Can a defense move faster than the ball?? | NBA Finals Game 2 analysis

Become a member to access all full length videos:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3HPbvB6f58X_7SMIp6OPYw/join

Why isn’t Indiana’s working in the first two games of the Finals? This detailed film breakdown & scouting report explains how the Thunder defense has shut down Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers with their versatility, speed, point-of-attack defenders and incredible coordination.

Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/12kpkAvUj6LGxzViDIH0qH
Support at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Basketball-Ben-Taylor/dp/1532968175
Website: https://www.thinkingbasketball.net
Twitter: @elgee35

Find additional Thinking Basketball content on the NBA App, the More Thinking Basketball channel and the Thinking Basketball podcast.

Stats courtesy:
http://www.pbpstats.com @bballport
https://www.basketball-reference.com
https://stats.nba.com
—–
Footage in this video is owned by the NBA and its partners. It is intended for critique and education.

Music by csus (instrumental)

#ThinkingBasketball

in game one the Pacers put up an incredible 66 points in the second half to finish with a 110 offensive rating and in game two the Pacers put up 66 points in the second half to finish with a 109 offensive rating we’ll get to OKC’s offense in a bit but despite the wildly different results lots of game one and game two bleed together for the Pacers trying to attack this defense step one to choking off Indiana is to take away Tyrese Hallebertton’s downhill attacks and since Lou Dort gets through screens like they aren’t even there,’s had a hard time finding space great help and recover by Alex Caruso there and then Dort with the reachin for the turnover and that’s what OKC does when Dort is actually screened they just switch and Alex Caruso another all league defender kills any advantage and they don’t abandon their help principles here and still switch back behind the play dort gets around another pick and the ball never touches the paint on this entire possession in game two at least six different OKC defenders switched on to Hallebertton cadet Homegrren used his length and took beautiful angles to shut that off and lead to a turnover we know Alex Caruso can harass him as a primary defender and pushes him into an uncharacteristic backcourt violation jaylen Williams isn’t quite as quick as the OKC guards on the outside but on this offensive rebound he basically mirrors Hallebertton everywhere he goes eating up the clock and leading to this difficult attempt and even Isaiah Joe ended up holding his own with a little help from this amazing Caruso stunt jabbing at Hallebert and then retreating and that was enough to slow down Tyrese and keep Joe in good guarding position on that drive it’s almost unfair but Kase Wallace can help Caruso in transition then on the pass Isaiah Hartinstein steps in front of Harley and suddenly Wallace is back on the ball stays with the drive and Hallebertton just loses it and of course the Dorture Chambers the primary Hallebertton stopper chasing him around screens making passes scary and just generally flying around doing Lou Dort things like staying connected on so many picks that he finally draws a moving screen violation with maybe a little embellishment at the end but Dorts contained Hallebertton’s penetration so well fighting through the first pick here getting ready to go around a second pick then staying with the crossover perfectly to keep Hallebertton out of the paint where he averaged 13 paint touches per game in the playoffs but is at just eight per night in this series according to Second Spectrum here’s Dort in game one glued to Hallebertton off the ball he stays with him on the cut there’s help everywhere so he aborts early but the spacing’s crammed so it goes nowhere and this is key on the reset dort is still ready to leave and that’s an amazing help steal and what’s even more amazing is that when Harley ran pick and roll early in game two Wallace made the exact same rotation to steal it from Miles Turner again so as always it’s a fiveman collective effort for this OKC defense they want to keep Homegrren near the hoop so Kasein switches onto a center turner goes right to the post then but JDub is helping on the front and Obie Topphen wisely drives at the front to use it like a screen only Wallace just releases to switch back and this is the most connected defense we have ever seen gave them you know a damn one streak yeah they were they were like on one string defensively they had a 15 on one string this one’s even more incredible where they switch the ball screen again and then instead of just switching this flare screen with Chat jumping out to the shooter Wallace calls for the long distance triple switch where Dort comes off the corner to take the roll man kase goes all the way to that corner and that means no one’s open and Dort can gobble up the interior pass at least when Sha’s on him Hallebertton can get places so he beats him with the crossover collapses the defense but SGA picks his pocket from behind and in game two he went after Sheay a few times on this sequence they finally switch and it’s a great head fake to lose SGA but Sheay still peels him from behind again takes off the other way and that turns into some free throws and as we discussed at the beginning of the year this is the best collection of hands ever and I thought Tyrese was a little flustered by this Alcatres level lockdown forcing a few shots he otherwise wouldn’t have taken and even discombobulating him on one play where he uncharacteristically forgot to dribble the pressure might also influence a play like this where he normally hits the corner shooter I think but instead probes a little deeper and nothing materializes as the defense resets and of course it turns into another deflection and near steel and then even on the inbounds it’s a Pacer special with Tophin rolling to the rim only to pop out at the last second but that extra Caruso pressure from behind tips the pass and it’s a much harder shot i thought Harley had two really good passes in the first quarter up faking against Dort anticipating Williams help but Jub somehow recovers with the ball and it ends up in a Turner contested mid-ranger and this was the same pass only headed downhill and into a much tighter window where Mathan spits out this crazy jumper now the other key to stopping Indiana is getting back quickly and the Thunder transition defense was insane in game two this is where OKC speed is such kryptonite for Indiana there are three Thunder down under the rim but they start sprinting back and there’s just enough air on that pass for the entire team to recover and there’s no advantage and we’ve seen this defense recover on the flight of the ball especially if the pass is slightly off and that’s just casein Wallace magic in transition look at how they communicate to plug any holes shay stays with his man dort immediately jumps on Hallebertton caruso has the ball coming up the wing tells Isaiah Hartinstein to take topphen joe is calling out Hallebertton and in 3 seconds there’s absolutely no advantage and then they can switch any weaknesses behind the play same thing in game two hartinstein’s already retreating calls out Hallebertton as being open dort goes over to Tyrese wiggins takes the trailer and they’re all plugged up sheay just switches this pistol screen and throwing entry passes against OKC is not doctor recommended and it’s their versatility that allows them to run back like this jdub is matched up with Seiakum but he sees two teammates on that side and heads over to Aaron Nesmith instead caruso can guard anybody apparently dort can help and still recover to Hallebertton and the Pacers just struggle to generate any early advantages by pushing the pace which usually breaks down defenses great individual defenders help too jdub stonewalls the ball in space here it’s nearly a steal and then they just switch and recover as needed with iHeart wisely sagging off the speedy McConnell and daring him to shoot and after an SGA miss he immediately jumps on Hallebertton joe steps up to help that leaves Mathan open but Caruso’s coming anyway so Harley nearly spins into another turnover they do create a small advantage against a recovering iHeart but oh yeah Chad Homegrren is very very tall so speed communication versatility and sometimes just hustle have really taken away Indiana’s early offense in these two games we’ve also seen a variety of defenders stifle Tyresese Hallebertton’s normal attacks and in game two SGA and the Thunder really found a way to stress the Indiana defense stuff like going early on screens caught certain defenders offguard or hunting Hallebertton and pick and roll and then cutting back when he jumped in front of the ball to split the two defenders or even sending Sheay down to the post a bunch and asking Indiana if they wanted to guard him straight up or if they were going to send a double and I’m not sure either were really good defensive options in this game for the Pacers and of course on the possessions where they left SGA out on an island he had a personal cookout at his free throw line office so the Indiana offense has been held nearly 10 points per 100 below their playoff efficiency and that’s probably going to have to improve for them to win this series but in game two the Thunder put on another defensive masterclass and clamp down Tyrese Hallebertton and the Pacers to tie the finals at one to watching all the way to the end on this one hope you enjoyed it and that you are having a great day