The NBA is all about pushing the pace nowadays. Gone are the days of slow, grind-it-out offenses. Now, even the “slowest” teams far outpace the teams of yesteryear. One team, though, plays the fastest out of everyone in the league: the Indiana Pacers. Led by breakout star Tyrese Haliburton, Indy’s offense has reached heights that are ridiculously hard to achieve.
It will certainly be interesting to see how a high-octane offense like Indiana’s fares in the playoffs. After all, every offense bogs down in the offseason. For what it’s worth, Haliburton himself seems to be excited at the prospect of playing the Pacers’ quick-paced offense in the playoffs against better teams, per his appearance on Paul George’s podcast.
Tyrese Haliburton: “It’ll be interesting because of how fast we (Pacers) play, I’m excited to see how that translates to the playoffs. Because the playoffs is more slow and methodical, and understanding all tendencies and all that stuff, so I’m really excited to see how that translates. You know hopefully if we get there, like who we’re matching up with, because it could be, the way that it’s moving around, it could be anybody in that 4 to 8 race. It could be Cleveland, it could be Milwaukee, it could be a lot of different teams.”
The Pacers are the closest to a run-and-gun offense that we’ll see in the NBA. It’s hard not to see why they run such a style. With Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, Indiana has two of the best transition players in the NBA. Not only can they push the ball down the court quickly, they can also set things up for their teammates. The result is a lot of open baskets and even more shot attempts. They rank second in the league in shot attempts per game and play at the second highest pace.
The playoffs are a completely different story, though. We’ve seen many run-and-gun teams falter in the playoffs due to their inability to adjust to postseason ball. Will the Pacers be able to successfully run their preferred offense in the postseason? Or will they fall victim to the playoffs like other teams before them?
About the Author
Gerard is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, with his focus primarily on the NBA, NFL, and Gaming. When he’s not writing for CP, Gerard can often be seen playing VALORANT or playing pick-up basketball. He’s also working on his BS Mathematics degree.
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