INDIANAPOLIS — Neither of Boston’s All-Star wings, 6-foot-6 Jaylen Brown or 6-foot-8 Jayston Tatum, could stop TJ McConnell Saturday night. The Pacers’ pesky backup point guard dribbled along the baseline in the second quarter of Game 3 against the Celtics, sneaking around Brown and drawing on Tatum, fooling the All-NBA First Team selection. McConnell drilled a mid-range jump shot and finished with an impressive 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists in Indiana’s 114-111 loss to give Boston a commanding 3-0 series lead.
For the Pacers to avoid elimination on Monday, and likely without injured All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana will continue to rely on McConnell, the Arizona undrafted pick and ninth-year veteran who has become a cult hero among the staunchest followers of Sam Hinkie’s Philadelphia process. His first four years with the Sixers were the reason Indiana signed McConnell to a two-year, $7 million contract in 2019, followed by another four-year, $33 million deal. Since then, both before and after Haliburton’s dramatic addition, McConnell has been a staple for the Pacers, and he seems too ingrained in the Indiana organization to be going anywhere anytime soon.
“I feel like he’s the head of the snake,” Celtics guard Jrue Holiday said.
“He’s one of the heartbeats of our team,” Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla said, “He makes winning plays. He’s really good at the end of the quarter and that’s how a team can maintain momentum or build momentum or take momentum away from it.”
McConnell may be the most skilled in the league at gliding along the baseline, as he did late in the second quarter for the Pacers’ first 3-pointer off Andrew Nembard. For McConnell, who stands just 6-foot-1, the area is dangerous and a trap waiting to be set among NBA giants. Steve Nash was always able to find his man on that tightrope despite his diminutive size, but McConnell has the uncanny ability to emulate the Hall of Fame point guard in that department.
“We speak the same language about trying to manipulate the defense and trying to take over real estate, so to speak,” Nash once told Yahoo Sports about McConnell. “It’s about distorting the defense and applying pressure and keeping the dribble alive.”
Nash played college with Pacers assistant Lloyd Pierce, who was on Brett Brown’s staff in Philadelphia before Pierce became the Hawks’ head coach. Through that connection and help from another Sixers staffer, Chris Babcock, McConnell had worked with Nash during offseason training sessions in Los Angeles, and one of the game’s all-time greats was a worthy successor to the baseline attack that many coaches now refer to as the “Nash dribble.”
“what [McConnell’s] “What I always say is, ‘Sometimes I can outmaneuver them technically and outwit them intellectually, but sometimes I don’t have to challenge them athletically because I might not win that battle,'” Nash said. “But I can keep dribbling and put pressure on them because they’re going to chase me and get it back. Maybe someone’s going to catch me while they’re trying to get back to me, and I do that on the difficult parts of the court.”
It’s not just his dribbling that’s impressive: When he picks up the ball in the paint, McConnell stays on his feet like his life depends on it, and he can twist and flick his way to a surprisingly versatile mid-range drop jump shot that’s all but disappeared in today’s modern offense.
“TJ McConnell is a really good player,” Celtics center Al Horford said.
“He’s been a big weight for us,” Holiday said. “We’ve been pretty focused on T.J. in scouting and stuff.”
McConnell’s erratic movement doesn’t look all that effective from the outside, but he did make the NBA’s lone 3-pointer on an Andrew Nembard kickout with just over three minutes left in Saturday’s game. McConnell lined up in the right corner, took the shot, hit it, then slammed his left fist into his right bicep, raised three fingers on his right hand like a level and yelled “BOOM!” to the front few rows of Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“Our crowd, I can’t speak for everyone, but sometimes when you play in front of them you feel invincible,” McConnell said Saturday.
He might be the easiest player for his hometown team to root for. McConnell is the first on the court and makes the most of every moment he gets. During rookie training camp in Philadelphia, McConnell would regularly call on teammates, including Nik Stauskas and Richaun Holmes, to ask if they were arrogant about trying to make an NBA team. “He always competes like it’s day one,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “That’s what makes him a special player.”
After Indiana lost again despite leading late in the fourth quarter, McConnell told his team they weren’t ready to give up: “Obviously, this loss hurts, but no one in this locker room is giving up.”
McConnell has one year left on his current contract after this season, and league executives view him as one of the best reserves in the league, making his salary attractive. A league source told Yahoo Sports that McConnell’s high contract value and endless battery power are what most attracted trade inquiries from the Phoenix Suns throughout last season.
Still, McConnell remained reserved when asked after the game whether he thought he’d proven himself a good fit for the team long ago or whether he was merely an undrafted underdog who’d been invited to Philadelphia’s training camp.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s the energy I bring to every day,” he said. “If I’m playing like I have nothing to prove, then I think it’s time to retire.”
