Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers are brimming with confidence, and the Milwaukee Bucks should be concerned with that.
Amid their NBA Playoffs battle, the last thing Milwaukee wants is to see is for their rivals to be filled with confidence and gain momentum. After all, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Tyrese Haliburton Speaks on Indiana Pacers’ Identity Amid Milwaukee Bucks Battle
Unfortunately for the Bucks, they might be a little too late in avoiding that scenario. With the Pacers taking a 3-1 lead in their playoff series, Haliburton and Co. have validated that self-belief that they have what it takes to win the series.
Before the postseason started, many doubted the Pacers’ ability to go the distance in the postseason. Indiana is a great offensive team, but the team’s defense leaves much to be desired. And since the postseason is known to be where teams buckle up defensively, there were legitimate concerns about how they would do.
Sure enough, through four games, the Pacers have proven that their offense can carry them in games. Of course they have also stepped up defensively and it helped that the Bucks have been decimated with injuries, but the fact remains that they were able to keep their identity when many doubted them.
Speaking to reporters following their Game 4 win, Haliburton delivered a confident message to their haters and doubters about their identity. He noted that it’s crucial for them to keep playing the way they have been doing it throughout 2023-24–which is with pace–because that’s who they are.
“Just important for us to do our thing. I think the way games go — like Game 1 I felt like they dictated the tempo. And I would say the story of the last three games is we have. And usually that comes from who can get enough stops to really play their style of play,” Haliburton said, via the team’s website.
“We made a decision after Game 1 that no matter what, we were going to dictate the pace, on makes, on misses. That’s really how we’ve created our identity the whole year. I think people know on makes, on misses that we’re pushing the ball. I think that that’s important for us. We’ve kind of got back to that these last three games. And in a world, in a league that says oh, you can’t play fast in the playoffs, we don’t really believe in that. We’re going to be who we are and put our identity and our imprint on our game.”
The Pacers are really a dangerous team, and the fact that they have fully embraced who they are makes them even tougher to beat.
As for a Bucks team that had a coaching change in the middle of the season and struggled to determine who they are as a team, that difference has obviously hurt them.
Milwaukee Bucks in Dangerous Position vs. Indiana Pacers
With the Indiana Pacers getting all the confidence in the world, the Milwaukee Bucks are certainly in quite the dangerous position. That’s not a team you want to face in a do-or-die situation.
The Pacers can close the first-round series when they meet again on Tuesday for Game 5, and so it’s up to the Bucks to prevent that from happening.
However, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard’s statuses for the showdown are still unknown. Both missed Game 4 due to injuries, and it remains to be seen if they can heal in time to suit up. And even if they do, it’s doubtful if they will even be at 100 percent.
Things are not looking good for the Bucks. While all hope is not lost, they cannot afford any mistakes moving forward, especially against a Pacers team that knows what they are doing.
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