following the mold.

What's amusing is that Darko was tinkering with utilizing Pascal in this fashion and there was a heinous uproar. He was putting our best player in the positions for him to thrive and people wanted him fired. Funny how it's so different with Carlisle.

Pascal made the all-star team without Lowry. Not sure what Raptors you are watching, but he was just fine playing with contract year Fred.

[bluerap23]

No apologies.

He shines in scenarios when he's the 3rd or 4th option.
As the #1 he choked. No denying it. Just look back at the tapes on youtube

Hope he wins the ship though

So who are the #2 and #3 options on the Pacers?

[ATLTimekeeper]

No apologies.

He shines in scenarios when he's the 3rd or 4th option.
As the #1 he choked. No denying it. Just look back at the tapes on youtube

Hope he wins the ship though

So who are the #2 and #3 options on the Pacers?

legit their 3rd leading scorer is getting like 15 minutes a night in the playoffs.

[HumbleRen]

This is such nonsense. The Pacers have one other all-star. They just beat a team with 4! They were an okay to bad team with Haliburton prior to the Siakam trade. They got him for peanuts and the rest is history.

You do know the top 2 scoring options on the Pacers before the trade was Buddy Hield and Hali? And they still had a better record than us when we had Siakam, OG, Scottie and Poeltl.

Haliburton is one of the best offensive engines in the league.

They have more than several guys averaging 10 points in the playoffs.

No one plays more than 35 minutes on the roster in the playoffs outside of Haliburton.

They are the definition of being deep lol.

So last year's Boston Celtics weren't deep? The Pacers have 5 guys they trust and 3-4 guys depending on gameflow, like every team. This is absolutely not one of the deepest teams we've seen in a long time

Name me another team that made the finals with no one averaging more than 22 ppg per game. You’d have to go back to like the Spurs lol.

Pacers are a very deep team.