The Lakers (14-9) face off against the Indiana Pacers (12-8) in the inaugural championship game of the In-Season Tournament. The game tips off at 5:30 p.m. Pacific on ABC, with the pregame show starting at 4:30 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet.
Below are three things to know ahead of the matchup:
LEBRON’S MASTERPIECE
The Lakers had a number of impressive performances in a 44-point semifinal destruction of the New Orleans Pelicans, but without question, LeBron James set the tone.
“It’s impressive to watch him turn it to another gear,” reflected D’Angelo Russell, after starting alongside LeBron and watching him score 30 points with eight assists and zero turnovers in just 22:32 of playing time. “He can shoot it better, he’s faster, he’s not getting tired. I don’t even understand.”
It’s definitely hard to comprehend how somebody could still be playing at this level in Year 21, when no player in the history of the game has been even remotely close to approaching what LeBron’s doing. The scoring and passing numbers tell a story of efficiency (LeBron hit 4 of 4 3’s and 9 of 12 shots overall), but they don’t explain how impressive LeBron was in several other aspects of the game.
“Any time your best player sacrifices his body and takes three charges in the first half, especially with Zion (Williamson) coming down the paint, it sets a tone, and that trickles down to everyone else, just how locked in he is to win this,” recalled Austin Reaves. “He just looks healthy, he looks fresh. Spirit is great. Never in a bad mood, always smiling, joking, just being LeBron.”
Indiana, not known for its defense – the Pacers rank 28th in defensive efficiency, having clearly leaned into offense as the NBA’s top team on that end – will have a tall task in limiting LeBron’s rim attacks, even if his threes don’t fall at a 40.7% clip, his highest percentage of his career. LeBron is also having his best season in years in terms of finishing at the rim, and Indy is last in the NBA with 62.5 points in the paint allowed per game.
HALIBURTON LEADS INDY’S EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE
The only player that can rival LeBron’s IST performance thus far has been Tyrese Haliburton, who has posted these lines in Indy’s elimination round wins to get to the final:
vs. Boston: 26 points on 10 of 18 FG’s and 5 of 11 3’s; 13 assists; 0 TO’s; 10 boards
vs. Milwaukee: 27 points on 11 of 19 FG’s, 3 of 9 3’s; 15 assists; 0 TO’s; 7 boards
That doesn’t come as a huge surprise to Austin Reaves, who played in the Team USA backcourt with Haliburton in the FIBA World Cup in August.
“I told D-Lo before the season started that if they’re competing in the East, I think Tyrese has a chance to win an MVP at some point,” Reaves offered. “The way he plays, the unselfishness, he makes his teammates better.”
With Haliburton’s pick and roll or pop action, often with Myles Turner as the screener and shooters like Buddy Hield, Bruce Brown and Obi Toppin spacing, Indy has excelled in basically every area of offense in their 20 games, via StatFactor:
Pacers FG Percentage:
| FG% | NBA Rank | |
| Restricted Area | 67.8% | 8th |
| Non-Rest. Paint Area | 51.5% | 1st |
| Mid-Range | 45.6% | 5th |
| Corner 3’s | 42.2% | 7th |
| Above the Break 3’s | 37.2% | 8th |
The Lakers, who are up to 7th in the NBA in defensive rating, do have the benefit of featuring Anthony Davis, who has a strong case for being the world’s best screen/roll defender. He’ll have his work cut out for him on Saturday, but he’s traditionally been up to the task … particularly when L.A.’s other big, long athletes like LeBron, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes are all available to aid him.
PREVIOUSLY ON…
You can’t always learn a lot from prior year engagements in the NBA, but two exciting matchups from 2022-23, both of which came down to the buzzer, do tell us something about the LAL-IND matchup.
The Pacers have almost the same exact team from last season, adding only Obi Toppin to their regular rotation, and on Nov. 28, Indiana came into Los Angeles and stole a victory with a buzzer-beating three from Andrew Nembhard*. The Lakers had led by as many as 17 early in the fourth quarter, and by two with 20 seconds to play, before allowing the triple as time expired. Haliburton had 24 points with 14 assists, and Benedict Mathurin 23 points off the bench, to counter 25 points with 13 boards, six assists and four blocks from Davis.
*Nembhard got injured in Indiana’s IST Semifinal win, and will miss Saturday’s clash.
LAL did get their revenge in Indiana, flipping the script almost entirely, erasing a 14-point deficit behind repeated finishes at the rim from LeBron, plus a key play on either end from Davis to secure the victory. LeBron’s 3-pointer with 2:35 gave the visitors their first lead of the night, and Davis hit a short jumper to put the Lakers up 112-111 with 35 seconds left. Then, Haliburton called up AD in a switch, and tried to attack him 1-on-1. Davis moved his feet with the young guard, stayed with him on a drive, and swatted away his shot with 16 seconds left to essentially finish the game. Haliburton will no doubt have that play on his mind heading into Saturday’s matchup.
Davis finished the game with 31 points and 14 boards, and LeBron 26 points with seven boards and seven assists, opposite 26 and 12 from Haliburton and 20 points with 13 boards from Myles Turner.
Three Things to Know: Lakers vs. Pacers, IST Championship, 12-9-23 - NBA.com
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