It is the JR Sportbreeze Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Man, we got an Eastern Conference game going on right now. Boston, the New York Knicks just underway, Boston starting off hot 16 to 4.
But last night, you want to talk about hot? Man, the Indiana Pacers, they got hot late, went on a run. Tyrese Halliburton, a game-winning 3 to take a 2-0 series lead against the wounded Cleveland Cavaliers. Can they continue this run?
Is Halliburton going to continue using this chip on his shoulder, this overrated mark, to talk about all things Indiana Pacers? Joining us right now is Dustin Dopierak, who covers all things Pacers for the Indianapolis Star. Dustin, how are you, man?
Doing well, man. Thanks so much for having me. Absolutely.
Thank you for taking the time and joining us. I guess first question out the gate. Tyrese Halliburton called overrated. When that poll came out last week, I know it was about 150 NBA players who only participated, were you surprised that they put him at the top of that list? I mean, not, I don't see, not really, especially when you consider the methodology. I mean, it's 13 guys voted for. You know, out of, I think there was about 150 guys that were pulled, but only 90 asked that question.
And we've, I, you know, I used to work at the athletic, I know how they work these polls basically. And you see all the athletic guys coming in, you know, right around the second half of the season, around post all star break, you know, talking to everybody about these and doing these polls. And obviously they've got the opportunity to say, Hey, I don't want to answer that one. I don't want to talk about who's overrated or not.
And, you know, I mean, I think it's all a question of, all right, like, you know, there's obviously not a whole lot of consensus on this question. If it's only, if 13 guys is enough for you to be number one, um, that means not like everybody in the league thinks that one guy is. And I could see how, you know, if you're looking at it and saying, all right, like, who's the guy that scares me the most to go, to go defend, you know, like who is the guy that I think can get by me easiest and it is going to find a way to score me no matter what, you know, I don't, you know, like, I don't think he's that tough or whatever. I could see them looking at him and thinking, you know, like he doesn't scare me as much as some other guys. Um, and, and I think a lot of people, a lot of players do think of it as a one-on-one matchup is imagining a scenario where you're guarding him and it's just you and him and he, is he that much better than you? Um, but, but it's, you know, the appreciating Halliburton means watching him every night and really getting what he does on a, on an overall basis and what he does for a team and basically how he makes all the pieces move, not just himself. And so I could see some guys not really getting that, uh, not really understanding that or, or it also, you know, Ty talks a lot.
Ty makes a lot of noise and I could see some people thinking like, ah, right. He's not as good as he thinks he is or whatever, or, you know, and it certainly depends on, you know, like, how do you think he's rated? I mean, do you think if, if you think he's a top 10 player, if you think everybody thinks he's the top 10 player, then yeah, he's probably not, but he's probably a top 20 player, you know? And so I guess it depends on how you think that is. So I could, I could see various ways how a few guys come to think that he's overrated. Um, you know, I mean, I think if, if you made, if you forced everybody to rank everybody and, and, and kind of did it that way, would it be a different answer?
No, I don't know. I mean, but it's just, I mean, it, it doesn't shock me that 13 guys thought that no, I mean, I think he can find 13 guys might think somebody else is upgraded. So, you know, um, it's not that much of a shock, but I mean, I think it's, it's weird when you hang it on him and especially after covering him and just seeing how much he's changed, uh, the franchise and just how much different they are because of him. And he's, he's certainly, you know, they, they were in a rebuilding mode and, you know, they're rebuilding mode, you know, just got basically that, that the, the time and the trajectory on that guy kind of cut in half because they were like, wow, you're able to make one trade, uh, what's the bonus and really retool and, you know, come out with a whole entire identity that's entirely based on the way that that guy, uh, plays basketball.
And all of a sudden you're in the Eastern conference, semi-finals up to over, um, you know, a second year in a row that you have a chance to be an Eastern conference finals team, at least. And, and, and it's mostly based on that guy, you know, how could, how could a guy like that be overrated? Uh, and you look at it that way, then it doesn't sound that smart to put him at the top of that list. Dustin Dopirik is here with us covers the paces for the Indianapolis star.
Uh, we saw the big shot, the big three last night by, by Halliburton. We know that three of the Cavalier stars were down from Evan Mobley to Darius Garland. Also you think about DeAndre Hunter with the thumb issue, two Oh is two Oh either way. What is your confidence level in the Pacers moving on past these caps?
I mean, I would say it's pretty high, you know, in terms of thinking it's going to happen. Cause I mean, you know, like go win two on the road, you know, I mean two Oh two Oh on the road is different than two Oh at home. You know, I mean, basically like if you go two up on the road at home, that's what you're supposed to do.
And you go back into their place, you know, they're going to be charged up. Um, but when you manage to take two at their place and in such a way as that they did, I mean, like it's really, if you're the Cavs losing that game to the way they did is really dispirited because you got, you got an all time performance from Donovan Mitchell. I mean, he was incredible.
I it's really, that's as good of a performance I've ever seen in a loss and almost in any sport ever. I mean, he was just so hard to stop. Just did so many things when you get that good of a performance for somebody stepping up in a scenario where he doesn't have, you know, the three of his best teammates and he gives you that and then you still can't put it away for them. You just feel like, man, like what, what do you have to do if you go up 32, 15 in the first quarter? Um, you know, like you really, you do so much to, to make it hard for Halpert so much of that game, which is like, they did so much right and got some contributions from so many guys and you still don't win that game.
You got a seven point lead with 48 seconds to go and you can't close it. You're just like, like the mountain starts to feel so much higher and then you're going to their place. Um, so I mean, they've got to do some spectacular things and like Mitchell's dealing with some kind of calf issue, uh, and had battled through that and was just a warrior through that. And it's like, okay, can he do something like that again?
And can you, you know, replicate the same stuff and do it, you know, do it, uh, against the pace or do that at least once to get it back to your place. I mean, you, you got to win there what, three times, you know, uh, or no, you gotta, you gotta win there twice. Basically you've got to find a way to win two row games either.
Um, you know, it, uh, game, game three and four, or, you know, if it goes back to indie for game six, you gotta find a way to win in Indiana twice to set your up yourself up, uh, at least to get you a game seven, you gotta win three there if you want to get it done at six. So, uh, yeah, I mean, they're in a really tough, tough position. Don't know, you know, obviously they can get super energized if they get any of those three guys back, particularly if they get Mowgli. I mean, I was really impressed by what Mowgli did at game one, um, and just the amazing skills that he has on both ends of the floor. I just, I mean, he's just by far their best defender.
And so, I mean, if you can get him a full, uh, you know, a fully healthy version of him back and that changes things, but if you don't, um, you know, it's, it basically, it's, it's hard to see where they get, uh, the push that they need to turn things, this thing around. Dustin Doparic covers the Indiana Pacers. When you think about Rick Carlisle, I mean, over the past couple of years, he doesn't get as much attention as some of the other, uh, head coaches in the league, whether it's the, the Tyloos, the Doc Rivers of the world, whether it's good, bad, or, or in between, how has he changed since he arrived back in Indianapolis?
I think what's remarkable and I didn't get on the beat until, uh, so 2022, like 2022, 23 seasons. So we already had Halliburton, uh, on the team and basically like, really it's, it's been pretty cohesive since then. Um, but I think what, what everybody talks about when everybody, any other coaches asked about him, what, what they're really impressed with is how he's changed and how he's been willing, um, to change with the times and change with his team.
I think Doc Rivers was just asked him about him, uh, you know, at the end of the series, I think right before game five. And he said, you know, which is what really impresses me about Rick because he coaches the team he has, um, and he's willing to go whatever different direction that is used to be the sort of guy to call it a play, you know, uh, just call it a set on every single play. And when it was making sure that the point guard was looking over to him for, for the signal and, and, you know, he, when he got Halliburton, he's like, you know what, I don't want to call plays anymore as, as I want to call this few plays possible.
I want you to run the show. Um, and not only that, but would be willing to play this high up tempo style and, uh, to let them be creative basically that they're the, uh, offense is based on randomized movement. I mean, they don't have a lot of calls that they kind of freelance a lot and they view it as kind of an organized chaos and being able to trust that, uh, says a lot about Rick Harlow.
I mean, you know, I think it was a guy that used to like to micromanage has slowly let that go over time and more want to dedicate delegate delegate, um, as a coach in terms of delegating his staff, but really, uh, delegating in terms of just trusting his players more Halliburton in particular. I mean, he absolutely has the sense of, you know, Tyrese is genius. I mean, he's just, uh, you know, like there, there are shortcomings you can see in him physically, obviously from the fact that he's just not that well, you know, not that big, not that muscular, but, um, obviously he's got a lot of speed, a lot of skill. Um, but, uh, basketball IQ is off the chart and, and Rick Harlow sees that in him and his, his, you know, not only his understanding of X and O's, there's going to connect to teammates and I know understand how to get the best out of them. Uh, and so he's got to add awareness to trust that in order to have a team that plays up tempo and tries to score a lot of points. And then he shifted, you know, this year, I mean, they're still scoring a lot, but they've also just really dialed up, uh, full core pressure. And he's been willing to trust that he's got a, um, bigger rotation in the playoffs. They're playing 11 guys.
Uh, I mean, it was kind of a shock. He went out with an all sub lineup, um, for like the last five minutes of the third quarter of that game. Um, you know, just that required a lot of trust on his part to, you know, just trust the subs for that long. Um, but they had hung in there and he went with three starters for the entire 12 minutes, the fourth, and it really is a gamble that really paid off for him. Uh, there's a big part of the reason why they won that game. And so it's just, I think what it, what's really impressive is that, that he's trusting his guys a lot more, but he's also willing to change styles and you've got to remember him and you can go back to what he did for the Pacers and the Pistons, you know, in, in, you know, the kind of early two thousands when it was a really, you know, grind it out game and he's playing games in the sixties in the NBA and, you know, had that kind of grind it out ready, you know, early two K game. Um, and now it's a totally different ball game and he's playing in 120s every night. Um, but he's, you know, he's got him, but that's, that's what, what fits them. And that's what he's willing to do.
Hey Dustin, final question for you. We know that they're up two. Oh, we know that the Cavaliers, they got a couple of days to get their guys healthy, but regardless of this series, if they advance, they don't advance. What do you realistically think is the likeliest outcome for their season this year? You know, if you'd asked me that Saturday, I would say they're probably losing this series and that's, but they had a pretty good year, won 50 games, lose the number one seed in the East. You know, you're on a pretty good trajectory.
Uh, right now, I don't know. I mean, I can't look, look at them and say they can't do anything. And I think, um, you know, you look at these playoffs and, and, and I think you, based on how they've started off in the semifinals, you can't look there and say, well, you know, this is going to happen. I mean, like you never had all four road, all four road teams were in game one in the Eastern conference or in the conference.
And my finals never happened. Um, so, I mean, a lot of these playoffs are flipped on the head, you know, we don't know what's going to happen. You know, I mean, I, I think Oklahoma city is the best team and I, I like, I liked their roster the best and I feel like whoever runs into them is going to have a problem, but Denver managed to pull off a road game, a road run over them, uh, and game one and Monday night, you know, I think Boston's a really good team and super talented, but the next year, the next year, you know, found a way to beat them on the road. Um, you know, I thought Cleveland was going to be, uh, you know, an incredibly difficult team to beat and they're down a couple guys and the paces are up too low.
So, I mean, I don't know what's likely at this point. Again, if you asked me, uh, at the beginning of the playoffs, I'd say, okay, there, I think they're probably gonna be Milwaukee, but Cleveland's probably going to be too much. And if Cleveland's not too much, then Boston will be too much, but you know, Boston has shown some vulnerabilities. I think the taste is that they've already shown they can prove they can beat the Knicks. If the Knicks managed to pull this thing off, um, you know, I, I think that the pace is going to be really difficult matchup because of all the minutes that they've put on their, uh, starters.
And I think the patients could certainly wear them down. I think that playing the next game would be a good matchup for the pacer. So, uh, you know, whoever comes out of the other bracket, if the paces managed to pull this off and put the calves away, uh, I don't think either the Celtics or the Knicks are impossible for the paces to beat.
Um, I would think Boston would be harder, you know, certainly they're, they're a championship team. They've won it. Uh, they're going to have that experience that they know what it takes. Basically they've, they've been down before they know how to come back.
It pays nothing out of Leon and get on game one, uh, and Eastern conference finals last year. And so this managed to come back to them and they could certainly find a way, uh, to turn it on. And I, so I would think that if they, uh, if, if they beat the calves and, and the Celtics, you know, come back and win that series, they'll probably lose the calves in Eastern conference finals, but I can't sit here and tell you, they'll definitely lose to the Celtics in the Eastern conference finals.
I'm not willing to say anything is definite with this group because they keep surprising me. You shouldn't win a game when you're down seven or 48 seconds ago. Like you shouldn't like, like, I mean, someone has to screw up on the side for you to put yourself in that position. You shouldn't be able to win that game. You know, I mean, the, the calves didn't get a shot or a free throw attempt in the last 48 seconds.
Like that's not supposed to happen. You know, you could do that two, uh, two, two dumb turnovers, basically that Mitchell, we obviously swing in his elbows a little too high. And then, you know, Max Trusch just flinging the ball in the air and let Andrew Denmark pick it off, uh, on that field. I mean, that's, that's not a game you should lose if you're the calves when you're in that kind of control. Um, but you know, it happened and the Pacers keep finding ways to win games like that. The bucks shouldn't have lost a game that they were up by seven with 48 seconds ago. Uh, they had no business losing that game in game five. They should have been able to at least force a six game, uh, there and, and push that thing a little bit further. So, uh, I keep thinking, Hey, this, this stuff shouldn't happen, but it keeps happening. So until it stops happening, I'm not going to say there's anything that's beyond this team. Yeah.
Let's see how far they can go. I know Tyrese Halliburton is going to milk every second and minute of this overrated stuff. He's going to work that one.
Hey, thank you so much. Yeah. Well we know you're going to put it on a t-shirt Dustin. I know that's coming. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. He's already calling to find out who wants it. So, Oh yeah.
He's going to get that thing on a t-shirt on a flag on everything else. So Tyrese knows marketing. Let me tell you. Yeah. Yeah.
You gotta take a negative and turn it into a positive. Hey Dustin, thank you so much for the time. Where can people follow you and all of your work with the Indianapolis star? Yeah.
Just the indie star.com is where you find all our stuff. You know, click on the sports section on the pacer section. You could see everything we've wrote.
We've got a ton of, uh, of, uh, of coverage obviously coming off of game two. Uh, just for myself and a whole bunch of others, uh, you know, contributing in that. So you can see what I wrote. You can see what Greg Doyle wrote. You can see what other guys on our team put together, uh, video and everything else.
Come check that out. You can obviously find me on X that asked at dust the PRAC and blue sky dust the PRAC, uh, blue sky, however those handles go, you know, I'm, I'm easy to find. So, uh, I make it pretty simple on everybody, but yeah, come check out our stuff and, uh, pretty proud of the coverage we put together so far in the series.
Hey, it looks like you got, you got a whole lot more to cover if the Pacers continue with this. Hey Dustin, we'll catch you on down the line, man. Thank you. Sounds good, man. Thanks so much. Anytime.
