Siakam and Sheppard Silence Toronto Raptors to escape with an Indiana Pacers victory!

Siakam and Sheppard Silence Toronto Raptors to escape with an Indiana Pacers victory!

This is tyres hurn and you’re listening to setting the pace Pacer Nation what’s going on welcome back to your go-to Pacers podcast setting the pace we’re here to talk about Indiana’s 127 125 victory over the Toronto Raptors in an emotional game where Pascal sakam made his return to Toronto for the first time

Since being traded and here to talk with me about that from the athletic he’s no stranger to you guys it’s James Boyd James what’s going on man how are you living a dream man obviously seeing cakam be victorious in his return is a nice positive way for

The Pacers to end this first half of the Season which isn’t the first half by the way is what’s everyone says about the NBA season that’s good I’m doing good I’m excited for Allstar Weekend here in Indianapolis obviously Tyrese halberton starting there’s just so many things

Going on this weekend that I know I won’t sleep very much but who cares this is like a once in a last time you know opportunity right here no it’s it’s awesome I think the city is buzzing it looks beautiful downtown everything they’ve got ready so yes if you have not

Been downtown I highly recommend even if you don’t go to the event just go downtown get a feel for what’s going on hang out maybe you’ll see somebody at a restaurant you never know but this game tonight obviously an emotional one with Pascal returning did not start out the game very well but

Kind of closed things out here for the Pacers hit tough basket after tough basket put this team on his back in the fourth quarter and Rick Carlile even deemed it Pascal SE yakum night baby so 23 points seven assists five rebounds got in some foul trouble ended up having

Five fouls but I just thought this was such a great way for him to kind of go in there and get this Victory I could tell he really wanted it and he had a nice drive there at the end to kind of give the Pacers a little bit of a

Cushion so you know I I I’ve enjoyed the Pascal SE yakum play since he’s been here obviously it’s been a little bit up and down in terms of all the injuries everything that’s been going on but just a great opportunity for him to get a victory against his former team

Absolutely and I think you know you talk about the injuries the ups and downs he’s been like their one constant since he’s gotten here and that’s one of the reasons why you make the trade obviously you make the trade with the idea of everyone being fully healthy but in

Moments like this where you’re missing miles and Benedict’s out and and Tyresa is still kind of working his way back you got cakam who continues to just be this consistent present on offense and defense and what I like about his game is he’s got the how do I describe it

A like non sexy game because I like look up and I’m like wait a second he has 20 how because it really isn’t flashy it’s just efficient I mean the flashiest thing he does is his signature spin move which everyone knows is coming and it still works anyways but you know I felt

Good about what I saw from him tonight and what I’ve seen from him so far and I think you know reading Caitlyn Cooper other people in Tony East as well Dustin deir you know obviously being around the game myself writing my own pieces like the malleability adjective that’s been

Described about him or used to describe him is very true like his game just translates I feel like with any team in the NBA and the Pacers are fortunate to have them they really are and they really needed him like you said all the injuries have been piling up tonight the

Pacers were without Miles Turner Benedict Ma and jarus Walker Jaylen Smith James Johnson and then Aaron n Smith goes out in the first couple minutes of the third quarter injures is injures of shin once again so just injuries piling up and you know it felt like the injuryan Pacers are back

Because that used to be the question every don’t don’t please no no no you talked about it you know uh I remember Tony always say like Rick was getting so annoyed cuz it was like every time before a game you guys would ask like hey what’s the injury report for tonight

So it’s been piling up hopefully things get a little bit better but even Carlile said it they were thought three of their top seven guys tonight and and he put Jaylen Smith in his top seven which I thought was an interesting little bit of a quote there Carlile but you know

Isaiah Jackson had to step up and play the starting center spot tonight pretty efficient night for him 15 points seven of 13 shooting also had 11 rebounds and four blocks I just you know Isaiah Jackson’s kind of out of the rot ation now when when Smith and Turner are

Healthy but still having a guy like that in year three that can step up and provide really big minutes for you I think that’s huge for this team and I thought he played really well yeah and I think one of the things to seeing Isaiah and you got to remember when I covered

Them this was two years ago so seeing him now I’m like wow you know I covered him during his rookie year and now he’s you know year three put on a little bit of weight and I think this speaks to his professionalism as a young especially as

A young basketball player because it is hard to go from being you know the man basically your entire life to now you’re trying to crack to NBA rotation and be a rotation guy and I thought when his number was called tonight he did well um obviously he’s I think he’s more

Efficient now on offense because he’s just gotten stronger a little bit more patient as well and then even defensively one of the biggest things we would always get on him for and it’s still to this degree like man you jump a lot right you’re always jumping but I

Think you know you look at what he had tonight he had the four fouls but he also had four four blocks impactful blocks obviously in a two-point win and so I think Isaiah is someone who you know you’re still trying to feel out and just see what is his ceiling how how far

Can he take this thing and it speaks to the talent I think that this team has had recently versus what they had in the past where you know it felt like some of those games where I was covering him in 2021 22 before the halberton trade it

Was like you know a lot of guys I would say Beyond this Pacers wi people wouldn’t know and so now you have this roster where you it’s what I call a good problem it’s a good problem that you have to force yourself to find Isaiah Jackson minutes because jayen Smith

Looks so good in his role and obviously miles is having a career year yeah and I mean Tony East has brought this point up too on his PO and I think that it’s been you know it’s a really good point like Isaiah the big thing with him was

Getting into foul trouble and one of the things is it’s the quality of fouls that he’s getting now that are better because they’re fouls when he’s maybe trying to block a shot compared to oh can’t set a legal screen and gets caught moving before he sets the screen which he’s

Notoriously bad at or the dumb fouls when he gets beat on a rebound where he’ll just grab a guy because he’s mad oh my gosh you know so it’s like yes it’s like Isaiah Jackson is learning how to not commit dumb fouls but hey if you

Get off the ground because you’re a shot blocker like we can live with that and and one thing I do like about him is he’s just kind of a chippy guy he’s not gonna if he fouls you hard he’s not GNA help you up he’s just kind of that

You’re like get up you know and I think the Pacers need some more nastiness like that from guys that just don’t really give a crap you know what I mean yeah no I agree with that and what’s funny is you get a perception of a person based

Off what you see them play like right so some people who might not know Isaiah Jackson you know maybe on like a deeper level I’m not saying I’m best friends with the guy but I know him a little bit better than like the general public he

Is very very nice you know very outgoing you know when I talk to him in the locker room he’s always you know pretty joyous and smiling all those things but there is that that switch that gets flipped to where he’s like I’m trying to win and like you said you need guys like

That on your team who kind of set the tone whether it’s defensively whether it’s a hard foul whether it’s a kind like the old school no layup rule type of thing and I think he embodies that I think Aaron nemith to a degree embodies that because he’s always hounding guys

You know diving on the floor um fouling a guy hard TJ McConnell had some of that to his game and so one of the knocks that on the Pacers I think especially early on in the season and when halberton first arrived was oh they can score they can

Score they can score but like are they tough enough in certain moments and you do need those grit and grind moments no pun intended for Memphis fans out there but you do need those moments like that and I thought the end of this game sort

Of showed that where they I think it was like the last three minutes it was like they were one for 10 shooting Toronto that was and then obviously the huge stop of Ben Shepard on RJ Barrett I mean yeah let’s just talk talk about Ben Shepard because clearly this might have

This was his best game of his NBA career because not only did he have the huge stop on RJ Barrett which I loved how he was able to absorb contact I believe three times on that possession but didn’t foul and didn’t kind of give up his ground I really enjoyed the way he

Stepped up really big there I called him Benjamin Stonewall Shepard on Twitter just because that’s what he was he was a Stonewall but let’s let’s not forget he had two clutch threes in the fourth quarter to kind of help give Indiana the lead and I thought if he can shoot the

Ball at at a pretty good clip moving forward I know it’s going to take some time to get consistently uh familiar with the three-point line and that kind of thing with Ben Shepard but if you can play defense like that and being a a positive or just an average guy on

Offense like it’s going to be hard for Carlile to not play him especially with how thin this team is now after trading buddy Hill and Bruce Brown and not really getting any guards back in return I agree and I think you hit it right on the head simply put six6 guys

And the NBA who play defense well knock down threes get paid a lot of money and teams are always looking for them to add to their roster and like you said after you get rid of Buddy those minutes open up and there is some hesitation there

You’re like okay how much can a rookie handle um is a stage too big but I think every step of the way Ben has been very diligent about just learning as much as he can absorbing as much as he can I asked him the other day not the other day but

Probably last week sometime and I was like Hey man like you know how are you navigating your rookie season where you know one night you might play 15 minutes another night you might play three and he was saying how like James Johnson and you know TJ McConnell and Aaron n have

Kind of taking him taking him under their wing where they’re showing him what it takes to be a professional what it takes to stay ready and then what it takes to capitalize on your moments and we saw that here tonight where I think in previous games we saw the defensive

Effort we saw the Hustle but it’s like man like man bin I’m making a shot shots and that’s what he was drafted for really right we you know we knew you know The Scouting Report did not say at least at the top of the list you know

Pretty good on ball Defender it was he’s knock down shooter and so if he can you know add that element to his game and obviously having a longer three-point line takes an adjustment period but if he knocks down those threes man there’s no reason not to play him and I think he

Could actually help this team you know Make Some Noise absolutely I mean the Pacers are lucky that they were able to keep the the distance from Toronto knocking down 11 more three-pointers than Toronto tonight you know outscoring them by 33 points from the three-point Line’s huge considering they got

Dominated in the paint by 30 points it’s pretty embarrassing 84 to 54 I mean Toronto is not a good outside shooting team I think they’re 28th in the league since they’ve traded SE yakum so it’s just one of those things where we know they’re going to get a lot of their

Points in the paint but this is a team that James had not cracked 100 points the last two games and they dropped 71 on the Pacers in the first half so it felt like you know the Raptors are kind of trying to write the ship a little bit

In Indiana I felt like they absorbed all of that all the punches that Toronto threw and they just kept chipping away and I think that’s one thing that I’ve liked about this Pacers team is even when their backs are against the wall they’ve been able to find a way to win

Even a against a team like Toronto that’s you know Bound for the lottery I just felt like despite the bad numbers a lops side of numbers on the rebounds points in the paint and and that kind of thing Indiana still mustered out a victory and I think that just a credit

To Rick Carlile and his staff and terms of how they just figure out way to to make adjustments to to close games even if they’re not necessarily dominating in those areas you’d like to see them dominating in yeah I agree and I think it’s kind of like baseball you

Have to be able to win with like without your best pitch most of the time or sometimes you can’t just you know always go out there and Buzz saw teams with their high-powered offense like tonight even though they scored 127 this wasn’t a you know all clicking

Cylinder game for the Pacers offense or for their team and their identity and so to me I like to judge teams based off like their bad games so to speak can you win without your best stuff can you win ugly can you win the ones you’re quote unquote not supposed to because as

Much as we like to harp on the fashion in which games are won all that matters is you know for seeding purposes is do you have more ones than the than the seventh seed or or the eighth seed or whatever it is and so I think that’s a

Good thing and they’ve shown the ability to close in certain situations however I want to ask you this do you think the Pacers maybe play up or down to their competition because that to me is a little bit I’m not like terrified I’m like oh my God this team cannot can’t

Like win but there are moments where I’m like did you did you kind of get laxed or what’s going on here why are you you know going toe-to-toe with obviously an n Season tournament hurn was healthy that’s a factor of course but like some of these games the Charlotte game the

Other day I’m like what’s going on like why aren aren’t you you know fully engaged yeah know I I I definitely think that there has been some overlooking of teams you know even Portland’s been able to beat them twice this year Charlotte’s been able to beat them twice they lost

To Washington on the road and I mean there’s a lot of different factors that go into it like we know that washingt excuse me uh Charlotte with PJ uh not PJ Washington I’m getting their roster confused already uh Grant Williams excuse me miles Bridges just the wings

That they have and I think that’s been something that’s problematic for the Pacers is just going up against teams that can do that and we saw uh we saw Portland do this a little bit you know they could play Jeremy Grant at the five and he could really attack them as well

I I thought it was interesting that Carlile did not adjust against Charlotte by taking Turner out and maybe going a little bit small ball five with SE yakum at the five topping at the four just because that’s what they did against the Suns when they had Kevin dur at the five

And so nothing against miles but I feel like it’s just an unfair Advantage for him to try to defend in space against a miles Bridges who is much much quicker than him yeah even even Grant Williams to that point is probably quicker off his feet so I I think there were some

Matchup things and charlot’s now won three in a row since making the trade so maybe they just got a little bit of buzz in them no pun intended but I I do feel like they have played down to their competition and they’ve talked about it but I think Tyrese halberton said it

Best after that game you know we got to grow up we’re we’re a young team but we have to grow up and we can’t Overlook these teams like against Toronto I I give them credit because Toronto pretty much healthy for this game Indiana had a lot of injuries last game before

All-Star break I I don’t want to hear anything about oh they’re tired they’re ready for the All-Star break all 29 other teams retired to and they’re all looking forward to it to so let’s not just dismiss that as well James because that’s to me is just an a cop out of an

Answer you if you’re a professional team trying to make that step from being a lottery team to a playoff team you can’t allow yourself to have mdal lapses and lose games like they did to Charlotte like they’ve done throughout the season because that’s what’s going to separate

You from being six seed or seventh or eighth absolutely and I think to me this is a playoff team this what you’re shooting for when I was talking to halberton after the Buddy heel trade and you know asking him what his goals were and what he’s like I just

Want to win I want to get healthy I want to win and so as much as we harp on buddy heel though he’s never been to the playoffs Tyrese hasn’t either he’s had less of what time in the NBA but you think that doesn’t bother him you know

Like he’s had the individual success to this point um he’s on track to be perhaps an all-nba Talent this year um you know he’s proven he’s arguably one of the best if not the best when he’s fully healthy point guards in the NBA this season I’m not now I know people

Listening like what I’m not saying he’s better than Steph Curry I’m just saying and I and I I I will I will stand by this I will fight over this he was legitimately in the conversation as best point guard in the world in the league at one point this season before the

Injuries and stuff like that that’s fair to say but that doesn’t mean as much to him as being able to get in the playoffs he got a taste of it they got a taste of it as a team in the in season tournament but that’s what you’re chasing and I

Think that you know obviously whatever way you get into it is fine but if you can avoid the play in if you can handle your business I think that shows signs of like you said Alex like you’re growing up like you don’t want to wait till like you know march to figure that

Out right you know you can grow up right now if you want to and so um he’s leading that charge obviously Health has a lot to do with it um I know we’re talking off the podcast about how much he has going on with his schedule this

Week with Allstar Weekend but you just hope that he finds some time to rest rehab recover and um get ready for what should be a very important and pivotal you know quote unquote second half of the season because um I think there is a lot of you know movement to take place

And you don’t want to be moving too much you know with where you are at right now you’re in the six seed you’re in a good spot and I think um you know you want to avoid it’s even just thinking off top of my head like if you can avoid the

Playing games that’s a little bit more rest a little bit more health and all the factors that might help you you know Make some noise and and really you know try to get out of the first round because I I think in my mind I’m like if the Pacers missed the playoffs that

Would be like a devastating like you know Season or whatever so in my mind they’re in it and now it’s like okay what can you do once you’re there so I’m excited about it yeah I mean you look at some of the quality wins they’ve had this year it

Does make you realize okay they can’t compete with the best of the bests in the league but they’re just not consistent enough and that’s where a seven game series will be interesting to see how they match up against some of these upper echelon teams in the Eastern

Conference I think that Rick Carla with his experience and his ability to make the right adjustments is going to be huge and and getting Pascal seum this team definitely took a step back in terms of how how they’re going to be offensively but I think they got better

Defensively by getting Pascal yakum and then going out there and allowing Andre Nar to play more at the two because I feel like while buddy hild is a very quality three-point shooter NIMH hard does provide much better on ball defense as well as secondary playmaking that

Buddy Hill did not provide at the same level so it’s definitely a different Dynamic and you can see why this team’s offense has dipped about 10 points per game since Pascal yakum was traded here so they’re trying to find that right balance because we know Rick Carlile

Said it a couple of month probably about a month or two ago you know she’s a really good looking girl but can you play any defense right it’s like you know what that is a great quote to have on Valentine’s Day my friend for those listening if you’re evaluating your girl

Right now can she play helps side defense can she you know ice the screener can she play Drop coverage and does she communicate you know no but that that I think you you hit it right on the head right there man they got to be able to hang their hat on something

Other than where this running gun team that can get up and down because I will tell anybody willing to listen when they get in the playoffs and I’ll say when because I I think that it again it would just be kind of shocking if they just

Fell all the way out when they get to the playoffs things will slow down and you have to be able to find other ways to kind of reinvent yourself like you don’t you don’t want to change too much of your identity but it can’t just be oh

We’ll just outscore him or we’ll just you know be him in transition because the game will slow down I think Hal Burton’s game will translate to the half court where he can you know break down defenses and and get to get you in good spots

However you want to do some of your work early as well throughout the regular season so that you’re not you know um having to play perfect so to speak in the postseason you can have some um you know some leeway so to speak when you get to the postseason and then kind of

Know who you are and it kind of been battle tested because like I said the n Season tournament was good experience even this game tonight was good experience you just want to build on that and gain some level of consistency that way you’re not you know going to

The playoffs saying well I hope we play this version of basketball where it’s like no we could just play our version of basketball because what we’ve been playing has been consistently you know good enough to get it done I agree and I think you know one thing that we need to

See develop to more towards the end of the season is just that Chemistry Between Tyrese Halbert and Pascal SE yakum developing it’s still not there all the way yet and I think they’re still trying to figure each other out and even tonight you know you you’re sitting out there siakam’s not a great

Three-point shooter Andrew nimart is not a great three-point shooter however he was two of three tonight and then Isaiah Jackson is not a three-point threat at all it does kind of clog the paint a little bit more in terms of what they can do offensively and there was times

When I would see in the offense guys were trying to cut and they were kind of in each other’s way because their their similar players are going to the same spots because they’re not Shooters so that’s where you do need miles out there Aaron neith out there guys that have

Shot the ball pretty well from three this year and it’s just it’s just a learning curve so I’m not I’m not too worried about that but I thought halberton tonight for this game 21 points 12 assists four rebounds really didn’t look like himself completely still yet I think he’s about 85% there

James maybe 90 getting closer and closer as we see it but just really good to see him kind of getting himself back because this team only goes as far as he can take them even with Pascal seak there Pascal seak is a great running mate next

To him but this is Tyrus halton’s team and he’s really going to have to be who we saw him be in that inseason tournament game against Boston in the Fieldhouse just hitting those big dagger threes and setting guys up I that that’s how this team is going to be efficient

But I I’ll just tell you this it’s a totally different team because go back and look when they played the Bucks their their fiveman lineup to close that game was n Smith buddy Hill Bruce Brown Turner and Halbert and that’s a lot of shooting and that’s a lot of space and

That’s a way you can really spread out a Bucs defense like that when you have non- Shooters out there like Nim har and SE yakum it does make it a little bit harder to get an advantage with points in the paint because you’re just not

Able to spread the floor as much so I think that carlile’s going to have to figure some things out a little bit differently here but maybe it’s just hey can Nim hard and SE yakum become more respectable three-point Shooters to open up this offense and hey I i’ would love

To see it because I feel like if they can that’s just going to make this team even more dangerous absolutely I think I talked to Caitlin on her podcast maybe last week and she was sent telling me you know Nim hard only has maybe like less than 10

Threes this year that are like you know unassisted or whatever and so um his shots are going to come off creation and K he consistently knocked them down as a whole another Point as well I think SE yakum one of the things that actually enjoy about his game is that you know

That corner three is very valuable and I think that he’s hit it at a very high rate and so maybe they can Implement that more into their offense where you know obviously he’s never been like a volume three-point guy but if he can get one or two up more per game from the

Corners you know May and he because he can shoot it well I think SE yakum to his credit at least when he’s been with the Pacers he’s shot it pretty well from three where and then he’s also hasn’t been um like pressing to just kind of change his entire game he’s taking them

When they’re there and I think again expanding maybe the corner options could help and then overall as far as the chemistry with him and tyres I think with Tyrese I’ll never forget when Kevin Pritcher was comparing him to Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck before he even played his first game for

The Pacers and I was like this dude is delusional I was wrong so you know at freezing cold takes I was very wrong um he’s shown the ability that he can be the number one won and there was at some points this season where I was like man

Man is he good enough to be like really top 10 in the league because those guys obviously changeed the trajectory of your your your team your season your franchise um and so I think that he’s a true like number one type of talent I think SE yakum obviously has proven he

Could be a number two on the championship team he did it when he was um you know perhaps not even as good as he is now and then you look at the rest of their roster you got to show to me me the building blocks for someone else to be enticed to perhaps

Join you um you know I I think right now this Pacers team is fun they’re competitive they’re a playoff team they’re going to be a team that’s that you probably don’t want to see because it’s going to be a lot of up and down and uh running and and they’re going to

Be games that might get out of your get out of hand however I think your just this long-term goal you know here in Chad you can’t talk about the team you’re kind of auditioning and showing the rest of the league and these players okay here’s what how we do in Indiana

And why we can build here win when big and so um that’s the end goal but I do think that the building blocks of you know Pascal cakam tyes curton are good ones to have because they are um you know pretty easy to fit around even a

Third guy so to speak so I’m excited I do want to see maybe some more jarus as the season goes on just to kind of see what you got there um but obviously like you said some changes had to be made offensively the spacing is different lineups are different and maybe even you

Know they won’t be practicing OB here during the allstar break but it just gives the like the coaching staff in the team more time to kind of go over like who we are because even with sakam I ask him about it he’s like man I I I Haven

Been to a restaurant out here I haven’t you know I haven’t got a place yet I’ve been living out of a suitcase I just been going and going and now you get to slow down and kind of re-evaluate where you are like instead of Treading Water maybe you can start

Swimming up you know swimming up stream yeah I mean 15 games in like 29 days days since he’s been traded it’s been like a game every other night so it’s been a very busy schedule for Pascal cakam and I’m just hearing you talk about like you know this team and how

They’re built and it really just feels like you know if Benedict maen can just step up and take that next step ideally yes that that’s really what the Pacers need and I’m kind of excited to see what he looks like in a playoff series because I felt like he played pretty

Good in the Boston game I thought that he was okay against the Bucks had some up and down moments on that game in Las Vegas but against the Lakers he was their best player in that game so I feel like he kind of gets up for those games

And I’m I’m feeling like he could be the x- factor for the Pacers if he can really step up and just take on that role but I do feel like and I’ve mentioned this the last couple of podcast so I’m I’m probably Overkill hereit but I just feel like how they’re

Kind of constructed now they’re a little bit more predictable in terms of how you guard them and it’s just so much attention is on mathine with that second unit because you saw tonight without McConnell like you know McConnell’s the only guy out there that can be an on

Ball Creator Obi toppen did it a few different times but it’s like he’s more of a catch and shoot kind of guy MC’s catch and shoot uh Shephard’s more of a catch and shoe and you mentioned it jarus Walker like it would have been a great opportunity for him if he wasn’t

On g-league assignment or returning from g-league assignment to be with the team in Toronto tonight because even Oscar sheway you know two-way guy got three minutes tonight so you could have maybe seen at some point jarus Walker getting some minutes at the small ball five and

Things like that it would have just been really nice to kind of see but uh know Obi toppen though I feel like he’s kind of figured out his role a little bit there he’s still going to be inconsistent and I know Rick Carlile pulled him I forget I think it might

Have been against Charlotte they pulled him early because he didn’t get rebounds he was just kind of watching the ball go right by him so 15 points from him five rebounds tonight and then Doug mcder finally got a little bit going there 13 points but just 5 of 12 shooting three

Of nine from three still has not shot the ball partly well um in terms of percentage wise but I don’t know I just feel like at this point are you taking a step backward by playing mcder over Shephard at that Wing Spot next to mat and that’s kind of where I’ve been like

There’s not really a lot of buyout guys there’s not a lot of free agents out there that make more sense than Doug but maybe the guy is right there on your bench and Ben Shepard I don’t know I don’t know how you feel about that maybe

Too small of a sample size for Doug but I don’t know I just I value developing more than an older guy that’s not doing well yeah he’s 32 um obviously he’s not getting any younger he’s on an expiring contract will even be be here next year

Is a valid question um I do think it’s a small sample size maybe for both because we saw you know Ben have a really good night tonight but it’s like you got to see more of that to consistently give him minutes and whereas Doug is kind of

At the inverse of that where he hasn’t shot it well in these few games but he shot at well for 10 years you know he’s you know so um I think that there is value in that however the ideal situation is that you want Ben Shepard

To be in that role and to kind of um had that opportunity but I think that they that’s why they made the move for Doug der it was kind of like an insurance policy so to speak where you know his one skill that has kept him in the NBA

Is that he can shoot and so I’m not even worried about the numbers obviously you want them to be better if you’re the Pacers if you’re Pacers fans however um I’m not panicking when it comes to him just because he shot it so well and unlike buddy he probably has a more like

Defined role and if anything Doug’s been in a position where he’s had different roles throughout his career that he’s had to adapt to and he hasn’t had all of the fanf fair so to speak you know um when it was in San Antonio when he was playing in San Antonio earlier this year

I think there was the lowest minutes of his career since his rookie year so he’s not going to be a guy that’s gonna come in and be like well I should be starting I should be doing this and he kind of gets it he kind of understands his role

And what it means to the team and now um like I said it’s like another good problem you know in in a way where you know if shepher comes along good if Doug starts shooing like he’s supposed to good then you can then you can really

Pick and choose okay do we want the veteran experience or do we do we lean more towards Al approach where we you know value our development of our players so um we’ll see but from a personal standpoint Shep’s just a nice guy so it’s it’s hard not to if you’re a

Pacers fan I imagine not to root for a guy who’s not and plays hard yeah I think his breakout moment was clearly against the Nuggets um when he kind of helped spearhead that fourth quarter comeback when the Pacers cracking yeah that game was cracking he he had some

Really big moments the big steal where he should have got an A on one didn’t get the foul call but yeah I mean you’re right about Doug though he does know his role pretty well and I think if you’re the Pacers you’re thinking about it from this perspective like okay we can have

Mat and McConnell two non-shooters really even though matan’s gotten better from three this year M with with Jaylen Smith who shot the ball incredibly well from three this year surpris ly mcma who’s a really good three-point shooter and then toppen who was also a good three-point shooter maybe that’s enough

Floor spacing to allow room for operation there for M to kind of get into the paint so I do understand all that I just I wondered about Doug and and you mentioned him playing with the Spurs the last couple of years they’ve been a bottom feeder in the NBA and yeah

You know I always kind of go back now it’s not the same deal in terms of like what they meant to the team but when Evan Turner was traded here from Philadelphia for Danny Granger in that deal he was like man I was looking forward to my offseason I wasn’t even

Thinking about making it to a deep playoff run and so then your mindsets already kind of turned off as you’ve lost so many games and now that could be kind of the same situation for Doug he is probably a little bit older than Evan Turner was when that trade happened so

Maybe he can flip that switch a little bit differently and the role clearly is not the same but whenever you trade for guys that are in losing situations to help you win the last 30 games of the season that’s a good point I had thought about that it’s a very good point it’s

Just they weren’t just losing they were like yeah they were down down bad like not even a chance of you know having a winning season so good point good point that’s the only point I’ll bring up but I mean I’m not worried about Doug I think it’s still different situations

And I’m not even comparing buddy heel to what Danny Granger meant to that team but uh I I think the Pacers are in a good spot it was a very good win they needed this win going into the All-Star break they’ve kind of stumbled their way

There but hey you know 31 wins six games above 500 Far Cry from where they were last year and it really feels like they have taken that step and it’s a lot of internal growth and making the right moves at the right time and so James I’m

Excited to see what they can do but ultimately I’m also just really excited for this upcoming weekend where Indiana is going to be the center of the NBA world yeah man I got some really cool stories coming that are like Indiana uh just broad you know broad Indiana topics

Where it comes to obviously Pacer specific topics Tyrese halber kind of stalking him this weekend hopefully to get you some uh some inside information and just how he’s kind of handling the spotlight but um being someone who covered high school basketball in the state um who basically got my start

Doing that so now covering you know NBA All-Star Weekend in the same state you know where basketball is like a religion here um it’s it it should be very fun and like you said earlier in the Pod I would encourage everyone to just at least make it downtown um even if it’s

Just like take some pictures um with the with the big posters and signs they have a lot of different things going on I’ve seen halberton like every other building building I’ve seen Benedict maen up there you know Steph Curry LeBron all these people that you know you might not

Be able to I guess see in in in one place so to speak so um yeah get out there man and enjoy it because you know Allstar Weekend in your hometown or your home City uh it doesn’t happen you know very often and so I think Indiana’s done

It right with the airport you know Court kind of setting the tone and then from there uh you know it should be a great weekend and I will fight to the death over this as well Alex there is no better City for big events logistically than Indian Indianapolis because

Indianapolis makes sense you get downtown you are good you can get somebody drop you off and you can walk from Lucas Oil to gbridge fieldhouse to the convention center to whatever you got to get to within like 20 minutes and so get down there enjoy yourselves and

I’ll be down there if you see me you see Alex say what’s up because it uh it’s going to be fun man this this is It’s celebration of basketball and I feel like what state you know deserves it more than the one where you know they they’ve sold out you know I remember

Being in packed High School gyms on a Friday night and thinking this is the best of the best and now we get kind of like that souped up version of that with superstars obviously like LeBron Curry and and this time around halberd being in the same conversation and we’re

Supposed to have decent weather too so that’s a good thing here and I know it’s February it’s not snowing thankfully I know it’s been snowing in New York they’ve been getting those kind of snowstorms so IND has thankfully had I think the fewest or like one of the top

10 fewest amount of he just jinxed us y’all we F to get 10 inches tomorrow yeah we’re gonna have a winter blizzard on Saturday that’ be absolutely epic right so no but I think Indiana is gonna do a great job James do a great job covering the Pacers and the CTS for

The athletic make sure you guys give them a follow there and then social media Romeoville kid right is it still that yep always repping where I’m from but again very very happy to have basically spent my entire career in Indiana man like this is this has been a

Fun State absolutely and I I will just ask you this to kind of close things out because I’ve got my takes on what kind of food I like but I’m not a downtown person per se all the time is there like a top three places you would recommend

For people to go downtown and get to oh man um killroy has never let me down um very simple you know menu venue a lot of TVs if you’re into sports like I am obviously I think that um you know District tap is another one

That I like to go to as well um not downtown but I’ll say the the the food Hall the garage Hall I think that that’s like a unique place to kind of go if you want to if you’re not from here you can go there and get a variety of different

Food but um again if you just get downtown man you’re be able to find something you like just because it doesn’t take much to to walk around and and and really even just ask around um to what’s uh you know what’s what’s cooking or what’s good and what things

Like that so um I would encourage everybody to just get out there have some fun be safe obviously but um you know don’t miss out an opportunity that hasn’t come around very often I’m very big on that like you know I I’m telling my friends now if you see me at Allstar

Weekend and ask you take a picture take my picture please because I want this I want to be able to remember where I was because you never know man you think this stuff’s gonna be here forever you might look up one day and be like man

Like that was 10 years ago and then you can say you were there to kind of document but I think um again you know the timing of it is kind of like you know just very fitting really you know this was supposed to be a thing three

Years ago Co happens you know they basically get to like restart do it in a better way and and you know Tyrese is here now so uh it’s pretty cool to see Allstar Weekend be in a city where you know it kind of coincides with you know

Your star player taking off as well I mean Reggie Mills on the building you know he’s been on many buildings down here but now you got tyres up there and it just feels like a new era is coming with the Pacers and you know after having some dog days you know Pacers

Fans feel like they deserve it absolutely James well I appreciate your Insight on what’s good downtown where to where to hang out at and just it’s a great point about the All-Star game being moved because I kind of forgot about how Co did push it back a couple

Of years and wow perfect timing everything worked out even though that Co year was a disaster for the Pacers with everything that happened I think that I covered it yes we are in a much better spot now than we were then so uh once again I appreciate it James and

We’ll have to get you back on here soon especially to kind of recap Allstar Weekend and get your thoughts on everything that went down so uh thanks again man and best of luck to you thanks having me Man

Alex Golden is joined by James Boyd of The Athletic to discuss the Pacers 127-125 victory over the pesky Toronto Raptors in Siakam’s return home. Injuries were weighing heavy on the blue and gold, but young players like Isaiah Jackson and Ben Sheppard stepped up big to help the Pacers pull out a much needed victory before the All-Star Break.