If you were looking for offense in the NBA’s In-Season Tournament semifinals, Milwaukee-Indiana — two of the league’s highest-scoring teams — delivered.
If you like LeBron James playing at a level that no 38-year-old has ever done in the NBA, you’ll be pleased with the Los Angeles Lakers-New Orleans Pelicans game (because it was otherwise a flop).
Players delivered when it came to great individual performances.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had 37 points on 13-for-19 shooting, 10 rebounds, and two blocks, while Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton continued his development as an All-NBA guard with 27 points, 15 assists, and seven rebounds — his 15th game with at least 10 assists in 18 games.
Anthony Davis recorded 16 points, 15 rebounds, two blocks, and two steals in his second consecutive 30-point game and sixth of the season.
If you were hoping for some levity between the ESPN and TNT pregame teams as part of a planned on-air crossover, you got it, especially when Charles Barkley told Stephen A. Smith, “This ain’t First Take.” If you come over here with that loud-ass talking, this will be your first ass-whooping.”
And in Saturday’s final (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC), the league gets one of its all-time greatest players (James) and an emerging superstar (Haliburton) as the In-Season Tournament continues to reveal old and new lessons.
inaugural, both teams in the final are 6-0 in the IST and are vying for the inaugural NBA Cup. That’s a big win for the league, which had a feeling how this would turn out but didn’t know for sure. Competitive players want to win anything, even if it’s just a shooting contest at the conclusion of practice.
James is all in, as evidenced by his 30 points on 9-for-12 shooting, including 4-for-4 on 3-pointers, eight assists, and five rebounds. He accomplished all of this in the first 212 quarters in 23 minutes. He sat out the final 18 minutes.
Going full throttle into his 39th birthday on December 30, James, who scored 21 points in the first half, including 18 in the second quarter, is a marvel who wants to win the first NBA Cup and be the event’s first MVP.
(I’m curious if James has considered that the success of this event will boost the value of the next TV agreement, which will raise the price of a hypothetical Las Vegas expansion franchise — which James would like to own if that happens.)
Now, the Lakers must defeat the Pacers if James is to win the IST MVP award, as Haliburton is currently the front-runner. He’s averaging 27.8 points, 13.7 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in six IST games while shooting 51.8% from the field and 44.6% on threes. In his six IST games, James averages 26.8 points, 8.2 assists, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 58.8% from the field and 62.5% from 3-point range.
Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP, is also back in the MVP conversation after Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid won last season and Denver’s Nikola Jokic in 2020-21 and 2021-22. In his last ten games, Antetokounmpo has annihilated opponents with his inside game, shooting 64.5% from the field, including 72.9% at the rim.
We also discovered that under first-year coach Adrian Griffin, the Bucks aren’t ready defensively, and the Pelicans aren’t ready for this kind of moment.
The Pacers are proven to be a serious East club in a rebuild that has occurred sooner than projected due to Haliburton’s improvement, a strong roster, and the signing of Rick Carlisle as coach in 2021. They can be a force this season, and with the appropriate roster adjustments, they can become a contender – if not this season, then in the coming years. It’s a team that players should want to be a part of, especially with Haliburton. The front office has done excellent work, but it is not complete.
The IST is giving the NBA practically everything it wants. As much as the league appreciates this, its objective is to figure out how to keep the momentum rolling season after season
