My takeaways from the Eastern Conference Finals

June is here and the NBA Finals start this week. This is an extremely exciting time for me as a basketball trainer and fan. Parity is back in the NBA and the game is an amazing place. One team in particular that I have enjoyed watching is the Indiana Pacers. If you watch any one of their games you will notice a number of things:

The Indiana Pacers’ Strengths

1. They fly up and down the court and constantly push the pace of the game
2. They compete on the defensive end
3. They don’t get tired
4. The ball doesn’t stick in any one player’s hands too long

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These 4 reasons are why I love watching them play basketball. Point number 4 stands out to me the most because it is undoubtedly the best way to play basketball. Every player on the pacers is willing to make the extra pass for the best shot possible whether it's a fast break, their early offense, or in their half court sets - I see virtually no selfishness with this group. This, combined with their incredible pace and consistent effort to move down the court quickly makes them one of the funnest NBA teams to watch in recent memories. 

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Tyrese Haliburton is in charge of pushing the pace and getting things going for this group, but he is not a ball dominant player that dominates possessions without other players getting touches. He is averaging 9.2 assists per game this post season while still averaging just under 19 points. Pascal Siakam, who led the Pacers in scoring and one the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, is an extremely unselfish star and vocal leader for this group. Despite his scoring prowess, he does take huge chunks out of the shot clock to hold the ball and stagnate the offense before attacking - he gets the ball and makes a decision, and this habit has a trickle down effect to the rest of his teammates. Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, and Myles Turner are all offensive threats as well, which speaks to how well balanced this Pacers group is.

New York Knicks Dilemma

Contrast this with the New York Knicks offense, which relies heavily on the NBA’s Clutch Player of the year, Jalen Brunson, making heroic plays against a set defense with much less ball movement. Brunson is an incredible offensive talent and a quintessential leader, so this approach definitely has been effective at times, but over the course of long, physical playoff games, it’s a much less effective strategy than a free flowing offense that emphasizes ball movement. 

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Besides Brunson, the Knicks also rely heavily on Karl-Anthony Towns’s floor stretching ability in pick and pop scenarios, which has yielded them success. The biggest drawback that the Knicks have offensively is that outside of Brunson, they don’t have another player that is as gifted at getting into the paint consistently and making 2 defenders commit so that other opportunities can open up. New York’s 2 best offensive players, Brunson and Towns, were also unable to get stops when needed on the defensive end, which put them in even more of a bind.

Pacers Personnel

The Pacers personnel plays a large role in what they are able to do on the offensive end - they have a collection of players that can all shoot the ball, make straight line drives to finish at the rim, and like I mentioned before they punish late defensive rotations with their willingness to make the extra pass and keep the basketball moving. This post season, Indiana has 8 players shooting above 35% from 3, which makes it extremely difficult to close out against them and make rotations. They are also extremely decisive on offense - when a Pacers player catches the ball they typically make a decision quickly, without holding onto the ball and slowing down the flow of the offense. They also take advantage of transition offense in a way that the knicks just don’t. 

Finals Preview vs TheOklahoma City Thunder

All in all I believe that it will be incredibly fun to watch the Pacers face the Oklahoma city Thunder in the finals. Despite OKC having an offensive juggernaut and league MVP in Shai Gilgeous Alexander, they have plenty of offensive weapons around him that make them extremely difficult to deal with defensively. His understanding of pace and ability to manipulate defenses to put them in unfavorable positions is a super power for playoff basketball. Jalen Williams, who was a 1st time all star this year is a gifted scorer who provides great support to Shai on the offensive end while being a reliable defender. Alex Caruso, in my opinion, is one of the best role players in the NBA and is an overall winner because of his willingness to be a menace on the defensive end and his overall tenacity - I believe he will be an X-factor in this series.

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These are two extremely balanced teams that each play their own brand of good basketball and they are a great representation of where the game is today. As a lifelong fan of basketball, I’m glad that the NBA has achieved parity and I’m glad that these 2 amazing teams have risen to the top.

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Basketball Training in Maryland

I hope you enjoyed reading some of my takeaways from this year's Easter Conference Finals! If your child is a youth basketball player that is looking to improve their skills then I highly recommend them to try a free session in my basketball training program. In our basketball academy we cover the fundamentals of the sport from top to bottom and focus on building confidence and competence in all aspects of the game. If you live in or around Rockville, Bethesda, or Potomac MD then click the following link to Try a Free Basketball Lesson.

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Summer Basketball Camp in Maryland

If you are looking for an activity for your athlete over the summer then make sure to check out my summer basketball camp. Similarly to my training program that I mentioned above, we will cover the fundamental aspects of basketball. The major difference between my basketball classes mentioned above and my summer camp is that since it goes from 9 AM to 2:45 PM each day (Fridays dismiss at noon), we have more time to really dive into the deeper nuances of the game and really immerse the players in the sport. You can Find out More Info/Register Here.

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