The Pacers‘ starting small forward, Aaron Nesmith, is still playing through a right ankle sprain he suffered during Game 3 against the Knicks, and Game 5 proved more difficult than Game 4 in that regard, writes Dustin Dopirak of the Indy Star. However, he’s not letting himself off the hook for a 16-minute, three-point performance.
“It hurts, but it’s no excuse. Gotta be better. I was able to play Game 4. I could play today. There was no excuse,” he said.
While Dopirak points to a first-quarter collision with Knicks’ center Mitchell Robinson in Game 5 as a potential reason for the extra pain, Nesmith rebuked that idea.
“It wasn’t a play today that made it worse,” he said.
While Nesmith has taken the bulk of responsibility guarding Knicks’ star Jalen Brunson throughout the series, head coach Rick Carlisle turned to other wing options after Nesmith struggled out of the gate.
“He got off to a bit of a slow start. I wasn’t sure if maybe he was slowed a little bit by the ankle. I put [Ben] Sheppard in there right away and then [Bennedict] Mathurin got a game going. That dug into Aaron’s minutes some. But everyone’s just gonna have to be ready for Game 6,” explained Carlisle.
Here’s more from Indiana:
- In more Pacers’ injury news, backup center Tony Bradley is being listed as questionable for Saturday’s Game 6 with a left hip flexor strain, reports Scott Agness of the Fieldhouse Files (via Twitter). Bradley landed awkwardly after Robinson fouled him on a layup attempt in the third quarter. After receiving sporadic minutes throughout the postseason, Bradley had played an average of 11 minutes per game in the three contests leading up to Game 5, as usual backup Thomas Bryant‘s minutes declined. With Robinson’s insertion into the Knicks’ starting lineup, the Pacers have leaned into smaller lineups featuring Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin without a traditional center.
- Following a dominant Game 4 in which he contributed 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, and four steals with no turnovers, Tyrese Haliburton was uncharacteristically quiet in Game 5, scoring just eight points on seven shots in 31 minutes. It was a head-scratcher of a performance, writes The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, and Haliburton knows it. “I got to be better, set the tone, get downhill. I feel like I can do a great job of that, but I’ll watch the film,” he said. However, Carlisle said it’s not all on the star point guard. “As a team, we have to be aggressive and have a level of balance,” Carlisle said. “… There’s more things I’m gonna have to do to help him. I’ll take responsibility for that, and we’ll see what we can improve.” Vardon draws a parallel to Haliburton’s Game 3 against the Cavaliers, in which he scored just four points over 30 minutes in a loss. The Pacers went on to win the next two contests by an average of 14.5 points as they closed out the series in five games.
- The Pacers committed turnovers on each of their first two possessions of Game 5, a harbinger of things to come for a team that draws strength from rarely making mistakes, writes Agness. Indiana opened the second half by turning the ball over on their first possession as well, and ended with a playoff-high 20 turnovers in the game, compared to New York’s 15. Losing the turnover battle, as well as the rebounding battle, meant the Pacers totaled just 74 shots compared to 89 for the Knicks.
Mathurin is a dog, esp when he has the ball in his hands. But he just doesn’t seem to fit this Pacer team at all. They do need a wing scorer but they’d be so much better off with a guy like Khris Middleton who gets his moreso within the flow of his team’s offense. Mathurin is an efficient scorer but he takes his team out of flow pretty much any time he gets going & ofc his IQ as a defender isn’t near his IQ as a scorer so he makes mistakes on that side often.
I like Mathurin, Jarace Walker & Isaiah Jackson to Denver for Aaron Gordon & Jalen Pickett.
Obv Denver hates to lose their best defender, possibly their 2nd best overall player but it’s been clear since they lost KCP that they lack depth & this would go a long way towards turning that weakness into a strength. Jarace will prob never be Gordon but he’s a very talented young forward who should def compete with Watson for that other starting forward spot at least & could grow into a big time player. Mathurin is another guy with big potential, esp as a scorer. Playing alongside Jokic, in a system that suits him better would be great for his career no doubt. Jackson been hurt all yr but bringing him in plus the return of rookie Da’Ron Holmes would have the Nuggets looking alot deeper next season.
For Indy, as talented as Mathurin is, losing him could almost be addition by subtraction on its own. Sheppard fits their team style way more. And adding a guy like Shawn Mari- I mean Aaron Gordon would just make them better in every way.
You rebuilding the Pacers while they are going home to close out Knicks. Why don’t you try and enjoy the game. There will be plenty time to redo Pacers. Starting with the draft …..
Mathurin is a scorer. He is still finding his way with Pacers. He is part of the rotation. And depth is what has gotten Pacers here. You know in the playoffs you have to play D. D is what has got Knicks back in it. Mathurin is capable of giving them a big scoring night. So you have to attack him on D. Make it more difficult for him. This is the gm of the year for both teams. We will see who shows up.
@Sankara
Pacers are about to make the finals. Mathurin has been fine as their backup SF whose ability to drive and draw fouls is something they need.
Also, Denver considers Gordon untouchable.