The Whiteboard: How the Pacers keep beating the Bucks

Thanks to quirks of the schedule and the addition of the NBA In-Season Tournament, the Bucks and Pacers have already played five times in the first half of the season. Those matchups included a post-game shoving match and now, four wins for the Pacers.

The Bucks haven't been dominant this year but they're among the best teams in the Eastern Conference and still, the Pacers have had their number.

The Pacers officially own the Bucks

Indiana's offense has been phenomenal all season long but they've been absolutely relentless in their five games against the Bucks, averaging 124.2 points per 100 possessions in their four wins. They've picked up wins with the same formula they've used against everyone else — hitting a combined 34-of-83 (40.9 percent) on threes and putting up a total of 34 fastbreak points in their wins on Nov. 9 and last night.

But the Pacers also have two wins (Dec. 7 and Jan. 1) where they shot a combined 12-of-68 (17.6 percent) from beyond the arc and managed just 27 fastbreak points. But even in those games where their standard formula isn't working — the 3-point shots aren't falling and the transition openings aren't presenting themselves — they've still been able to put up points at an elite rate. The key has been offensive rebounding (47 total second-chance points) and phenomenal halfcourt execution in the clutch.

It's often reductive and illusory to chalk outcomes up to the variables of effort and hustle but that does seem to be a factor here. Watch all their offensive rebounds from these games and there aren't any real obvious trends in positioning or strategy that are leaving the Pacers open in the lane. You'll just see the Pacers fighting a bit harder for loose balls and chasing down backtaps for long rebounds, with lots of plays like this one.

The Pacers' clutch success is all about Tyrese Haliburton. He's already scored 16 points in just over 10 minutes of clutch play against the Bucks, shooting 7-of-10 from the field. In the Pacers' win on Monday night, he hit a pair of pull-up jumpers over Brook Lopez in pick-and-roll drop coverage and then caught Damian Lillard completely asleep at the wheel for a drive and an And-1 tear-drop floater that put the Pacers up seven with just over a minute remaining.

The Bucks' offense has been very good this season, but the Pacers' has been better. And when they've had a rough shooting night, they've been able to overcome it with energy, effort and a heaping helping of Haliburton in big moments.

This has quickly become one of the NBA's best rivalries and while they won't play again in the regular season there are a slew of plausible scenarios where this ends up being a first- or second-round matchup in the playoffs.

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Darvin Ham is in trouble

According to reporting today from Shams Charania and Jovan Buha, Darvin Ham's seat may be getting warm. The Lakers are 17-18 and the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. After last night's embarrassing loss to the Miami Heat, LeBron James left without speaking to the media. This morning, an article from Charania and Buha said:

"There’s currently a deepening disconnect between Darvin Ham and the Lakers locker room, six sources with direct knowledge of the situation say, raising questions about the head coach’s standing. The people spoke with The Athletic on condition of anonymity so that they could speak freely on the matter. Those sources have described that the disjointedness between the coach and team has stemmed from the extreme rotation and starting lineup adjustments recently from Ham, leading to a fluctuating rhythm for several players across the roster."

Whether or not Ham lasts the rest of the season there's a good chance some roster changes are coming that further complicate those rotations.

READ MORE:

• ‘There’s no excuses for us.’ Lakers’ ineptitude continues, with no letup in sight by Helene Elliott, for The LA Times
• Lakers mull how to 'right ship' after latest loss to Heat by Dave McMenamin, for ESPN

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