Celtics vs. Pacers: Five things to watch in Game 2, including how Boston handles Al Horford’s pursuit

Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Eastern Conference Finals will likely be chaotic, but there are a few things to note as the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers meet in Game 2 at TD Garden on Thursday.

Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle had the Pacers attack Al Horford repeatedly in Game 1, especially in the second half, trying to get the Boston center to attack by dragging him to the perimeter and setting screens on the ball.

The first to take notice was Myles Turner, who is shooting 47.3 percent from 3-point range in the postseason and can abuse opponents in drop coverage by alternating between pick-and-pop launches and hard rolls to the rim.

Then, after Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla cleverly adjusted the game to have superstar forward Jayson Tatum guard Turner, dangerous one-on-one scorer and playmaker Pascal Siakam, the game between them became gold in the playoffs — 55% from floater range, 48% from long mid-range, according to Cleaning the Glass.

And at times, the 37-year-old was the Pacer the Celtics tried to hide after pre-switching from a Pacer trotting toward Tyrese Haliburton to set up the pick.

Whoever was responsible for putting Horford in space and putting him under a microscope, Indiana reveled in the opportunities that were created once he was there. Pull-up threes on drops, practice jumpers from the foul line, ankle-trembling step-backs and calm drives all the way to the rim — the Pacers produced one great look after another against a Celtics defense that finished the game third in points per possession during the regular season and third in the postseason, entering Tuesday.

Horford can He maintained the lead, sliding on the perimeter with Indiana’s drivers and proving it with several blocks, including a big one against Andrew Nembhard with 2:31 left in overtime.

But whether he can hold up more consistently under such repeated pressure — and, for that matter, what Mazzulla and company can do to mitigate it — is very much an open question.

With center Kristaps Porzis out with an injury, the oldest player remaining in the postseason has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. Horford averaged a career-low 26.8 minutes per game in the regular season, but after Porzis went down, he averaged 31.8 minutes per game, and his 39:35 minutes in Game 1 were his best in nearly 16 months. Given how important Horford has been to spacing Boston’s offense and orchestrating its defense in Porzis’ absence, it’s fair to bet the Pacers will continue to try to get Horford into the game and see if Boston can find a better answer than they showed in Game 1.

Slow and steady?

Boston made it clear from the start of Game 1 that they intended to push the ball whenever they had a chance. Runs from steals led to dunks and layups, runs from misses led to more layups, and runs from successes led to, you guessed it, layups.

All that early aggression produced a 12-0 start, but it also set the terms of engagement firmly in Indiana’s comfort zone. This tempo fits much better with how the Pacers like to generate offense and produce great performances. in That’s a faster pace at which to generate offense than the pace at which Boston has remained the best team in basketball all season.

On a perhaps related note, after the Pacers settled into the game and missed their first six shots, they scored on seven of their next eight possessions, pouring in 64 points on 67.5% shooting over the next 20.5 minutes. , dispelled fear. God bless all the Celtics loving souls in the grandstands at TD Garden.

Boston took back control in the third quarter, playing around Tatum and July Holiday and mismatching the ball against Indiana’s guards, forcing the Pacers to dodge their screens and size.

Those isolations, post-ups, pick-and-rolls and the free throws Indiana generated as it tried to get physical in that arena to deal with Boston’s advantage were what fueled a 14-2 Celtics comeback by double digits. Of course, the Pacers would fight back, as they did throughout a close Game 1. But the stretch felt notable, a reminder that playing a free game with its ups and downs can be just as fun. As fluid as Indiana’s preferred style is, Boston’s best bet for maintaining its advantage in this series might be to embrace the grind.

Holiday Party

Jrue Holiday was sacrificed. tons In his first season with Boston, he hit career lows. His touches and field goal attempts per game, average time of possession, and usage rate were all at or near career lows. He handled the ball in pick-and-rolls and isolation plays less than ever before, and spent a lot more time taking catch-and-shoot three-pointers because that’s what Mazzulla wanted him to do to create one of the most efficient offenses in NBA history. He also ended up playing a more diverse defensive role, often guarding the center so Porzingis, Horford, or Luke Kornet could stay closer to the basket for rim protection, and sometimes guarding the middle of the matchup zone to serve as a curveball against a weak-foot offense that was seeing a lot of drop coverage or switches.

The 15-year veteran handled the adjustment and played well in a more limited role throughout the season, helping turn the Celtics into a regular-season powerhouse and a surefire championship contender. But in Game 1, with the emphasis on offense and the Celtics needing bucket-getters to match the Pacers’ firepower, Holiday delivered:

Holiday’s postseason career has been a bit checkered. He made three playoff appearances with the Bucks, shooting 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range. He shot 35 percent from the field in the first round against Miami. In Game 2, which Boston lost to the Cavaliers in the second round, he scored just four points on 2-of-7 shooting. However, he started to regain his form in the final three games against Cleveland, with his best performance of the postseason (28 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, +7 on 10-of-16 shooting in 48 minutes). Jrue reminded him that while he can be a trick-or-treater contributor at times, he’s also a two-time All-Star who can do more than just spot up at corner.

Get Archie Bell & the Drells

Hey Celtics? Hey Pacers? Hey hey, hey.

It’s the Eastern Conference finals. If we win four games here, we will be fighting for the championship. I understand that you are one of the best offensive lines I have ever seen, and I don’t want to discount the defensive effort that led to these mistakes. But these turnovers are… just awful. Let’s tighten things up before the second match.

Emotional baggage

Like the first game, the opponent is losing by a large margin. Very close All that’s left to win is for the match to kick off, and where are the big favourites, the hosts? Very close To watch that dream turn to ashes, only to be saved by an act of God, or at least by God temporarily disguised as Jaylen Brown, is something rare and wild. (I loved this line from longtime friend Tom Ziller of the program: “It’s like the Nicene Creed of broken hearts.”)

It would be understandable for the Pacers to feel like they missed their biggest chance to defeat Goliath after Game 1. Having proven that they are capable of pushing championship contenders to their absolute limits, it’s no wonder they have the courage to attack even harder.

Likewise, it’s understandable that the Celtics would brace themselves somewhat after seeing their lives flash before their eyes like that, but also feel confident that they’d proven their mettle by taking their opponent’s best shot on the chin, walking through it, landing the haymaker they needed themselves and finishing with their hands raised in victory.

These are highly competitive professional athletes who would have needed absolute confidence to reach this point in their respective careers. Also, most of them are young people who, like the rest of us, suffer from “big emotions” such as self-doubt, anxiety, tension, and frustration. How quickly each team can handle the emotional weight of the start of this series, or if they can’t, at least stash it under the bench, with clear heads, contentment, and sharpness. Whether they go into the series with that intention may have just as much of an impact on the series’ future as the small adjustments Mazzula and Carlisle make. After all, this is a human game.