[Nomad]

Some off the cuff thoughts. While local fans are so used to what Nesmith contributes that they barely register it, he had a nice series against the Bucks. His offense is strictly facilitator, sniper, occasional run down the lane euro/hammer, or mid-range jumper. Of course he successfully stretched that in the regular season when Ty went down, but now it's back to occasional looks, as the defense requires real attention and effort.

When talking about the deciding game, the gone-fishing Game Time crew did the usual Haliburton name check with maybe a Siakam mention, and then Barkley, or was it Shaq, commented, without considering who he was referencing, "I liked the Pacers' defense."

So there, Nesmith in tandem with the coaching staff and Nembhard, who he brought up 22-23 in the strategy he first developed alongside Marcus "ball hog with heart" Smart, were successful in their mission of not allowing the Bucks to run over them from the perimeter. That, along with some timely passes and buckets, was probably the key to victory.

One forgets, when discussing the pivotal Game 3, that it was Nesmith's free throws that took them to overtime, and subsequently his go-ahead three with like :20 in OT (which Middleton countered). This allowed a game winning mid-range Halibiurton floater that either Siakam or Nesmith likely also either a) would have made or b) gone to the line on. I think that that was the only close game all series and without it Indy would have gone down 2-1 and likely lost the biscuit.

The games that I watched this first round had a lot of moments where the players choked on free throws in the crunch. Players I didn't expect and don't remember, but their fans will surely remember.