The East playoffs in eight words

What David Thorpe sees

Who’s ready for Round 2? The Pacers and Cavaliers will kick it off this Sunday, and then the games will come thick and fast. I’ve been watching almost every second of every game. Here are eight words that come to mind as I have been watching the East contests.

Tyrese Haliburton: IMPROVING

A half decade into Tyrese Haliburton’s NBA career, there are no secrets about how to guard him: Force him left. We call it “weaking” as in “make him go to his weak hand.” When he drives to his right, he’s incredible both at driving downhill and stepping back into a 3. To put it bluntly, when he’s going right, he’s an elite scorer/playmaker. He’s just not the same going left.

In Game 4 in Milwaukee, the Bucks bet hard on that gameplan.

Of course, that means Tyrese is many years into knowing that teams want him to go left. And serious players evolve.

By the end of the drive, Kyle Kuzma and Kevin Porter Jr. are demonstrating incredible commitment to the strategy–essentially double-teaming Tyrese’s right hand.

Uh oh–look who got better!!