INDIANKeynote USAOLIS – Neither of Boston’s All-Star wings, 6-foot-6 Jaylen Brown or 6-foot-8 Jayston Tatum, could stop TJ McConnell on Saturday night. The Pacers’ pesky reserve point guard dribbled along the baseline in the second quarter of Game 3 against the Celtics, dodging Brown and then drawing in Tatum, before pretending the first-team All-NBA selection took off his shoes. McConnell buried that mid-range jumper en route to an energizing 23 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists during Indiana’s 114-111 loss that gave Boston a 3-0 series lead.
For the Pacers to avoid elimination on Monday, and perhaps without injured guard Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana will continue to rely on nine-year veteran McConnell, an undrafted Arizona product who became something of a cult hero among fans. most loyal fans of The Philadelphia Trial by Sam Hinkie. It was those first four years with the Sixers that persuaded Indiana to give McConnell a two-year, $7 million deal in 2019, and another four-year, $33 million deal after that. He’s been a Pacers fixture ever since, both before and after Haliburton’s seismic arrival, and seems so ingrained into the fabric of Indiana that McConnell doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Indiana Pacers celebrates a three-point basket against the Boston Celtics during the fourth quarter of game three of the Eastern Conference Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 25, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: The user expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading or using this photograph, the user agrees to the terms and conditions of the /Keynote USA/Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stacy Revere//Keynote USA/Getty Images)” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/wXwvAiGa0ym06oiJzIeMnA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA–/https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2024-05/b059b030-1b31-11ef-bdab-63645b70b48b”>
TJ McConnell is focused on helping the Pacers extend their series with the Celtics. (Photo by Stacy Revere//Keynote USA/Getty Images)
“We feel like it’s the head of the snake,” Celtics guard Jrue Holiday said.
“He’s one of the heartbeats of that team,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He just makes winning plays. “It’s really good at the end of quarters, which is a way for teams to keep momentum, start momentum and reduce momentum.”
McConnell may be the smartest in the league at sliding down the baseline like he did when he found Andrew Nembhard for the Pacers’ first 3-pointer of the game late in the second quarter. At just 6-foot-1, that area of the court can be treacherous, a trap waiting to be set among NBA giants. Steve Nash, even with his smaller stature, was always able to feel out his opponents while he operated on a tightrope, and McConnell has an uncanny ability to mimic the Hall of Fame point guard in that domain.
“We talk the same language when we talk about trying to manipulate the defense and trying to occupy real estate, so to speak,” Nash once told Yahoo Sports about McConnell, “distorting and pressuring the defense and keeping the dribble alive.”
Nash played college baseball under Pacers assistant Lloyd Pierce, who was on Brett Brown’s staff in Philadelphia before Pierce took over as the Hawks’ head coach. Through that connection and an assist from another member of the Sixers staff, Chris Babcock, McConnell once worked with Nash during an offseason training session in Los Angeles, and one of the game’s best saw a worthy descendant. of the baseline attack that many coaches have now labeled the “Nash.” bargain.”
“What (McConnell) is saying is, ‘Sometimes I can outsmart you, outthink you, sometimes I don’t need to challenge you with my athleticism because I might not win that battle,’” Nash said. “’But I can keep my dribbling alive and put pressure on the defense because they’re chasing and trying to recover. While my guy is trying to get back to me, someone might carry me until he can get back, and that’s a tough part of the court to do.’”
It’s not just his dribbling. Once McConnell lifts the rock into the paint, he keeps his pivot foot alive as if his own life depended on it. He can spin and shoot an incredible variety of mid-range jumpers that have all but been eradicated by today’s modern offenses.
“TJ McConnell is such a good player,” Celtics center Al Hoford said.
“It’s been a burden on us,” Holiday said. “With our scouting and everything, we focused a lot on TJ.”
McConnell’s shaky mechanics aren’t the most effective from the outside, but he hit his only 3-pointer Saturday with just over three minutes left in the game on a kick by Andrew Nembhard. McConnell squared up, shot and connected in the right corner before slamming his left fist into his right bicep, pushing the three fingers of his right hand up in a celebratory level and yelling, “Boom!” to the front rows of Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“Our crowd, I can’t speak for everyone, sometimes you feel invincible playing in front of them,” McConnell said Saturday.
He might be the easiest player for a local team to root for. McConnell is the first one on the court and maximizes every minute he sees. During his rookie training camp in Philadelphia, McConnell regularly pulled his teammates, including Nik Stauskas and Richaun Holmes, aside and asked them if he was kidding himself by even trying to make a team in the NBA. NBA. “He will always continue to fight like it’s the first day,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “That’s what makes it special.”
After another loss in which Indiana held a lead late in the fourth quarter, McConnell said his side won’t give up. “Obviously this hurts, but there is no player in this locker room who has overcome it.”
He has one more year left after this season on his current contract, an attractive salary as league executives view McConnell as one of the league’s best reserves. His valuable contract, in addition to his never-ending battery, particularly generated trade inquiries from the Phoenix Suns last season, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
And yet, when asked after the game whether McConnell believed he had long ago proven that he belongs, that he is far from being that undrafted loser simply invited to Philadelphia training camp, McConnell still demurred.
“I don’t know. Maybe just the energy I bring every day,” he said. “It’s one of those things where you know if I play like I have nothing to prove, I think it might be time to retire.”
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