Off to the Races || Indiana Pacers (2K23)

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In what was a definitional "tale of two halves game," the Indiana Pacers downed the Toronto Raptors 106-101 in the squad's first game since the monumental trade of Myles Turner (and a Mr. Kevin Durant) to the New Orleans Pelicans.

In the first half, neither team could find a rhythm - the hometown Pacers shot 14/46 (30%), and the Raptors were not much better at 15/48 (31%). I can only imagine what was said inside those locker rooms at halftime, as the score stood at 41-39 Pacers.

Both teams came out with a renewed energy in the second half, but it was the Pacers who maintained that energy down the stretch, largely fueled by impactful defense from their new starting frontcourt of Jalen Smith and Isaiah Jackson, who combined for six blocks. Goga Bitadze added three of his own off the bench.

Rick Carlisle ran into a tough decision when Tyrese Haliburton got his fourth foul just two minutes into the second half. He decided to keep him out there, but Haliburton picked up his fifth only three minutes later, forcing Carlisle's hand.

Once Haliburton was forced to leave the floor, the Pacers offense sputtered and the Raptors found life behind 15 points from Pascal Siakam in the third quarter.

Toronto entered the final period with a three-point lead, but the three-headed monster of Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Bennedict Mathurin proved too much to contain for the Raptors, who were outscored by eight in the fourth.

Hield finished as Indiana's leading scorer with 25, while Mathurin added 18 and Haliburton posted yet another double-double with 22 points and 11 assists.

New Pacer Devonte' Graham was relatively quiet in 11 minutes, posting 6 points on 2-6 shooting, while fellow acquisitions Garrett Temple and Jonas Valanciunas were inactive due to injury.

Meanwhile in Philadelphia, the new look Pelicans made their much-awaited debut - they lost 116-105. Myles Turner posted only eight points and fouled out in just 27 minutes. No schadenfreude here at all, it's just notable that Pelicans trade filler and a "star center" performed about the same in their debut games in new surroundings. Anyway.

Next up the Pacers travel to, funnily enough, Philadelphia to face Joel Embiid and the Sixers. We'll see if Indiana fares better than New Orleans.

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Tonight might be the best night we have all season, Pacers fans. In an absolute barn-burning offensive performance, Haliburton and Co. scored the most points they've scored all season on one of the league's best defenses. In their house. 142-90.

These are the same Bucks that are first in the East, right? I'm not sure they made it out of the locker room for this one. The Pacers were sprinting out of the blocks, taking the first quarter 40 to 21. The Pacers made impact play after impact play on defense, with five steals and two blocks in the opening 12 minutes. It seemed like even the Pacers couldn't believe what was going down, as they were all beaming after every trip down the floor.

"That was fun, no two ways about it," Head Coach Rick Carlisle said. "I think Milwaukee was surprised by our effort, frankly."

The second saw the game slow down a bit, and the Bucks were able to narrow the Pacers lead to seven going into the half as the Pacers shot just 4/20 in the period. I don't know what Rick Carlisle said in the locker room at halftime, but the Pacers came out absolutely firing in the third, playing with even more verve than they had to start the game. A 44-19 third meant the entirety of the fourth quarter would be garbage time.

Of course, the Pacers didn't let up, even as the end-of-bench guys made it into the game. A 43-point fourth quarter closed out what will likely be the best offensive performance from the Pacers this year. And if you turned the game off, you missed this insane alley-oop by Bennedict Mathurin late in the fourth:

Was that the most sportsmanlike play? No. Was it the best moment all season? Maybe. If nothing else good happens this season, we'll always have Benn dropping the hammer on Jrue. See you all in Oklahoma City.

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[marshdaddy]

Bro can you stop upping the game on design and display? Good lord man, these are gorgeous. Incredible blockbuster trade, even though it's fictional I'm terrified of that Pelicans team. They're way too deep and dangerous. I'm curious how you handle Buddy Hield. Feel like he has major value on the market, and being able to add more assets would be a coup for the solid base you have.

[ShamWowNY]

Quote: Originally Posted by marshdaddy

Bro can you stop upping the game on design and display? Good lord man, these are gorgeous. Incredible blockbuster trade, even though it's fictional I'm terrified of that Pelicans team. They're way too deep and dangerous. I'm curious how you handle Buddy Hield. Feel like he has major value on the market, and being able to add more assets would be a coup for the solid base you have.

Thanks for the high praise man - it's chises like yours that I aspire to. KD-Pels trade was fun to put together and pull off. Took some real tinkering given the limitations of the 2K trade engine (had to make some extra trades with just picks to get every asset where it needed to go), but pulled it off and so far the Pels are playing pretty well - I'm a little ahead in-game of where I've updated here, but they're on a seven game win streak and have only dropped five games since the trade.

I'm gonna be honest - I love Buddy Hield. He's an assassin. He's third in the league in 3PT% on a very respectable 7 attempts per game. I have half a mind to hold onto him, find a PF who can shoot and defend, and try to push for a top-6 spot in the East next year with Hield and JV as the savvy vets complementing the ascents of Hali and Benn. Will definitely do due dilligence on Buddy, but it's no lock to move on as of yet. Hell, the standings are such that we could even make a push for the 10 seed, even at this point in the year.

Trade deadline article coming soon to look at all of the potential moves around the league!