Roaring again and pulling out one more historic comeback victory within the sequence opener towards the Knicks will not be sufficient for the Pacers.
Regardless of Aaron Nesmith’s exterior capturing and Tyrese Haliburton’s choke signal invoking two-pronged recollections of former Knicks nemesis Reggie Miller, the Pacers insist they are often higher in a number of areas in Friday’s Recreation 2 on the Backyard, with defending towards opposing star Jalen Brunson on the prime of that listing.
Brunson netted a game-high 43 factors on an environment friendly 15-for-25 from the sphere for his highest scoring output in 13 postseason video games this yr.
“He’s a great player, great scorer. He’s a great leader. He does so much for their attack, and I just have so much respect for him, and our team does,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stated. “Making it laborious on him is troublesome as a result of he simply finds angles, he will get locations, and he routinely makes pictures that if most gamers took them, you’d say that’s a foul shot.
“But he just a bucket, man. He gets ball in the basket.”
Carlisle was Brunson’s head coach in Dallas for the primary three seasons of the previous Villanova star’s NBA profession, however throughout Brunson’s four-year tenure with the Mavericks, he averaged simply 11.9 factors and 24.7 minutes in 277 regular-season appearances.
He actually took off as a scorer after signing with the Knicks as a free agent in 2022, greater than doubling that scoring output to 26.4 ppg in three years in New York.
“I’ve had this question before, and I’m not surprised knowing his level of determination, how much of a winner he is, and how he really has always embraced the doubters. He just loves proving people wrong,” Carlisle added. “I mean, I could tell you a lot of stories about where he’s come from and how much he’s improved. But he’s basically made the statement here over the last three years in a very strong way.”
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Brunson’s offensive numbers have been even higher in postseason play, elevating his scoring common to 30.2 in 37 playoff video games for the Knicks.
Requested in regards to the distinction in trying to restrict Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo within the first spherical and Brunson now, Carlisle replied, “They’re both great players that are in a small handful of guys that are essentially unguardable. The difference is they’re different positions, and you have to be ready. You’ve got to have a toolbox full of tools, and not all tools are going to work.”
Pacers veteran T.J. McConnell stated the “really difficult” problem of guarding Brunson is that he has the inside-outside instruments to attain “at all three levels” — on the rim, within the mid-range sport and from 3-point distance.
“He’s a great player. You’re not gonna shut a guy like that down,” McConnell stated. “It’s about making it as troublesome as attainable. We threw 4 or 5 guys at him and he was nonetheless capable of rating at will.
“We have to make some adjustments there, but like I said, just a phenomenal basketball player. He doesn’t have any weaknesses. We’ve gotta be a little bit better at making it hard for him.”
