Pacers (0-1) at Celtics (1-0) ECF Game 2 5/23/24

[celticinorlando]

Watched Chris Paul on nba today just now. He was so good on his perspective of the Celtics.

Said that at then end of the day the objective is to win the game. He said all this barber shop “what if” talk is nonsense from the outside. Said it is so difficult to win games at this stage in the playoffs.

Said it’s always great to learn from your mistakes after a close win.

[mef730]

FWIW, its worth, Celtics are currently -9 and the O/U is 224.5 on DK.

I’ll take Indy +9 and the over. It’s the dreaded second game.

Mike

[Kuberski33]

Mazzulla will be like “nah Kornet is good enough”.

If he wises up and lets Tillman play that’ll improve our defense a ton out there, even if he may be limited offensively himself. We got other guys who can score in bunches anyways

The primary role of any bench player is to not lose the lead or not make the deficit worse while you're in there. Kornet was a +2 last game which isn't bad. Yes he was abused on defense but offense counts too.

I'm more worried about Pritchard and Hauser. PP was -15 and we know how bad Hauser was. You need your bench to play well in the playoffs. 

[Surferdad]

Mazzulla will be like “nah Kornet is good enough”.

If he wises up and lets Tillman play that’ll improve our defense a ton out there, even if he may be limited offensively himself. We got other guys who can score in bunches anyways

The primary role of any bench player is to not lose the lead or not make the deficit worse while you're in there. Kornet was a +2 last game which isn't bad. Yes he was abused on defense but offense counts too.

I'm more worried about Pritchard and Hauser. PP was -15 and we know how bad Hauser was. You need your bench to play well in the playoffs.

What good did he do on offense? His only skill is to guide a lob into the basket which even a guy with stone hands can do. Beyond that, a good +/- is not always an indicator of good individual performance on the floor, especially when the player is surrounded by all-stars.

[Neurotic Guy]

Mazzulla will be like “nah Kornet is good enough”.

If he wises up and lets Tillman play that’ll improve our defense a ton out there, even if he may be limited offensively himself. We got other guys who can score in bunches anyways

The primary role of any bench player is to not lose the lead or not make the deficit worse while you're in there. Kornet was a +2 last game which isn't bad. Yes he was abused on defense but offense counts too.

I'm more worried about Pritchard and Hauser. PP was -15 and we know how bad Hauser was. You need your bench to play well in the playoffs.

I’m not worried about PP and Sam.  I’m hopeful.  I realize things didn’t go well in G1 for either and that it’s been a while for Sam. But I have some faith in their capacity to contribute and I think it will happen. I’m certain it will happen with Payton. Hopefully tonight.

[BringToughnessBack]

Wine delivery? Check!
Early dinner ready? Check!

Celtics Win 121-104? Check!

[Kuberski33]

Mazzulla will be like “nah Kornet is good enough”.

If he wises up and lets Tillman play that’ll improve our defense a ton out there, even if he may be limited offensively himself. We got other guys who can score in bunches anyways

The primary role of any bench player is to not lose the lead or not make the deficit worse while you're in there. Kornet was a +2 last game which isn't bad. Yes he was abused on defense but offense counts too.

I'm more worried about Pritchard and Hauser. PP was -15 and we know how bad Hauser was. You need your bench to play well in the playoffs.

What good did he do on offense? His only skill is to guide a lob into the basket which even a guy with stone hands can do. Beyond that, a good +/- is not always an indicator of good individual performance on the floor, especially when the player is surrounded by all-stars.

Kornet almost never plays with 4 starters. Point being despite the narrative of many, he held his own. Kornet, if you haven't noticed, moves pretty well without the ball and gets himself into positions where he gets some easy buckets off passes from teammates or on putbacks.  He runs the pick and roll reasonably well and he's a decent passer. 

We'd all rather he doesn't have to play a ton of minutes in the playoffs, but he wasn't the reason they nearly lost the game.

If you go small and play Brissett instead, defensive rebounds are going to be a problem if you've got Siakam & Turner out there together. Nesmith too is active as hell. It'll be hard to keep those guys from getting 2nd chance points.

[mef730]

Mazzulla will be like “nah Kornet is good enough”.

If he wises up and lets Tillman play that’ll improve our defense a ton out there, even if he may be limited offensively himself. We got other guys who can score in bunches anyways

The primary role of any bench player is to not lose the lead or not make the deficit worse while you're in there. Kornet was a +2 last game which isn't bad. Yes he was abused on defense but offense counts too.

I'm more worried about Pritchard and Hauser. PP was -15 and we know how bad Hauser was. You need your bench to play well in the playoffs.

I’m not worried about PP and Sam.  I’m hopeful.  I realize things didn’t go well in G1 for either and that it’s been a while for Sam. But I have some faith in their capacity to contribute and I think it will happen. I’m certain it will happen with Payton. Hopefully tonight.

I agree on PP. he’s a great energy guy. Not sure about Hauser. I feel like he needs a bit more consistent play to stay sharp.

[Neurotic Guy]

Mazzulla will be like “nah Kornet is good enough”.

If he wises up and lets Tillman play that’ll improve our defense a ton out there, even if he may be limited offensively himself. We got other guys who can score in bunches anyways

The primary role of any bench player is to not lose the lead or not make the deficit worse while you're in there. Kornet was a +2 last game which isn't bad. Yes he was abused on defense but offense counts too.

I'm more worried about Pritchard and Hauser. PP was -15 and we know how bad Hauser was. You need your bench to play well in the playoffs.

I’m not worried about PP and Sam.  I’m hopeful.  I realize things didn’t go well in G1 for either and that it’s been a while for Sam. But I have some faith in their capacity to contribute and I think it will happen. I’m certain it will happen with Payton. Hopefully tonight.

I agree on PP. he’s a great energy guy. Not sure about Hauser. I feel like he needs a bit more consistent play to stay sharp.

Yeah, definitely not as certain for Sam.  Playoff rotations create an uptick in MPG for better players and that changes Hauser's role significantly, cutting him to about half the minutes he got in the regular season.  This changes his comfort on the court and overall mentality.  If he can't come in and microwave, he's not going to get minutes.  In the regular season, he had been in a position where he could count on his court time - the good looks would come.  Not true now. So, you try to play within yourself, try to take what's given, but you know that if you don't produce points in the shortened segments, those segments become fewer and shorter.  It's not like a defensive specialist who can come in and do his thing - Hauser needs to get the ball and get looks - and that isn't assured in a 3 minute stint.  I'm sure that can effect him mentally.  I'm rooting for him though.  Would love to see him drain a few tonight!

[celticinorlando]

Hauser doesn’t even look to shoot. Mostly timid.

[Celtics2021]

Hauser doesn’t even look to shoot. Mostly timid.

He only got 4 frontcourt touches last game and took 2 shots with them.

[Kernewek]

Watched Chris Paul on nba today just now. He was so good on his perspective of the Celtics.

Said that at then end of the day the objective is to win the game. He said all this barber shop “what if” talk is nonsense from the outside. Said it is so difficult to win games at this stage in the playoffs.

Said it’s always great to learn from your mistakes after a close win.

I think most of us would defer to Chris Paul’s expertise when it comes to losing in the playoffs.

[Surferdad]

Mazzulla will be like “nah Kornet is good enough”.

If he wises up and lets Tillman play that’ll improve our defense a ton out there, even if he may be limited offensively himself. We got other guys who can score in bunches anyways

The primary role of any bench player is to not lose the lead or not make the deficit worse while you're in there. Kornet was a +2 last game which isn't bad. Yes he was abused on defense but offense counts too.

I'm more worried about Pritchard and Hauser. PP was -15 and we know how bad Hauser was. You need your bench to play well in the playoffs.

What good did he do on offense? His only skill is to guide a lob into the basket which even a guy with stone hands can do. Beyond that, a good +/- is not always an indicator of good individual performance on the floor, especially when the player is surrounded by all-stars.

Kornet almost never plays with 4 starters. Point being despite the narrative of many, he held his own. Kornet, if you haven't noticed, moves pretty well without the ball and gets himself into positions where he gets some easy buckets off passes from teammates or on putbacks.  He runs the pick and roll reasonably well and he's a decent passer. 

We'd all rather he doesn't have to play a ton of minutes in the playoffs, but he wasn't the reason they nearly lost the game.

If you go small and play Brissett instead, defensive rebounds are going to be a problem if you've got Siakam & Turner out there together. Nesmith too is active as hell. It'll be hard to keep those guys from getting 2nd chance points.

So I take that to mean you believe +/- is a reliable indicator. Otherwise what objective criteria are you using for that statement? I don’t think there is one, so I use the eye-test.

Look, it’s obvious that I think Kornet is not very good NBA player and I think Joe is incorrect in playing him so much. I have a right those opinions.

[footey]

Hauser doesn’t even look to shoot. Mostly timid.

He only got 4 frontcourt touches last game and took 2 shots with them.

Pacers focus on guarding the 3 point line, and that decreases his opportunities. Just wish he defended better, he did good job in regular season.

[radiohead]

https://x.com/NoaDalzellNBA/status/1793763490999759307

So Tillman is available. Hopefully Joe gives him some minutes. He looks locked on with those threes.