What Doug McDermott brings to the Indiana Pacers + Pacers handily beat Knicks in New York

What Doug McDermott brings to the Indiana Pacers + Pacers handily beat Knicks in New York

Doug mcdermit a Pacer yet again how is he different now than he was last time he was a Pacer we’ll talk to Noah margaro George Who covers the Spurs and has seen mcder the last three years for more insight there plus Pacers Nicks what happened we’ll break it all down

Today on the lock on Pacers podcast you are locked on Pacers your daily Indiana Pacers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day what up y’all hope you’re having a great weekend happy Saturday or Sunday we’ll see and welcome into another edition of

The lockon Pacers podcast where we of course talk about the Indiana Pacers as always my name’s Tony East I cover the team for Forbes and SII and today as you could tell bonus weekend episode my weekend will involve some travel so not sure when this is coming up we have a

Lot to cover the Pacers made some trades this week they have a game Saturday which could feature the their new players again I’m not sure because I’ll be on the road but I want to get deeper into Doug McDermot what he’s done with the Spurs how his game’s kind of evolved

Since his time with the Pacers what he can even add at his new age no mararo George cover San Antonio has for the last couple years one of my favorite people covering the Spurs he’s going to join us for the first 15 minutes to talk Doug mcder how he can help the Pacers

How a change in scenery could make him look a little better then after that we’ll be talking Pacers Knicks I’m recording this on Friday I have no idea what happened in that game so maybe I’m talking with too happy of a tone maybe I’m not excited enough we’ll see but

We’ll talk Pacer Spurs after a conversation with no mcaro George about Doug mcder let’s get right into that and then talk some Pacers Nicks Doug McDermot is a pacer again he went from the Pacers to the Spurs now back to the Pacers his career has changed since then

He played on some decent Spurs teams he’s now played with Victor wanyama and now he’s with the Pacers to catch up on McDermot his career since then how he’s changed what he could do for the Pacers one of my favorites covering the Spurs maybe the best substack name of anyone

Covering a specific team it’s Noah mararo George whose substack is called the Vick and roll you have also corporate knowledge not you but like the Spurs do why are why is San Antonio just crushing the substack name game it’s not fair absolutely yeah and also Matthew tinan who’s there awesome dude great

Reporter great writer yeah so like check his stuff out too but the names on substack for Spurs uh media it’s they’re kind of popping off I I’ll take the I I won’t be humble on that one I like the name that I chose Vic and roll I thought

It was pretty solid Vick and roll is very good I have both fortunately and unfortunately both watched a lot of the Spurs and consumed a lot of Spurs content this year because of Wendy I’ve watched some mcder but not as much in recent Seasons prior to this and so you

Cover the Spurs obviously you’ve watched him the last couple years as his game has evolved and changed since his time with Indiana and now he’s back with the Pacers so I guess I will start with that before we dive into this specific ific season right 161 games he played for the

Spurs how did you kind of see his his game change from when he got there to what he’s doing now for San Antonio what kind of player or is he still just this flies from the corner to the wing and drills threes kind of guy yeah I hate to

I hate to sell him short in anyway but I don’t think he really changed in any positive ways um he he’s a little older he’s lost a step he didn’t really have uh you know much of a first step or or great lateral Mobility or or anything

Like that on the defensive end so he hasn’t gotten better on defense but he certainly hasn’t gotten any worse on offense like he’s still a guy you can run floppy sets for uh he’s a guy who you know can come off of pin Downs he can catch and shoot threes in transition

Like he he’s got a lot of shot versatility he’s a good cutter he’s a as Pop would call it a space Chaser a guy who just finds holes in the defense so he still brings that but yeah as he kind of you know played more and more for San

Antonio you can see it you know the minutes have gone down the roll has gone down the shots have gone down the three-point percentage has gone up but you know the volume has gone down as his minutes have gone down so I wouldn’t say a changed player but that’s not

Necessarily a bad thing if if you’re just getting him for what you think he is which is what we’ve talked about then I think you got a good you know sort of trade Hall if you will for for what you had to give up to get McDermot which was you know

Nothing that second could be something who knows what the Clippers will be in five years but yeah it’s been interesting kind of tracking him with San Antonio because he got there and Dean T Murray was a spur and Josh Primo was a Spur they were like they weren’t a

Good team but they they made the play in that first year right that he was there and you know they were like competitive is and Josh Richardson could create some shots Lonnie Walker could and now you watch this SP it’s like a big deal to everybody that Trey Jones is playing

Point guard like the thing about all all that to say like their level of shot creation outside of McDermot has changed significantly in his time there and I’m curious how especially like he I mean maybe he makes a two dribble move once a game but like he is never creating his

Own shot he’s very reliant on sets on someone setting him up on timing all sorts of stuff like that and so when the ball’s kind of popping or the team can have someone to make a defense crack and he has space that he can get into like

You just said papovich loves he can be more effective but in situations like that where they are now how much has kind of the dynamic of the Spurs and their creators and their guards kind of affected what he can be and what his peak level is yeah I don’t know that

It’s changed all that much cuz like I think dejonte Murray kind of had this reputation as being maybe a better player than he actually was cuz he made an All-Star team but he wasn’t a great you know Advantage Creator he wasn’t a guy who got you know consistently

Doubled or got a ton of dribble penetration in a way that was collapsing the defense like he’s pretty rudimentary playmaker and this is not like a segment to talk down on De jante in any way but I don’t know that the advantage creators on San Antonio are that much less

Dynamic than they were when dejonte was there when lonni was there Josh Richardson like I think some of the names have changed a bit but as far as Advantage creation has gone San Antonio is still pretty lacking in that department you know Trey Jones does a pretty decent job of getting into the

Pain and then kicking it out but I really haven’t seen it affect Doug I think the only way I’ve really noticed it is his first year in San Antonio as you mentioned like they were kind of a playing team they were respectable in some way his cutting numbers were still

Really good like he was a high volume cutter and he was also a guy who was super efficient on cuts and I don’t know if it’s necessarily because San Antonio doesn’t have a lot of eyes on other guys and defenses don’t really have to pay attention to the other guys but Doug’s

Not cutting as much as he used to and like the efficiency on the cuts isn’t as good as it was especially like in that first year so you know whether that has to do with maybe some of the waning athleticism or you know whether it has

To do with a little bit of the downgrade in that department for San Antonio as far as Advantage creators but I would say for the most part he was the same guy it didn’t impact him too too much what do you think this year you know you

Look at his numbers and it’s per game numbers can be fluky but his minutes are down his shot attempts are down it’s really interesting looking though CU his percentages from three are good his true shooting is really good but he’s only taking threes basically his three-o attempt rat’s insane 80% it’s like never

Been higher than 60 before like why has his statistical profile changed so much this year specifically in terms of he’s now threes only and his scoring’s down a bit he’s not this guy who can get to the rim every so often during like why do

You feel like that is it just he’s 32 now he can’t he can’t do it his certainly a factor in that I also think when you’re watching Doug mcder and the Spurs in particular they’re the worst three-point shooting team in the league even with Doug McDermot being like top

10 and three-point percentage granted lower volume and I think they kind of need him to be on the perimeter just to have a little bit of gravity as a shooter because we know you know he has gravity as an off ball shooter he’s a guy who defenses pay attention to when

He moves uh when he’s coming off a screen SC during set plays and that sort of stuff so I think that has also impacted you know his his sort of shot diet if you will because they don’t really have a use for him to you know

Quick rip or or get to the basket and he he doesn’t really have a lot of that in his game to begin with so it feels like with how bad the Spurs have been at shooting the three this year they just need someone who could be out there

Which honestly I’m kind of curious to see how it works without McDermot I know he’s only 15 minutes per game but when you were already the worst in the league you know you can’t go down in the rankings but you can go down percentage and and I think that is something that

Can impact the spacing and certainly the development of some of the the younger ball handlers creators on this team buddy heeld went out obviously in the Pacers Maneuvers on Thursday and they got mcder back and general manager Chad bu Kinnon said you know a natural instinct for us was we traded away a

Shooter we won another one we want to replace that skill bu heals percentages down this year Doug mcder shooting like 6% better from three but heals volumes higher something that that the Pacers have gushed about with heal specifically Tyrese Albert and and T.J McConnell this week was his gravity right like when

He’s running around teams like uhoh we got to chase buddy healed we can’t get away from him as Doug McDermot is what he is now as he’s constantly spacing for the Spurs now do you get the sense that he still has that like when he was with

The Pacers especially when he was doing his two-man game with sabonis he did have that level of gravity do you get the sense that it’s still that level where it seems like uh oh Doug MC’s cutting uh oh there’s or they like kind to willing to live with it sometimes I

Think they might be willing to live with it sometimes and I also think as you would know I mean you watched buddy Hill All Season like buddy Hill is also a guy who can playmake a little bit put the ball on the floor a little bit and Doug

Doesn’t H you know Doug just can’t do that like Doug is a guy who if he is going to get an assist in the game it’s because it’s a pass from one man away and he just swung the ball you know he’s not he’s not someone who’s going to

Create shots for others he’s not a guy who’s passing Guys open he’s not a guy who you ever really want handling the ball or running pick and rolls like love douge I I don’t think he’s anywhere near what buddy hild is was and and I don’t think necessarily Doug mcder is quite

What he was a few years ago though again like mostly the same player I don’t think there’s been a massive drop off but I do think he’s not necessarily the same player he was as far as how other teams view him when he left Indiana yeah

He I I alluded to them a little bit like with the Pacers especially the first two years he was here when n McMillan was the coach they kind of played slow but he would just get into these Twan actions with with sabonis or even sometimes three men with McConnell where

It was just like boom boom boom boom cut pass handoff and it was so fast that it was like kind of broke up the the SLO of the Pacers and it would be effective and he was a great shooter then he still is like he’s lost a little bit of a step

Right so like that isn’t as possible with him anymore so he’s still a valuable spacer but I think that’s kind of where the gravity’s gone too is you’re not like panicking in that action because if he comes around to H off it’s it’s not like he’s like bursting to the

Rim and scaring you at the basket you know and that used to be a thing like T.J McConnell mentioned to be his passing the other day like that’s not a thing that you think of with dou McMan anymore yeah uh there is a whole other

Side of the court and dou MC has never really been a good Defender but now that he’s lost to step I mean I can just read you onoff stats I know you watch the Spurs obviously Spurs defense which already is just okay at best uh Spurs defense is six points for 100

Possessions worse when Doug mcdermid is on the floor their offense gets better but only two points better I is he just totally worthless on that end of the floor besides his size at this point because he has lost a step certainly I hate to say yes but I have to be honest

With you I think I think the answer is yes and he’s like one of those guys who you watch him out there and you’re kind of just hoping that he survives like he’s a guy who’s easily beat off the dribble um if he’s caught in any sort of

Screening actions he’s dying on screens he’s not a guy who can recover he’s not a guy who’s going to get in a rearview test he’s not someone who you can stick on post players like he’s easily displaced in the post if there’s a mismatch there so he’s just it feels

Like you’re always trying to hide Doug mcder and maybe the Pacers can can do that in some way the Spurs can’t I I would say probably not by your reaction but the Spurs were not good at hiding him and they didn’t have great defensive personnel and I don’t necessarily think

Indiana is known right now for being a Defensive Juggernaut so yeah yeah Doug is not been on defensive end Doug has not been good on that end and I don’t think he’s getting any better this might be a rosec colored glasses kind of question right but like

You you you’re covering the Spurs like Doug MC deret on the floor is a plus two for them in offensive rating to get them to 111 instead of 109 right the Pacers are routinely even without Tyrus hbert on the floor like 117 118 plus do you think that just simply inserting him

Onto a better offensive team will make him look a little bit better even knowing that he will not help the Pacers on defense at all I think it could I really do think it could because you look at San Antonio we talked about it they don’t really have a guy who people

Are that scared of besides wiim Bama and I think having someone like Tyrese halberton who has the ball in his hands more often and you also have just a better Supporting Cast of guys who you have to worry about whereas you know Doug spent moments where he’s on the

Court with guys like Julian champeny or Trey Jones who like if the ball’s not in their hands people don’t care and even if the ball is in Julian Champ’s hands no nobody really cared anyways so I think when you have someone as dynamic as Tyrese halberd and you still have

Some of that Supporting Cast that you have there in Indiana I think he could look a lot better and like there were times where the two-man game was kind of fun with him and wanyama where you know they were doing some like delay Zoom overrun kind of things where he was

Intentially overrunning a screen and then coming back on the other side when he lost his man and like I think you could have some of that going on there in Indiana but yeah I I think at the end of the day with Doug mcdermit he is what

He is and you know he’s not going to replace buddy but he certainly is still a very good shooter I got to see wemi do the thing where he just like I don’t even know what to call this pass do you guys have a name for this in San Antonio

Where he just drops it straight down I love when he did that he did it to with mcder a few times I absolutely love those yeah this is good Intel I’m excited to see what McDermot can do now what he’ll be for the Pacers in a new

Situation I guess the last one for me would be not necessarily MC ger related but do you think this made sense for the Spurs I mean sell an expiring contract for a second rounder I mean they lose a quality is player but I they get Marcus

Morris it sounds like he’ll be bought at what did you think General yeah generally I kind of felt like one the Spurs probably want to do right by Doug mcder and get him to a situation where he’s at least competing for something even if it’s not a title it’s you know

Playoff run being a part of something special maybe and and like the second rounder may end up being nothing it may end up being something down the line but I think it made sense just from a perspective of well you can’t just reasonably let him sit there and not

Play at all down the stretch of the season and if you want to get guys like City Soko minutes down the stretch then like you’re going to have to move him or you’re going to have to bench him so you might as well get what you can for him

So I was hoping for a little bit more but being realistic you who was giving up more for Doug mcder I I really don’t think anybody was yeah no long-term money and I think you like a lot of these teams you get to play your young

Guys and just see more of them that that can be valuable and the Pacers maybe M I would guess they would like him to be their 10th Man Reserve three right now we’ll see what they really think about his future because his contract is expiring and the Pacers will have to

Figure that out in July if you would like coverage of the Spurs what they did at the deadline you’ve already been scouting guys uh breaking down the Spurs offense the vicking roll is a place for you Noah where can people find you and that work that I just mentioned covering

The San Antonio Spurs and Victor wanyama who if you are not I will talk for you for a second I set alarms to watch the spur sometimes like I I know it’s like people have pretended for some reason that Victor hasn’t been what was he hyped up to but he has been especially

Recently it’s tell people where to find you and your working the most fun 10 win team of all time because they have won Bama the Spurs absolutely yeah first off thank you so much for having me and two you can find me on Twitter or X whatever

You want to call it at ncor mcaro that’s m a g a r o you can find me at the Vick and roll on substack and we’re going to be kicking off our podcast here pretty soon over at the Vick and roll too so check that out there but yeah Tony thank

You so much for bringing me on love talking Spurs basketball hope mcbuckets gets a few more threes and gets to live out his playoff dreams in Indiana but yeah had a blast talking basketball with you and again thank you so much for having me this was great for you listening everybody I’m currently

Talking on Friday before the Pacers Knicks game on Saturday so I don’t know if MC D’s playing but you’re about to hear me talk about Pacers Nicks whatever the Pacers did in their first road game of their three- game Roadie ahead of the All-Star break so stick around Noah

Thank you for the time everybody we’ll see you see you in a second hey everybody quick little break have to talk to you about the good folks over at LinkedIn jobs when you’re hiring for your small business you want to find quality professionals that are right for

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Listen today and every single day we got to talk about Pacers Nicks what a win for the Pacers make your second listen after this locked on Sixers he about Buddy hee first two games with Philly locked on Spurs for their end of the Pacers trade lock on Knicks there this

Game lots to talk about to wrap up the deadline to keep the games drawing speaking of wrapping up the deadline if you want more on buddy heels role in the Pacers trade deadline a little more info came out about that the day after we learned everything uh from the Pacers

Front office Greg Doyle and I both have some reporting up on that check it out need star Greg had it first and it does change the thinking a little bit of what the Pacers did and what it means but last time we’re talking about today we’re talking Pacers Knicks Pacers just

Beat the Knicks handily in MSG 12521 I will squash this right now I’ve already gotten the reply on Twitter they didn’t have OG and they didn’t have hardenstein they didn’t have Julius Randall yes that is all true you know what else is true the Pacers played that exact Knicks team

With hardenstein but without boan and Alec Burks nine days ago and got smoked they didn’t get smoked they lost by four but they got their butts kicked in Annoying Ways to lose for a team out hustled out physical all sorts of yucky stuff and they really overcame all that

In this one much better performance from the Pacers in this one who did not let the Knicks kill them on the glass the Knicks had five offensive rebounds in this game hartenstein not playing heal but precious auua had more offensive rebounds than that by himself the last

Time the two teams played right so much better from the Pacers on that front and in many other fronts for the Pacers as well for example and the guy that I would like to lead with even though I don’t think he had the number one best

Game for any Pacer is Miles Turner if you remember the last time these two teams played Turner had I think five points and four rebounds the whole game hartenstein was tough for him he did not have a good night finishing plays Miles Turner had five points in three rebounds

In like two seconds tonight he was physical early he battle on the glass he made jumpers he attacked the rim he attacked mismatches he set really hard screens he was way better than that game way better most engaged he’s been in a bit and he had one of his best games of

The season 23 points eight rebounds four assists for Turner plus five in a big win but I haven’t even said the best thing he did he didn’t miss a shot nine for nine from the field made both of his threes way better against a physical Knicks team that was tough for him

Earlier this season he was kind of the face of their Improvement to me not only because maybe his worst game of the season came against this Nicks team earlier this month but because he himself was just eons better and set the tone early right the Knicks were able to

Get the lead a few times in the second quarter it wasn’t a wire to wire win but I don’t think the Knicks lead gets to more than like three four fiveish I could just easily check what right now and that’s because the Pacers set the tone and they knew that four was the

Biggest Nick lead so the Pacers knew they had What it Took and they dominated once they got the lead back late in the second quarter they held it the rest of the way stylistically the Pacers did a lot of stuff really good and it actually

Felt like this is how the game was going to go to me and I’ll explain why early in the game was really funny the Pacers at the end of the first quarter were losing by one or two and they were shooting 70% from the field and they

Were losing it was so strange I was like how is this possible can this be maintained can the Knicks keep this up so what happened was in the first quarter the Pacers were unbelievable I think they were 10 for 12 or something like that on twoo shots but they were

Terrible from three they were like two for seven from Deep um maybe this was like midc quarter these were their stats they were one for five from the foul line and they had like seven turnovers right so they weren’t making their freebies at the fat line they weren’t

Making their open threes and they were coughing a bunch of possessions all to do is clean up one of those things and they were gonna bust this game wide open and that’s what happened late in the second quarter Aaron D Smith came in a couple things happened Aaron D Smith

Came in and started drilling threes that fixed that problem the Pacers as a team started making their foul shots that fixed that problem and they took car the ball a lot better right they had like I said seven turnovers pretty quick in this game they they had seven turnovers

At halftime to be clear that got better as the game progressed and so once they they just had to clean up one of those things they cleaned up all of them they finished 11 for 19 from the line that’s not that good in the second half they

Were eight for 10 right 80% well above League average so uh that was huge and it felt like because they were able to get whatever shot they wanted early in the game and they finished at 61% from the field so they continued to do that throughout the night it felt like all

They had to do was start making the open threes they were generating start making the foul shots they were earning or just take care of the ball a little better any one of those things would have been enough and they got all of them like I just said the turnovers were better

After the mid-second quarter they made the threes they shot 48.3% from long range in this game they made their foul shots in the second half and they kept the Knicks from doing the stuff that the Knicks did so well last time these two teams played so that’s good growth from

The Pacers and a good response right after after that Warriors game or The Warriors game yeah that’s right after the Warriors game they just needed to show some heart some pride they were miserable that night no effort their lowest effort performance of the season to me and they had some yucky effort

Moments the bench specifically in the first half of this game but they cleaned it up they played a pretty complete game and crushed the Knicks in MSG and again I get that the Knicks are very banged up but they’ve been winning with this crew including against the Pacers so nice win

For the Pacers win number 30 they’re seven away from last season’s record uh two more before the All-Star break Toronto and Charlotte I’m not saying they’ll win both but they’ll be favored in both if they can sweep this road trip that would be huge for their record confidence standings the magic got win

Tonight all sorts of stuff hending into the break so what else happened in this game what individuals allowed the Pacers to get open threes to get to the line to beat the Knicks in their house by 14 well the guy who there’s a couple guys who deserve a ton of Praise McConnell

Isaiah Jackson I’ll get to in a second I have to start with tyres Halburn even though it wasn’t like a super stand outy game from tyres Halburn he was basically right at his season averages 22 points 12 assists is first of all insane that that’s his averages but that is

Basically his average stats for a game this season a little bit above his assists a little Below on his scoring he was plus 11 that was the third highest on the Pacers the reason his stat line is significant in this game beyond that it was really good 22 is his it’s his

Second 20-point game since the injury in the Celtics game that was over a month ago now by the way that was January 8th this game was on February 10th his second 20-point game in a month the other one was the Blazers game where he played a lot and then didn’t play again

For five games the other thing that was significant for halber in this game he played 30 minutes and 18 seconds that is the second time the other one being the Blazers game that he was able to play 30 minutes in a game so if he can play a

Lot and feel out the game and figure out how he can adjust and beat Tes halberton like he was doing the thing always starts a little slow he’s more pass happy in the first half he just explodes all of a sudden he made a some crazy

Shots in this game to get to 22 points but that was encouraging to me looked more like himself after not at all looking like himself two nights ago was able to play more often that’s all very significant to me and if they can play him 28 to 30 of these last two heading

Into the break that’s a big deal to be able to add in the scoring element is important after a five-point game against Golden State he when the Knicks were surging in the second quarter and looked like they were about to maybe get their grip on the game he hit an

Insanely tough follow away three from the right corner to keep it close and at the halftime buzzer he hit or third quarter buzzer uh halftime buzzer I I can’t remember at the halftime buzzer he hit a buzzer beater he he checked him he checked into the game with six seconds

Left in the half and hit a huge three humongous three uh to grow the Pacers lead going into halftime those two shots were massive he had the play of the night as an off if you haven’t seen it yet find away and off the backboard self

Pass to himself and he caught it in the air and instead of shooting he flung it to Pascal seak in the corner that is a shot that is 100% accuracy SE yakum is not 100% shooter but the basketball Gods will not let that that shot not go in

Very cool Play Good in game from Halbert and statistically he shot 50% from the field he made four of his nine threes he got to the foul line 22 and 12 played over 30 minutes encouraging signs and the Pacers need those from him uh another thing to talk about shining

Bench players Isaiah Jackson played because Jaylen Smith’s lower back spasms kept him out of the skin first half Jackson was fine he had two earlier fouls so he couldn’t be as aggressive as he normally is he did end up fouling out of this game but holy smokes was he

Impactful 12 points only missed one shot eight boards three of them were offensive awesome defense plus nine in the second half in particular he was so forceful he was disrupting Nick shots around the basket he was grabbing crucial offensive rebounds he was moving the ball he was running in transition

Finishing plays that when he’s engaged like that he just looks so good and I know he had six fouls and that’s not good obviously but he could I think they were all shooting fouls and I I know this sounds insanely stupid to say shooting fouls are bad but compared to

Isaiah Jackson of the past where he’d foul out with two offensive rebounds on a moving screen and like a dumb reach in that are just valueless fouls that mean he can’t play as much to have them all at least be productive fouls like is Meaningful and that’s impactful progress

He was awesome in this game and he wasn’t even the Pacers best bench player TJ McConnell was brilliant turned the tie of the game this was very similar to the Rockets game and I’ll explain why in a second uh in terms of how McConnell’s impact mattered so much he was eight

For1 with 16 points four boards six assists only one turnover plus six for the Pacers in a night that their bench was not particularly good in the first half McConnell was Rock Solid all night he hit the weird F falling fadeaway shots that only he could make he just

Distributed he pushed into the paint he was fantastic the reason it was so crucial in this game and this is again very similar to that Houston game from earlier this week right I said this on the show I said it to people sitting next to me me D Ro during that game when

The bench came in in that Houston game the Pacers finally turned it around after a crummy first half I said if T.J McConnell plays well here and the bench keeps it ahead they’re gonna win he was awesome he was he was so good against the Rockets crappy second unit and got

It done this time Jaylen Brunson was playing phenomenal we just saw the Knicks complete a comeback in the second half against the Pacers in this building a couple weeks ago right the Pacers had to win the non- Brunson minutes and they didn’t do that that well in the first

Half despite winning the Brunson minutes so Brunson came out and the Pacers were up like eight I think and by the time Jay Brunson came back in the think the Knicks were down 17 or 18 points in the fourth quarter because McConnell was awesome and the bench in general was

Sensational and McConnell was the leader of that when he came in it was 10588 with 833 three to go in the fourth quarter so a 17-point game they overd doubled their lead McConnell was a huge part of that his impact pushing the pace doing MC Conelly things was fantastic he

Was a plus eight in the fourth quarter he was a plus eight Isaiah Jackson was plus 13 in the fourth quarter of this game that bench group was Sensational Obi toppen made threes in the second half which really redeemed an ugly first half for him with some turnovers and oh

Wide open dunk he went too flashy and missed it could have been a rough night for him but he redeemed himself with the shot so all in all that those were the shining stars of the game to me because other guys were good Aaron n Smith saved

Them by starting to make threes in the first half and he is just rock solid for the Pacers all the time Pascal SE yakum had 19 points on 13 shots despite struggling mightily from the fou line he would had over 20 points easily if he could have hit his free throws plus

Seven he was Rock Solid Andrew nard was plus 14 as a game high because he never turned it over he was great on defense he kept the ball moving he was very good good right all these guys filled their role to the extent that the Pacers

Needed them to fill their role but those guys were the standouts that got the Pacers a big bounceback win they’ve won three out of four now some of the opponents weren’t very good this is a good win beating the Knicks is even again a hobbled Knicks team is good

Beating the Knicks on the road is very tough to do that’s a good win for the Pacers quality of players available be danged especially with Hal Halbert hob Smith out I get that the Knicks are missing way more guys nice win for the Pacers who again are Believe It or Not

Six and four in their last 10 games it does not feel like the Pacers are playing that well but in their last 10 they beat Philly Phoenix Memphis Charlotte Houston and now at Knicks does again it does not feel that way because of that road trip where Howton was out

And they made the mid trade and went had that you know I think it was a one and five stretch they’re now six and four in their last 10 and consur did the break with like a seven out of 12 again with an injury in there and a trade I think

They will take that one other thing happened in this game Doug Derma debuted first game of the season for Mr dou douge mcbuckets with the Pacers did not play well um he joined the team that day so I’m not gonna overanalyze his seven minutes and 19 seconds of play the the

The only things he he came in and airball a three on like his second possession he had one foul as his only stat I’m not again I’m not gonna over analyze seven minutes of Doug mcder play being with the Pacers for a day what I only will count as noteworthy is one

That he played he was 10th guy in this game even if Jaylen Smith was available it’s not like Isaiah Jackson’s playing backup three uh he played at all so if you’re making a pecking order for the Pacers Ben Shepard was with the Pacers and available for this game seems like

Mcdermitt’s 10 Shepard’s 11 I thought that would be the case but still worth jotting down worth mental note and two he didn’t play at all in the second half so if the Pacers tighten things up and are you know really trying to put their foot on the gas trying to desperately

Win a game seems like mcder might be a little bit on the outside looking in but Carl been receptive to playing this season I’m not going to make any Grand Proclamation about their way they’re going to use him from one game when they just got him but to just just keep an

Eye on what his rotation spot looks like either way he played for the Pacers he missed his only shot quite badly we’ll see if that uh what his rotation spot looks like or if they are a little hesitant to use him more than that for these next two games and then when they

Have the All-Star break and they can actually like practice you know if everybody remembers how much better seaka was with a practice we’ll see if that can be the case for McDermot we plenty to talk about still from trade deadline fell on Monday that’s one of my favorite shows of the year because

People forget there’s a lot you can still do from our transaction perspective that matters a great deal after the trade deadline so Monday show will be all about moves the Pacers can still make this season and at the end we’ll talk about trades that I think impact the Pacers that the Pacers

Weren’t specifically involved in that’ll wrap up transactional coverage we can roll into the games again because they play Monday night in Charlotte and then it’s right into Allstar we’ll be there on the ground for all the All-Star stuffs you’ll get coverage here on this podcast for that as well lots of fun

Stuff coming fun game for the Pacers if you missed it try to find a way to watch it because Pacers Nicks was a good time thank you all for listening on this bonus weekend show hope you enjoyed the talk with Noah about Doug McDermot before he debuted for the Pacers plenty

More to come here on lock on Pacers thank youall for listening have a great rest of your weekend we will see you on Monday

The Indiana Pacers now have Doug McDermott after the NBA Trade Deadline. What will he bring to the team? Host Tony East is joined by Spurs writer for the Vic and Roll Noah Magaro-George to discuss McDermott’s skillset and development since being with Indiana a few years ago. Then, Tony breaks down the Pacers win over the New York Knicks.

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