The Indiana Pacers have relied on their second unit all season and since the All-Star break they’ve been critical to picking up the team after slow starts.
In game one of the series against the Milwaukee Bucks, they allowed the Bucks lead to balloon as soon as they entered the game in the first half and after a brief run to end the third, couldn’t sustain the momentum in the fourth quarter as they quickly were outscored by 8 points in the first three minutes of the final period of play.
If you missed part one with grades on the starters you can find it here.
TJ McConnell: D
McConnell is probably the Pacers best self-creator on the team behind Pascal Siakam but he didn’t have one of the super-efficient outings that he consistently had after the All-Star break. He made 5 of 10 from inside the arc but missed all three of his 3-point attempts including two in one possession where the second attempt featured a befuddled Tyrese Haliburton wide open mere feet away with 11 seconds left on the shot clock.
When everyone’s energy is upped to 10, maybe it’s harder for McConnell to outwork the opponent like he so often does in the regular season. He still made many of his typical tough short mid-range fading jumpers inside the paint and along the baseline but he wasn’t able to impact the game outside of that with just one assist and two turnovers. He took 13 shots in 18 minutes. The rest of the bench attempted 14 shots combined.
Obi Toppin: D-
The Pacers desperately needed the 40% 3-point shooting of Toppin but he missed all four of his attempts, most of them badly. He did manage a couple of buckets inside and a nice block in the post on Bobby Portis keeps his grade from a complete F. This is a tough matchup overall for Toppin as there isn’t a natural fit for him to guard. If he’s not hitting his 3, it’s going to be hard for him to stay on the court king which may need to be the case anyway with how important Pascal Siakam was in game one.
Jalen Smith: F
Stix looked lost on defense and allowed Damian Lillard to blow right by him on multiple occasions with Stix attempting to guard at the level of the screen. He committed a couple of bad fouls and had two turnovers. He did add 7 rebounds and was better in the second half like much of the team but was bad enough in the first half that Carlisle tried Isaiah Jackson.
Doug McDermott: F
The Pacers were outscored by 17 points in under seven minutes while McDermott was on the floor. The Pacers lost the game by 15. That says it all. He had no stats beyond a single missed 3-pointer. We can only hope we do not see him on the floor for the remainder of the series unless it’s garbage time. Jarace Walker deserves the next emergency rotation chance if one is needed.
Ben Sheppard: F
The rookie struggled in his playoff debut. In 9 minutes, he made just 1 of 5 open 3-pointers and had two turnovers from having his foot on the baseline. He committed a costly foul while closing out on a Pat Connaughton 4-point play that started the Bucks big run in breaking the game into a blowout. His poor play is a big reason why Carlisle turned to the veteran McDermott. The Pacers may be tempted to move to just an 8-man rotation with how poor the end of the bench was.
Isaiah Jackson: INC
Jackson only played 2 minutes. He got scored on twice by Bobby Portis in the post and the Pacers went back to Myles Turner. He didn’t see the floor in the second half.
iPacers - Indiana Pacers News 
[…] Despite a strong third quarter that brought the Pacers back within 12, the damage had been done. The game was essentially over when they fell behind by that massive deficit in the first half. With 11 players entering the game at a time in the season where most teams shorten their rotations, it feels like a fitting time to bring back the player grades in this one. Let’s dive in starting with the opening five and the bench will come in part two: […]
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