Tyrese made my head, and my heart, hurt at the end of regulation, between his unforced turnover with under 30 sec (I think) left and that no pass, dribble into 2 defenders and heave up a no look shot no play. But Carlisle also boffed it – 1) Foul up 3 with the Cs out of time outs and under 15 sec on the clock, 2) have a play that involves at least 1, if not 2 screens (pr’lly 1 drag screen) on that last possession and INSIST the ball, if not ball-and-player, goes into the paint, 3) on that inbound where they turned it over on a terrible attempt to get it to Pascal, advise that if they have no pay, throw it into the front court where the faster, fresher Pacers can race for it, but if it goes to Boston, it’s in their backcourt and you can at least set up your half court D.
Multiple times in the last 5 mins the Pacers met the moment and also reminded us that, besides Siakam, they have no playoff experience (especially this deep) and are mostly incredibly young, so they wilted a little. I hope this wasn’t the best game of the series for them, but if Tatum has indeed “woken up,” then this may have been their best chance to win early.
Yes Will, for sure, a lot of things could have gone better for the Pacers. (Only after publishing this did I see Carlisle’s mea culpa–saying he should have drawn up an inbounds play with 10 seconds left in regulation, which turned into a turnover. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJLRN9D_-2o )
I’m a little iffy about the value of experience, though. I value it, but less than some. Veterans make mistakes all the time–like, say, Tatum’s big foul late in overtime, or Derrick White blatantly fouling a 3-point shooter. Nembhard hit a huge playoff game-winner as perhaps that series’ greenest player. Anthony Edwards is 22. It’s always just basketball, youth is often a big help in that.
Saw Carlisle’s admission after posting as well, which goes right to your later point, Henry. He’s got plenty of experience – a championship too! – but that didn’t prevent him from making a mistake. It’s a great point – how much does experience in high pressure situations like that matter when, outside of the crowd, it’s a basketball game that all of these players have played in thousands, if not tens-of-thousands (Al Horford has been around forever, right?) of times before. Energy/exuberance vs experience/chill. Maybe thats a good topic for 5-7 min of the next pod?