On keeping Pascal Siakam posted (Patreon)

Analyzing why and how the post entry passes to Indiana's now-signed, often-sealing max star have changed and whether further change is still needed

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

Following last month's mailbag, with a central focus on what comes next for Jarace Walker and Bennedict Mathurin as two potential swing pieces for next season, there were still plenty of Pacers-centric questions leftover that seemed like perfect topics to dive into now that the offseason portion of the offseason is officially in full-swing. As such, some of the submitted inquiries are going to be turned into full-scale articles or mini deep dives over the coming days and week. Turns out, this latest entry, asking about the way in which the Pacers feed Pascal Siakam in the post, is a topic that was already earmarked as an extensive summer project.

So, without further ado, let's deep dive!

Norma: I would like to know why the Pacers don't seem to use the side entry post pass to Pascal 

After Pascal Siakam racked up 36 points in what was a 150-145 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Tyrese Haliburton said the following in response to a question about why his new, star-caliber teammate was able to be so consistent for the Pacers despite being traded midseason:

"He just fits the way we play. I think we've done a good job of not changing the way we play to the way that he's accustomed to playing. He's more of a post-isolation guy. We didn't have that element before, and we've done a good job of implementing that into what we already do playing at such a fast pace."

To an extent, that response effectively answers this question. For the most part, Siakam adjusted to playing with the Pacers, more than the Pacers adjusted to playing with Siakam. Rather than incorporating new sets and actions to fit themselves to him, they fit him into many of the sets and actions they already run, which included having him run ahead and/or behind the action. That's why, despite being known for his long, languid finishes and staccato handle, the Pacers barely missed a beat, as to seconds per possession, whether we was on the floor (13.86) or off (13.81). Of course, the early bully didn't always get the ball. In certain games, there were moments in which the coaching staff could be heard shouting and motioning for "four down" as the call for an early duck-in against a cross-match in transition, when the offense would instead flow in the opposite direction from the potential post entry at the wing.

In a sense, those types of plays speak to his change in environment. Granted, the Raptors were starting a higher percentage of their plays in transition (17.4) than the Pacers (16.5) at the point in which he was traded, but they weren't playing as fast following a made shot as the Pacers, ranking 13th by comparison to first, and he wasn't playing with a center who had attempted even a single three in transition, let alone the 77 that were hoisted by Myles Turner. For the Pacers, who for that very reason oftentimes have Turner inbound the ball so he can operate as the trailer at the top of the key as opposed to the rim-runner, spacing is offense and offense is spacing.

For example, consider the way in which Siakam plugs into and accentuate one of the team's most common actions. Signaled for by holding up the letter "c," Siakam comes up from the corner and sets a touch screen for the ball. If the defense switches, then the ball gets reversed for Turner to throw a high-low pass from the top of the key. Notably, because Turner is a capable shooter with the next option being to swing the ball into a hand-off with a pindown in the middle for the player in the opposite corner, the opposing team's center typically defends him outside the free throw line. In addition to opening the window for the pass, that means the player rotating on the back-side to help is oftentimes a smaller guard or wing.

To put additional pressure on that defender, the Pacers also started incorporating a weak-side flare screen, forcing the low-man to choose between helping and lifting.

Importantly, if the low-post seal against the switch isn't there and the defense drops against the touch screen, then Siakam automatically drops down to the block as the first screener of a stagger for the player in the corner to cut to the opposite wing.

Earlier in the season and with other lineup combinations on the floor, the Pacers would've filtered the ball through the big to the weak-side of the floor for the player in the corner to "zoom" to the top of the key for a hand-off with a pindown in middle; however, with Sheppard and Nesmith playing in that spot and better off coming off screens than turning the ball downhill, this became the predominant counter. From there, if the shot isn't open for the player looping to the opposite wing, then they will get the ball, flip it back, and clear out with a blur screen for Haliburton to attack downhill with his dominant, right hand (when healthy).

Taken altogether, the geometry of the action, which sets up the potential post entry at the top of the key, is what allows the Pacers to play through a series of dominoes, rapidly advancing to the next action based on the response of the defense. For frame of reference, Jakob Poeltl threw a total of eight post entry passes to Siakam with the Raptors this past season, compared to 32 from the combination of Myles Turner (21), Jalen Smith (8), and Isaiah Jackson (3). Notably, all of the connections between Siakam and Poeltl (specifically with regard to post-ups -- not their shared wavelength on dives, flex cuts, etc.) came out of this horns-chin action, in which Siakam would cut from the weak-side slot to the basket and seal for a pass from the opposite elbow.

Of course, given the lack of threats in that starting lineup for Toronto to rise-and-fire out of hand-offs, the fact that some teams were pressing up against Poeltl to a touch at the elbow seemed a bit excessive, especially since he only attempted three total jump-shots last season. As such, when opponents realized they could sag off to protect against the downhill momentum into the mismatch, that action took on a bit of a different look.

Turns out, the Pacers ran that a few times, too -- the only difference is the play was inverted with Turner in the corner (and didn't end in a post-up), which wouldn't exactly be feasible with Poeltl.

Needless to say, in 39 games with the Raptors, Siakam only received two post entry passes from the top of the key, neither of which were delivered by Poeltl. Instead, after charting the distribution of those passes by location, more than 58.2 percent of his post-entry passes came from the wings, with Dennis Schroder as his most-frequent entry passer. (As a note, each location is presented as a percentage of the total volume of passes he received because: 1) Siakam played 19 fewer games for the Raptors when including the playoffs, and 2) Due to his uncertain contract situation last summer, his role to start the season with a new coach at the helm didn't exactly seem as though the offense was initially designed with him in mind, which obviously would've affected the total volume of passes he received in the post although he ended up featuring more prominently as the season progressed.) 

With the Pacers, the majority of his post entry passes have still likewise come from the wing, but the frequency of those passes is lower by comparison to his time spent in Toronto, whereas the inverse is the case in relation to those being delivered from the top of the key -- largely for all of the reasons, especially with regard to the floor spacing at the center position and the overall domino effect of the offense, which have previously been laid out.

Still, just to put that number into further perspective, what the Pacers are doing isn't just novel by comparison to the context of the Raptors; it's also unique in relation to the entire rest of the league. As a whole, whereas the Pacers have thrown 25.9 percent of their post entry passes from the top of the key to Siakam, the other 29 teams in the NBA have only done so 15.7 percent of the time to all of their respective targets.

As Haliburton indicated, this is largely a reflection of the strategic positioning and moving parts around Siakam, with him accentuating the framework that was already in place rather than necessarily requiring a new build. That said, just because the Pacers have their dominoes lined up correctly, doesn't mean they always make the most of knocking down the first, initial domino. Here, for instance, despite the fact that Siakam has the post seal again his former teammate, Dennis Schroder, Jalen Smith advances the ball according to the drop counter. Granted, it's possible that Smith was skittish to pass around the length of Nic Claxton; however, with the defense switching everything, Andrew Nembhard ends up having to play the part of grenadier.

In essence, with the exception of Haliburton, who is demonstrably motioning for the entry, they're following the choreography too literally without actually performing the steps of the potential options and reads, and the same can also apply when they're playing at random. In this case, Bennedict Mathurin (apparently) didn't notice that Siakam had a duck-in against the smaller defender and instead threw the ball to himself off the backboard.

Of course, that was only the third game that those two had played together. Even so, similar questions should probably be asked as to why, when Haliburton was trudging through his slump and had shot 1-of-6 from three during the fourth quarter against Cleveland, the Pacers persisted in relying on him to create separation on the perimeter while trying to power off his left leg rather than entering the ball to Siakam from the wing against the mismatch.

Those types of oversights from the wing were also present during the playoffs -- sometimes, even multiple times on the same possession and out of the previously-described action. To that point, note the difference when a non-shooting guard is the player at the top of the key instead of a center. In addition to rearranging how much size is on the floor and where, Jrue Holiday also eventually has both of his feet in the paint, effectively playing a one-man zone against cutters.

Still, the ball needed to find Siakam, especially without Haliburton on the floor. And yet, following a full training camp, there's reason to think that it might, just by continuing to do what Haliburton stated: "implementing that into what we already do."

After all, before the Pacers traded for Siakam, they would occasionally run this wedge action for Bruce Brown to slide to the left block, while simultaneously occupying the help with a twirled stagger on the weak-side.

If the Pacers would call that play for Brown, wouldn't they also be open to calling it for Siakam? To be fair, Siakam isn't often, or ever, going to be guarded by the weakest defensive player on the floor, which is why Brown got the nod at the start of both the first and second half of that game against Damian Lillard, but there's been match-ups where that action could've potentially been advantageous. As in, think back to what was previously said about Haliburton isolating against Georges Niang when Siakam got the switch against Caris LeVert. For whatever reason, Siakam was guarded by Niang for nearly five minutes during the fourth quarter of what became a 108-103 loss to the Cavs, and the lanky forward never attempted a shot against that match-up. In that way, the Pacers don't necessarily have to change anything, other than bringing back what they've already done, for him to potentially get more touches from the wing next season that could be beneficial to both sides.

As it was, according to Second Spectrum, among the 90 primary players who recorded at least 50 actions of any play-type, a post-up from Pascal Siakam was the most efficient action in all of the NBA during the playoffs, scoring 1.285 points per chance. Admittedly, more isn't always more. If the Pacers started spamming static post-entry passes to Siakam from the wing against any match-up, there might be diminishing returns with regard to how the partnership achieved reaching quite literally, the highest of highs with the key being in the key. Still, when taking into account the way in which the offense is already clearing and holding space around him, neither side, in progressing out of the get-to-know-you phase, needs to actively adapt to the other -- with the exception of perhaps being more cognizant of Siakam's presence as another (now-signed, often-sealing, and not-always-delivered-to) central star.