2024 NBA Playoffs - East 1st Round: #3 Milwaukee Bucks vs. #6 Indiana Pacers (IND WINS 4-2)

[Badlands]

So any word on giannis or dame for game 6?

Doc Rivers said, "I think they're very, very, very close."

I'm still skeptical, but he seems optimistic after being pretty vague in the past.

[Hans1984]

Pacers played like crap.I guess they want this to go to seven games.

[Nuntius]

Just do what I do and privately DM all this stuff to Nuntius so no one else sees. :-p

I can publicly confirm that what xxSnEaKyPxx said here is the truth.

[hardenASG13]

Must be nice being Haliburton. Play **** for more than half the season, still get voted All-NBA and get that supermax. Play absolutely putrid defense, face no accountability.

This bum is beyond pathetic...So sick and tired of this garbage chucker that I can't believe I rather have Brodgdon out there then having to put up with seeing this scrub.

Also, I was expecting that, but where the f is Pascal?...2 good games then just completely disappear, again proving me wrong for thinking he was more than what he is.

This post is embarrassing bro.

Just do what I do and privately DM all this stuff to Nuntius so no one else sees. :-p

Haliburton has been pretty bad for an "all nba" guy. He has a very limited arsenal of moves. I know he strained his hamstring in December or whatever, but can't see another All NBA player who'd get leeway for that at this stage. It's been really unimpressive from him.

[BooomBaby]

Must be nice being Haliburton. Play **** for more than half the season, still get voted All-NBA and get that supermax. Play absolutely putrid defense, face no accountability.

This bum is beyond pathetic...So sick and tired of this garbage chucker that I can't believe I rather have Brodgdon out there then having to put up with seeing this scrub.

Also, I was expecting that, but where the f is Pascal?...2 good games then just completely disappear, again proving me wrong for thinking he was more than what he is.

This post is embarrassing bro.

Just do what I do and privately DM all this stuff to Nuntius so no one else sees. :-p

Yeah, but not more embarrassing than Haliburton's heart and effort..

You're right though, I'll try to keep it to myself next time.

[___Rand___]

What happened Pacers?!

[ItsDanger]

Siakam's lack of consistency was always a weak part of his game. Pacers missed a clear opportunity to close this series last night.

[Profound23]

I feel like the announcers say every 10 minutes "undermanned Bucks team" or "without Giannis and Lillard" ... yet I don't remember them saying once that Mathurin was out for the Pacers.

I don’t do sigs, but… man…

Imagine Hali and Siakam being out then a Bucks fan goes "yeah but what about Bobby Portis being out" as the Bucks have Giannis, Dame, Khris, and Lopez all playing.

[Nuntius]

I feel like the announcers say every 10 minutes "undermanned Bucks team" or "without Giannis and Lillard" ... yet I don't remember them saying once that Mathurin was out for the Pacers.

I don’t do sigs, but… man…

Imagine Hali and Siakam being out then a Bucks fan goes "yeah but what about Bobby Portis being out" as the Bucks have Giannis, Dame, Khris, and Lopez all playing.

I am not sure that BrianInPhilly is a Pacers fan. He doesn't have any team logo on his profile and he has only posted in the Pacers forum once, introducing himself as a Sixers fan. Looking through his post history, it seems like he started his RealGM posting on the Raptors board and introduced himself from the get go as an Alex Len fan in 2020. He then followed Len's career from the Toronto forum to the Washington forum and then started posting in the Sixers forum a bit. But he mostly posts on non-team affiliated boards like the GB and the Trade & Transactions boards. He also seems to currently like Haliburton quite a lot.

For what is worth, he looks like a pretty good poster based on his posts. He's neither hostile to others nor does he look to rile people up. I disagree with him on this particular take but, you know, everyone has the right to the occasional iffy take.

[Nuntius]

What happened Pacers?!

We aren't good or experienced enough to close out a series away from home. Also, Milwaukee is way too experienced to suffer a gentleman's sweep and go down in front of their home fans.

[B_Creamy]

What happened Pacers?!

We aren't good or experienced enough to close out a series away from home. Also, Milwaukee is way too experienced to suffer a gentleman's sweep and go down in front of their home fans.

Is Haliburton still hobbled from that injury earlier in the season?

[The KnicksFix]

Pacers better wrap this up at home in game 6

[Nuntius]

What happened Pacers?!

We aren't good or experienced enough to close out a series away from home. Also, Milwaukee is way too experienced to suffer a gentleman's sweep and go down in front of their home fans.

Is Haliburton still hobbled from that injury earlier in the season?

Seems like it, although I am not sure if he's still hampered by re-aggravation/pain or if the injury has caused him to second guess some of his moves (like his jump pass that used to be his go-to but has seen a drop in usage ever since the injury) and not fully trust his legs.

[Pacers_Freak]

A bunch of random thoughts here on the series:

I think the Bucks have made a nice adjustment as the series has progressed. Early in the series it seemed the Bucks were worried about sticking to shooters and that opened up Siakim to go off in the high post area. The Bucks have gone zone or really loaded the gaps in M2M to cut off the paint and get to shooters later. As a whole Nesmith and company haven't been able to knock down enough shots to make them pay for that strategy so it has continued to work.

The Bucks "role guys" and I feel dirty referring to Middleton as that because he's a helluva player (but with Dame and Giannis it feels like it fits?) have really stepped up. Middleton, Portis, and Lopez have been phenomenal and then there is a 4th that shows up each night it feels. In all honesty (outside of game 1 and 2 for Siakim) the Bucks "role guys" have outplayed the Pacers "stars" (also feel dirty calling Haliburton and Siakim that because they aren't but they are the Pacers stars).

Any Pacer fan that thinks this series would have been close with Giannis and Dame healthy cannot see through their blue and gold glasses enough to see the TV. I don't give a damn what the regular season series was. They are fortunate to be up 3-2 with no Giannis and very little Dame.

Myles Turner has been really good. This doesn't really have anything to do with anything I've talked about but he's been a scapegoat in Indy for a long time and I've never understood it.

I hope the Pacers are able to find a way to win one of the last two. It would need to be game 6 because I don't think they have a chance at all back in MIL. My reasoning has nothing to do with Milwaukee or thinking the Pacers have a chance of doing much more. I've felt all season long that they were really a year ahead of schedule. Any extra post season experience (there is very little on the roster) would be beneficial moving forward.

[Nuntius]

Pacers better wrap this up at home in game 6

Yep. If we want to win this series, we absolutely need to win game 6. The same reasons that made me believe that we would lose in game 5 apply tenfold in a potential game 7.

[jimmybones]

What happened Pacers?!

We aren't good or experienced enough to close out a series away from home. Also, Milwaukee is way too experienced to suffer a gentleman's sweep and go down in front of their home fans.

You are a good and level poster, I appreciate your insights, whatever that means coming from a random Bucks fan lol.

I really want to pull for the Pacers (when not playing the Bucks obviously) - smaller market, up and coming young team. And I normally stick to rooting for my team and not against other teams but these Pacers are challenging that for me. Unearned cockiness is the best way I can put it. Impressive levels of lack of self awareness? I don't know, maybe I'm just crankier as I approach 40, it's definitely possible.

The Bucks have some good role players that can play off of a superstar (or two) but without Giannis we're not that good, without Giannis and Dame we're not even a playoff team. As much as I want Giannis to play tomorrow and humble these clowns, it was almost more satisfying beating them without him. It's a pretty embarrassing loss and Pacers really should be humbled by it but I don't think they are smart enough to be. I'm sounding cranky again, I need a nap.

Go Bucks

[___Rand___]

What happened Pacers?!

We aren't good or experienced enough to close out a series away from home. Also, Milwaukee is way too experienced to suffer a gentleman's sweep and go down in front of their home fans.

You are a good and level poster, I appreciate your insights, whatever that means coming from a random Bucks fan lol.

I really want to pull for the Pacers (when not playing the Bucks obviously) - smaller market, up and coming young team. And I normally stick to rooting for my team and not against other teams but these Pacers are challenging that for me. Unearned cockiness is the best way I can put it. Impressive levels of lack of self awareness? I don't know, maybe I'm just crankier as I approach 40, it's definitely possible.

The Bucks have some good role players that can play off of a superstar (or two) but without Giannis we're not that good, without Giannis and Dame we're not even a playoff team. As much as I want Giannis to play tomorrow and humble these clowns, it was almost more satisfying beating them without him. It's a pretty embarrassing loss and Pacers really should be humbled by it but I don't think they are smart enough to be. I'm sounding cranky again, I need a nap.

Go Bucks

To Nuntius, yeah you're right. The inexperience and youth showed. To jimybones, Doc always over-perform with starless teams. like his clippers before Kawhi. Or the Magic for a time. He just stinks when he has legit stars on his teams.

[Wallace_Wallace]

If Giannis and Dame can return in game 6, Doc Rivers might be on the right side of the 3-1 lead come back for once.

[Nuntius]

What happened Pacers?!

We aren't good or experienced enough to close out a series away from home. Also, Milwaukee is way too experienced to suffer a gentleman's sweep and go down in front of their home fans.

You are a good and level poster, I appreciate your insights, whatever that means coming from a random Bucks fan lol.

Thanks a lot. I appreciate the compliment

I really want to pull for the Pacers (when not playing the Bucks obviously) - smaller market, up and coming young team. And I normally stick to rooting for my team and not against other teams but these Pacers are challenging that for me. Unearned cockiness is the best way I can put it. Impressive levels of lack of self awareness? I don't know, maybe I'm just crankier as I approach 40, it's definitely possible.

The Bucks have some good role players that can play off of a superstar (or two) but without Giannis we're not that good, without Giannis and Dame we're not even a playoff team. As much as I want Giannis to play tomorrow and humble these clowns, it was almost more satisfying beating them without him. It's a pretty embarrassing loss and Pacers really should be humbled by it but I don't think they are smart enough to be. I'm sounding cranky again, I need a nap.

Go Bucks

Hey, it makes sense that you'd dislike our team while we're playing you. That's just the nature of fandom. Sure, most of us prefer to root for our own teams than against the opponent but sometimes (and playoff series are definitely among those times) that can get muddled up a bit and we could start rooting against the opponent as well. As long as we don't wish injury to players, it's all good and part of fandom.

Same deal with the players and the competition between them. Play another team enough times and you start disliking each other. The game starts becoming chippy. It's the playoffs after all. It's also pretty natural. As long as the players keep it clean, I'm not going to hold anything against them either.

[Hoop Hunter]

What happened Pacers?!

We aren't good or experienced enough to close out a series away from home. Also, Milwaukee is way too experienced to suffer a gentleman's sweep and go down in front of their home fans.

Is Haliburton still hobbled from that injury earlier in the season?

I don't know on the hammy, they just don't talk about it.

He has had some bad back spasms most all series. If you watch they put a back stimulator on him everytime he comes out of the game. They also have him riding a bike will on the sidelines. There is something ailing him. He's definitely not moving very well.