Scase wrote:EastonEddy wrote:ItsDanger wrote:What were people watching? Siakam just didn't have it. Only Mathurin showed up in 4th. 25 turnovers and OKC bricked a ton of shots. Lucky they didn't win by 30.
What were you watching? Siakam was inexplicably benched for like 8 minutes in the second half which is when the game got out of control.
Carlisle decided to stick Pascal in a corner and spam TJ isos the rest of the time.
You cannot make an impact on the game offensively if the coach won't involve you. You cannot make an impact defensively if the your guards just keep committing TOs and letting OKC out on fast breaks. By the time they looked to get Pascal involved they were already well behind and the momentum was against them.
Siakam had a spectacular playoffs but today the Indy guards got wrecked by OKC and that was the story of the game.
He shot an airball with Caruso doing nothing more than putting a hand up, he went 5-13 while TJ went 8-13. Maybe there's a reason that they weren't going to him.
I don't understand how people can be Raps fans and still not grasp that Siakam is not a primary option without a supporting player to take the majority of the defensive pressure off him. He is an opportunistic scorer, always has been, we've all known this for years. He has strengths, forcing ISOs is not one of them, and with Hali out they don't have someone to feed him high % chances.
How is any of this new to Raps fans.....
Also he played 37min, crazy thought, but maybe they sat him to give him a solid rest to play the rest of the game, what a concept right?
I cannot believe you are still harping on Pascals 3PT shooting after declaring him the worst shooter in history or whatever it was... man do you feel no shame lol.
Honest question for you. Did you watch the game? TJ made some shots but he turned the ball over 7 times and struggled to get the Pacers into their offensive sets. He had two consecutive TOs early in the 3rd which contributed to a 9 point run the Pacers never recovered from. You cannot have 7 TOs from your back up PG and expect success in a tight G7 Finals game.
Pascals only shot after getting frozen out by Carlisle in the 3rd was a desperation heave at the buzzer I believe. By that time the game was getting out of reach. It's G7 Pascal is in incredible shape he needed to play more.
To respond to your last paragraph I don't understand how people can be Raptor fans and consistently diminish Pascals game after his contributions to our championship, the success we shared with him and the great sports story he is.
The defining feature of this Pacers team is that they were a true team and whoever was the hot hand on any given night could be the star. It just so happened, on most nights, that Pascal was that star. That is why he is their leading scorer, only All-Star, the ECFMVP and likely would have been FMVP if they won.
If the Pacers had won this game and Siakam got FMVP would you still be in here today arguing he is a second option? Probably not because it would be look ludicrous... But winning or losing one game, especially G7 of the Finals, doesn't change who you are as a player or your role on a team. Just something to think about.
Maybe we should focus on the fact that Siakam was arguably the best player for two years on a team that made the ECF and Finals instead of trying to peg him as a second option and diminish him.
What made the Pacers great was they were a true team and completely unselfish. So even trying to argue some rigid hierarchy exists on offense completely misses the point of this team and why they were special. Because on any night any player was featured.
