How the Pacers manage time in special situations (Patreon)

A look at a clever hack for catching opponents on the rebound 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

Outside of Pascal Siakam's veteran presence and scoring prowess, the opening game of the playoffs wasn't particularly memorable for the Indiana Pacers. On the night, they trailed by as many as 30 points and quickly looked out of their depth with the depth by which they were attempting to guard Damian Lillard, as the All-NBA talent scored all 35 of his points before halftime. Tyrese Haliburton, meanwhile, only attempted seven shots, and by Game 2, the rotation was shortened to just eight players, eliminating the back-up center position in favor of leaning toward smaller groupings with Obi Toppin at the five to match the spread lineups that Milwaukee was playing with Bobby Portis and Danilo Gallinari. Put simply, it was a learning experience. And the same seemed to apply, and perhaps even be magnified, by the final possession of the half.

It wasn't anything fancy -- just an angled pick-and-roll between Haliburton and Siakam, which saw Siakam pop out to three while being guarded by Brook Lopez, as he was for the majority of Games 1 and 2. And yet, note the time remaining on both the game clock. On the surface, even with Siakam amassing a game-high of 36 points on 60 percent shooting, it seems fair to question whether this is the best shot for the team, especially with ample time remaining on the shot clock.

After all, according to Second Spectrum, an above-the-break three from Pascal Siakam last season was only worth 0.871 points per shot. For frame of reference, the league as a whole generated 1.15 points per shot on all shots last season. Likewise, the Utah Jazz ranked 15h in overall points per shot, also at 1.15 points per shot. Needless to say, an above-the-break three from Siakam isn't exactly a high-quality or even average-quality shot by league standards. Still, watch the rest of the team when the shot goes up and consider how much time is left when the ball hits the rim. At roughly 15.7 seconds, if the shot comes off the rim and the Pacers get the rebound, by the time they actually secure the ball, they're going to get the final possession of the half by virtue of the fact that the shot-clock resets to 14 seconds on offensive rebounds. In this case, Siakam has an opportunity for an easy putback, which allows the Bucks enough time to squeeze in an extra shot, but this nevertheless seems like a deliberate strategy from the Pacers.

Just look at the start of the possession. With the game clock between 32 and 28 seconds, notice how Haliburton is casually walking the ball up the floor, rather than playing with the usual antsy, pep in his step following a made shot. Instead, he patiently holds and waits to get into the action until around the 20-second mark so the screener can load to catch-and-shoot with approximately 17 seconds to play.

At that point, they aggressively crash the glass. And, here's the thing: That strategy pre-dated Siakam's arrival in Indiana, including when Siakam was playing against Indiana. Here, at the end of the third quarter versus the Raptors, Haliburton once again waits until around the 20-second mark to dribble off the pick and then locates old friend Jordan Nwora to shoot out of the pop with, why yes, roughly 17 seconds on the clock. Notably, the other four players are all crashing hard on the release of the shot.

Likewise, look at Obi Toppin on this possession against the Nets. When Tyrese Haliburton rejects the double-drag and goes into his shooting motion with under 20 seconds to play in the half, Toppin isn't focused on balancing the floor to get back, he's making a break for the rim, right along with Ben Sheppard and Aaron Nesmith from the corners.

On the surface, that may seem undisciplined, if not chancy. Remember, on possessions that start with between 32 and 28 seconds on the game clock, the Pacers are typically letting the ball fly with approximately 17-15 seconds to play. Metaphorically speaking, if they "swing and miss" going for the rebound, they're at risk of paying a fast-price going the other way with time to spare.

Then again, maybe they aren't? Think of it this way: If the ball hits the rim with 15.6 seconds left, as it did in the first example against the Bucks, and the Pacers don't get the offensive rebound, most teams are probably either going to call a timeout or hold for the last shot, right? Just look at DeMar DeRozan's reaction when he grabs the miss with under 20 seconds to play. He isn't looking to advance the ball to Coby White or Ayo Dosunmu. In fact, White even appears to be signaling for the last shot in reference to the clock, deferring to DeRozan as the usual closer.

Granted, the Bulls weren't exactly a team last season that played at breakneck speed anyway, but the point still remains that the Pacers aren't exactly risking it all by sending multiple players to the glass in these special situations. Rather, with the way that most teams typically exercise restraint to manage the clock at the end of quarters, they arguably have carte blanche to be ultra-aggressive. The numbers back this up. According to Second Spectrum, the Pacers typically rank 18th in "attack" on offensive rebounds. By definition, "attack" is a measurement of "hustle" (i.e. how often a player gets closest to the ball, beyond what is expected, when the shot is taken) adjusted for the average hustle from the player’s starting position (i.e. hustle minus expected hustle, given positioning). When specifically filtered for the end of quarters with between 32 and 28 seconds remaining, however, Indiana jumps up to third, going from an attack of -4.567 to +2.223. As such, in taking a crash course on crashing, they are effectively taking advantage of a loophole in clock management by searching for potential holes on the glass.

In most cases, for a team that isn't exactly known for their rebounding, they're typically getting a catch-and-shoot three-point attempt with a chance for a putback and potentially the last shot of the quarter. Alternatively, if they miss and don't get the rebound, then the pragmatic reaction of most teams to hold at the end of quarters typically dictates that they probably aren't going to be punished for being extra with their effort. All of which is to say that, given that the Pacers went 7-3 in the playoffs when they outrebounded their opponent, Pascal Siakam's 36-point performance in Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks wasn't the only flashpoint from Indiana's otherwise dim open to the postseason, there was also something illuminating about his miss to close the half, offering a reflection as to another means of waging the possession war and why, even in the smallest of skirmishes, there is method to their special-situation brashness.