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How have the Pacers pulled off the greatest comebacks in playoff history? What’s so unique and special about their offense? In this detailed film breakdown, we examine Indiana’s pace, movement, horizontal activity and how Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam are such great fits for Rick Carlisle’s chaotic but controlled offense.
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misses. Hallebertton the rebound. Nine seconds. They do have a timeout. Carlile is going to let him play. Hallebertton steps back and hits. Tyrese Hallebertton trying to take Cleveland’s heart. How have the Pacers pulled off these miracle comebacks? By traditional measurement, Indiana isn’t even the fastest team in the league. So, it can’t just be a pace thing, can it? Before we answer that, we need to understand this cuttingedge, chaotically beautiful brand of basketball that Indiana is playing and how they’ve pushed the idea of pace and even space by borrowing from the pioneers of the revolution. When we think of teams that play fast, we think of running out in transition and shooting it quickly. And the Pacers certainly push it on the fast break, but their pace is about so much more than traditional runouts in transition. It’s about the speed of their movement, their quick actions, and fast passes for nearly the entirety of the shot clock. This is off a make. They just sprint down into their hurry up pick and roll on the side that buckles the defense and it’s a wide open three. And this is an old Sun staple that has become popular around the league. And multiple Pacers players will get into this off a make. And it’s less than 5 seconds in real time before they run this action and all of a sudden it’s a layup. And this happens for a couple reasons. First, off the make, the shooter’s defender sprints down the floor hitting 19 m hour. The ball handler takes off at 15 mph, then accelerates to 18 when he turns the corner. And finally, the lane is open because Indiana’s big man can shoot. That pulls his defender out. And there’s no one else left in the front court because of that speed. There’s also a few fun variations of this with the big starting on the block to pull his defender out of the paint. The ball handler T.J. McConnell rejects the pick at warp speed and drags the big under the basket. And Miles Turner is about 40% on that shot. And off a miss against the Knicks, Pascal Seakum sprints to get ahead of the ball, fakes setting the screen. And so McConnell’s defender is anticipating a switch or fighting through a pick. McConnell uses that edge and flies right to the rim. Then look at this version a minute later where it looks like TJ stalls out briefly only to hit a cutter for a near and one. And this is just relentless activity where they start with the guard ahead of the play. At the same time Turner sets a flare screen for Seakum. Then he sets a flare for the guard and ends up springing him on the cut because Turner’s man’s worried about him setting yet another screen for the ball handler. And all that happens in about 4 seconds. So they’re fast down the floor, but they’re also fast with their passes and screens and movement. And all these actions wear on defenses. This play alone has four actions in 7 seconds. the ball screen and then flare to start the play. A cut into the lane on this kick out, a reset into an uphill pitch and roll and then a corner handoff with the guards that finally cracks open the box. This is very reminiscent of the 2014 beautiful game Spurs who were not only active with tons of player and ball movement, but they also embodied the idea of 0.5 basketball. That’s making a decision to shoot, pass, or attack within half a second of catching it. The Pacers have these possessions where everyone who touches the rock is moving it to another teammate quickly or attacking right away. And so you get these trips with tons of pitches and passes that are just exhausting to defend. And all these random actions can usually generate something decent. This one starts with a ghost screen, a reversal to the second side to set up some staggered screens that turns into an elbow pick and roll. They can post up the mismatch, but Hallebertton blows by his man instead. The corner shooter is now open, but he no looks it to the top. Touch pass and then Howie keeps cutting right into the paint. Obie Topphen was also crashing and he immediately spaces to the opposite corner. Turner pops out while a teammate spaces to the other corner. Tyrese no looks that, but it’s a cut instead. Harley still cuts behind for a handoff, but Aaron Nesmith finally takes a 10-footer. And this one starts with a quick pick and roll. Miles short rolls, then pops back out. He loves that move. Then a three-man action out of the corner, then back to Halley into another ball screen. Cleveland’s defensive matchups are scrambled now, so they finish them with another pick and roll. And that’s a lot of activity in 15 seconds. Notice what’s happening here. The Pacers play really fast. They sprint into multiple actions that are both organized and random, but they don’t just jack up early shots. And by working for better shots, they sometimes use most of or even the entire shot clock. If we look at the fastest offenses after a made field goal in the last two decades, the 2025 Pacers are only in the 90th percentile. They’re over a second slower on average than the 2025 Chicago Bulls, who weren’t that efficient despite being as fast as the 2005 Suns in the regular season. Although in the playoffs, only the 2023 Kings can match those blazing Steve Nash teams. Indiana’s pace is almost better captured by how many passes they throw. Nearly 340 per game in the 97th percentile since this data has been tracked. And fittingly, they’re right behind the beautiful game Spurs from 2014. The Sun’s 7 seconds or less offense was about shooting it in less than 7 seconds. But the Pacers uh pace isn’t about hunting an early shot. It’s about looking for the best advantage as quickly as possible. Sometimes that happens immediately because they have multiple players on the floor who can just push the break like this. But sometimes it’s the second, third, or even fourth action that finally breaks the defense. And you can’t run this many actions in a possession without playing really quickly. Also, notice how everyone is constantly active without the ball. McConnell cuts out of the corner. Hallebertton cuts to the wing and Ben Mathan cuts behind his man as he leaves to finish. That’s filthy. Ah, I got so hooked into the we’ve seen the Grizzlies and Cavs use where the wing slides to the corner and the corner slides to the baseline. And watch the movement after this crazy howi pass. Toppin cuts right to the corner and Tyrese relocates to the perimeter and Turner acting as a screener because he respaces is the cherry on top. Sometimes their movement is subtle, but man is it hard to guard. Seakum has a mismatch. Miles goes to the other side to mess with the help. Donovan Mitchell tells his teammate to stay and load up on Seakkum. Meanwhile, Mitchell’s man changes sides to the near corner. So, when Seakum drives, they’re not organized and Andrew Demhard floats into an open three. Here’s another subtle one where it’s hard to tell if Nesmith is part of this screening action or not. That cut pulls a defender out of the way for Hallebertton, who can then work his passing magic with an advantage. And the thing I probably love most about this offense is how they move bodies around the elbow area constantly. Screening, spacing, whatever. There’s constant activity there. And Shane Badier once told me something that I think about when I watch the Pacers. The the four most important squares in the chessboard are the ones in the middle. If you control the middle, you control the game. The equivalent of that in the basketball court are the elbows. Whoever wins the elbows wins the game. Shane was talking about the ball being at the elbows and cracking the paint, but the Pacers flow bodies to the elbows, often to screen there for these beautiful side to side actions. So Turner’s coming over to set a ball screen, but he stops near the elbow to set a flare for Hallebertton that springs him downhill for the 360 pass. And this team is just magic. And the obvious application for this elbow activity is the flare screen, but plenty of pacers cut through that area or just sort of hover briefly as they space there. So Seakum hangs out at the elbow. He could set a ball screen for Hallebertton, but when Harley drives, he spaces to the three-point line. And now it’s game over for the defense. Here it’s Turner coming out of the corner with one possible flare screen. another possible flare, then a quick ball screen, and boom, he’s behind the defense. And even on a bad pass, they’re still shooting fish in a barrel. So, another hallmark of this offense is this horizontality, left to right cuts and ball movement across the middle of the floor like this. And this pairs with their pace. They push it off the make. Turner is ready to set a flare at the elbow, but that also allows him to relocate away from the defense, which is so much harder to guard. Most teams just stick a big in the corner, and so the weak side defender is responsible for two shooters to zone up, and he then makes a read on the pass like this. But with the Pacers, that zoneup defender is left guarding one shooter. Miles could be setting a flare for Hallebertton. So, this defender is worried about chasing Tyrese. And that leaves an impossible closeout from the paint for Turner’s original defender. So, the Pacers play fast. They run possible screeners right in front of the ball. They flow through the elbows. And Tyrese Hallebertton is at the helm of it all. Multiple pacers can push the pace, but he’s in a different universe as a passer and decision maker. We did a deep dive on his jump passing last year, but he’s able to process all sorts of passing options at high speeds and manipulate defenders on the move. He’s great at pushing tempo with these hit ahead passes, which are simple but quite powerful. and he’s their best pick and roll player by far, able to play twoman actions with that breakneck speed. So, he’s an elite decision maker in these situations and Indiana’s best scoring threat in those spots. He’s also their most dangerous isolation shooter from the outside when plays break down or when he hunts a mismatch against a big man and dances with them on the perimeter. and the threat of that step back along with Indiana’s spacing can set up little forays to the basket. So, as fast as this offense is, as creative as it is, it still needs a quarterback to supercharge it to elite territory. Their offensive rating was seven points better with Harley on the floor in the regular season and 12 points better with him on the floor in the Eastern Conference playoffs. In many ways, Hallebertton embodies this entire offense, a frenetic, high-speed, quick decision attacker who rarely ever turns the ball over among all this controlled chaos. This pairs well with Indiana’s curveball, the incomparable Pascal Seakum, who can push the pace in transition, create mismatches when teams switch, and then make solid passing decisions if he’s doubled. and he can cook dudes in isolation with his throwback mid post game. Yet even on his postups, Seihawk often goes immediately off the catch to make his move. This is the Hakee Alawan go right into it when you touch the ball because apparently even postups on this team have an element of pace. Now, the big question I keep asking myself is whether Indiana’s pace wears opponents down so much that it makes their miracle comebacks more probable. Sure, any team down seven in the final minutes needs a lot of luck, but is it more likely for a team to falter in the 48th minute against this team? And is it more likely for Indiana to string together quick scores and successful clutch possessions because of the way they play offense? Historically, the best clutch teams run their normal offense through their best players. The Dirk Nitzky Mavs, the Nicole Joic Nuggets, and so on. And this is just the Pacers normal offense. A high ball screen forces a switch. The activity on the weak side distracts the help defense and that creates enough space for Harley to attack a mismatch and win the game. against the Knicks. Seakum pushes early, gets into his ISO bag, and it’s a mid-range fade. Here’s Tyrese off a make into that hurry up pick and roll on the side with the flare screen, and the three is wide open. This time when Hallebertton runs into the quick screen, Nesmith is setting a pick at the opposite elbow and then he organically spaces behind the line off that short roll pass. So, the Pacers are just built for these kinds of quick-hitting, high shot quality flurries at the end of games, off of their organized sets or from their flowing principles. Seakum pushes right off a make. He gets the pick, then turns and pitches, and that completely catches the defense off guard. So, it’s a clean look from deep. And then they do the exact same thing off the next make. Only Anobi isn’t close and he looks exhausted. And then they break out the football play designed for a quick shot which gets Nesmith another catch, but he’s deliberately fouled. And remember, coach Jenny Busousk has designed a bunch of these football plays for late clock quickhitting situations. So, it’s hard to think of a team more comfortable with 7 seconds and no timeouts. And N Smith’s cut here is critical because Mitchell Robinson isn’t sure if a pass is coming which allows Harley to go for the jugular and the alltime what just h I can’t even compose myself. Uh they’ve borrowed from the Suns, they’ve borrowed from the Spurs, they’ve taken the idea of pace and applied it to every action on offense. And this Rick Carile attack led by Tyresese Hallebertton and Pascal Seakum is one of the most effective, beautiful, and magical offenses we’ve seen in the NBA in a long time. If you want to work in basketball, patreon.com/thinking basketball. That’s where we have proprietary stats on teams and players throughout the year. We also have a Discord community and you can get all of our extra video content over there or sign up on YouTube as a member where we also live stream the podcast. Thanks for watching all the way to the end on this one. Hope you enjoyed it and that you are having, wait for it, a great day.
46 Comments
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Isn’t this just Carlisle’s offense from the Nowitzki mavs days?
I like the way the Pacers play. And I also like the way OKC plays… They are team orientated with great leaders who speak team first and thank their guys for their own success.
Okc defense has a lot more work to do vs any team they have played
The way the Pacers play in addition to their bench absolutely wears teams down. Pacers starters Don't play 40+ like every team they've faced this postseason. If it's a close game, Rick trusts his bench to keep them in the fight, wear down their opponents and let his starters rest for a 4th quarter slaughter.
Pacers vs Thunder is gonna be a hell of a series
Dude, where did u even get those MPH numbers at the start if the vid? That's like Shaq saying it only takes about 12 hrs to get to the moon
Why are the first three minutes of this video all McConnell?
Hali about to turn up in the finals for not getting that MVP!!
OKC in 4
Random Serbian, the face of your league, and next mission is the beautiful game of the Indiana pacers
Fuel?
OKC are going to smash the pacers
Rick Carlisle is a brilliant coach. 💯
Hope Pacers win, Reggie would be happy.
NBA and officiating almost cost them, knicks story was a great sell though😂
Definition of " never stand still "
the Pacers plays the way I play in 2k
Dudes promo ads are brilliantly corny😂
NBA offense and defense looks more and more like hockey 😮
HALI WILL BE FINALS MVP WATCH4
Haliburton is an injury prone player, hope he can make it thru the last
Your passion shines through every frame—so motivating, many thanks
Honestly my number 1 takeaway here is that they’re gonna slam into OKC’s defense like it’s a brick wall. All this manipulation, chip-chipping away to stack advantages, relying on poor switching/ help defense… none of that is going to work against OKC.
Expecting lots of Wallace & Caruso, probably less Hartenstein. SGA bottling up Haliban? I’m not even saying this as an OKC fan- I want them to lose. Pacers offense is cooked against them though.
Won’t be surprised if Pacers fail to break 100 three times in the series.
Lots of side pick and pops and ball reversals .
This finals match-up is great for basketball fans. The hot take audience isn't going to enjoy the subtle counters and counters to counters. Schedule permitting, I may have to record these finals and watch the game when I get off work.
To answer Ben's question about does the Pacers tempo help them come from behind. I think it does. Joe Frazier said it best, kill the body and the head will fall. Discipline makes the mind focused and fatigue makes those who aren't disciplined make more mistakes.
i thought you were black
Imagine if 2k rec players played like that
Wish Celtics played like this this year crazy they didn’t
I haven't seen that Battier interview before, but I'm really interested now, because I've had these analogies for a long time! Controlling the center in chess is a general principle, because for most pieces, you can maximize their influence by placing them in the center; the queen can control her maximum of 27 squares from the center, the knight its maximum of 8, rook 14 etc. In basketball, the elbow is one of the most versatile spots defensively, because you can offer a contest if a shooter gathers, prepare for a steal or charge on a drive, disrupt passes, or offer nail help. It's more difficult to see in modern offense, but just 10-20 years ago, the best players in the world operated their offense primarily from the elbows.
There are exceptions to general principles in chess, and some players have proved it in basketball, I think. A bishop can provide some pressure from the center, but it is perfectly valid and sometimes extremely useful to place it on the ends of the long diagonal, around b2 and g2 for white or b7 and g7 for black. I think the fianchettoed bishops are a good analogy for sharpshooters in basketball, and Steph might be the most famous, the Sicilian Dragon bishop. If you make concessions to shut down their line of sight, you might inadvertently end up weakening your center. And even if they're not posing an immediate threat, they are constantly supporting the offensive players in the center.
And there are very good reasons to march some other pieces even further into the enemy's territory, like rooks on the seventh rank. The pressure they can place here is often the most pressing emergency, and much of a chess game's strategy can be devoted to ensuring that opposing heavy pieces don't enter your territory. That's similar to how the league treats paint beasts like Shaq and Giannis; they can be dangerous at the elbow, but if they have the opportunity to step deeper into the paint, they should take it without question.
There is also a general principle in chess that when you're lacking space in the center, you should launch a 'wing attack', by pushing your pawns and aiming your pieces at one of your opponent's flanks, usually the side where they've castled. This is kind of similar to how a basketball team should typically attack a zone that's heavily loaded up in the center; attack the gaps in the wings or corners!
Honestly thought Cavs could do this but in the end Garland is not the same as Hali
Please I just need the pacers to beat okc
but Ben, do they have a chance against OKC? asking this as a pacers fan.
2:05 สิ่งที่พัฒนา ไม่ใช่ stat ตัวเอง MVP แต่เป็น dev-offensive team
They are a cool team. I think okc will take them down in 5.
They are pacer in real with PACE!
𓃵GOAT video drop…
Pacers have a great chance of winning it all… Hali can't take games off and Obi has to be that super sub..
How fitting is it that the team who plays a style of "never stop moving" basketball is called the Pacers
If Indiana pulls off an upset against OKC, Rick Carlyle deserves a special place in the annals of coaching. The 2011 Mavericks win over the Heat and a 2025 Indiana win over the Thunder would quite possibly be the two greatest coaching achievements in NBA history.
I think their offence is overrated
i think the pacers are one of the only teams that allows all their players touching the ball to get some kind of action going regardless of their position/role on the team. x factors like that are enough to question to see how far they can really go in these playoffs. i know OKC is the heavy favorite going into the series but i wanna see how far the pacers can really push them.
you nailed the true beaty of pacers and rick carlise' team magic, let's see how they does vs thunder, have a nice rest for knee-smith walker
Thank you for what you do! I truly enjoy and appreciate your channel
This appears to be an NBA-caliber offense in the European manner.
Reminds me of the 2014 spurs.
OKC is probably their worst matchup. They have the defenders to run with them.
Most overrated player once again proving himself 😂😂