Aaron Nesmith And Mikal Bridges Are Deciding The Eastern Conference Finals

Late in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s Game 4 between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks, TNT’s Stan Van Gundy highlighted an important contrast in how Indiana is defending the Knicks’ star point guard, Jalen Brunson, versus how New York is defending the Pacers’ star point guard, Tyrese Haliburton.

“Look at the difference in how [Mikal] Bridges plays Haliburton,” Van Gundy said as Haliburton brought the ball up the floor unimpeded. “He’s 6 feet off of him, so … Bridges can be screened easily.”

The “difference” Van Gundy references is that of Bridges’ approach against Aaron Nesmith’s. The latter is consistently applying pressure while the former has granted Haliburton as much air space as he desires throughout the series. Nesmith has imposed himself at the point-of-attack. Bridges has not.

More broadly, the difference in their performances on both ends and how they’ve transpired is a prominent reason Indiana finds itself up 3-1 during these Eastern Conference Finals. Nesmith is starring in his role as a complementary three-and-D wing. Bridges is not.

Bridges’ Offensive Struggles

Through four games, Nesmith is averaging 16.5 points (76.5 percent true shooting), 4.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks while Bridges is averaging 17.0 points (48.5 percent true shooting), 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals. He’s second on the Knicks in total shots behind Brunson and fourth in usage rate behind Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Cameron Payne, though Payne’s seen just 18 minutes this series. Bridges has 10 assists to nine turnovers. None of that will suffice for a third option offensively.

New York has routinely entrusted Bridges with the ball in an aim to exploit his matchup against Haliburton, who’s both the engine of Indiana’s elite attack and shown himself liable to defensive woes at parts of his career.

During the regular season, 24.2 percent of Bridges’ field goals were unassisted, according to NBA.com. That’s vaulted to 51.7 percent in the Eastern Conference Finals. It’s a mix of prioritizing Bridges more offensively and the Pacers’ reluctance to help from the perimeter. They’re drying up some of his off-ball scoring opportunities and the Knicks are showcasing him on the ball more often.

Either way, the adjustment hasn’t panned out thus far. Largely settling for fadeaway jumpers or quick pull-ups, Bridges isn’t punishing Haliburton offensively, let alone really making him work; granted, Haliburton deserves credit for his defensive execution as well.

Even when he does generate quality looks, he’s misfiring. A sequence like this from Game 4 succinctly captures Bridges’ two-way struggles. He fails to provide any point-of-attack resistance defensively then smokes a layup when Nesmith picks up Brunson early, denies him off the ball and thrusts Bridges into creation duties.

Bridges’ aversion has proven detrimental this series. Along with the aforementioned unwillingness to make Haliburton weather him defensively, he’s made a habit of punting potential layups or drawn fouls inside into arduous, ill-advised turnaround jumpers.

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No matter how one feels about the five first-round picks New York paid to acquire Bridges last summer, it tabbed him as a rangy point-of-attack stopper whose offensive growth could enable him to alleviate pressure for Brunson; the hefty price could be justified if Bridges filled those roles en route to a ring. But he hasn’t consistently checked either box in the series. Haliburton rarely seems slowed by his presence and the secondary offense has been an inefficient slog.

Nesmith’s Persistent Presence

Toss out Nesmith’s heroic Game 1 flurry and it would still be impossible to argue he’s had a quiet series. His minutes are loud, paramount and impactful. Brunson is wearing his signature on both sides of the ball, unable to shake him aside from when head coach Rick Carlisle gives his kamikaze forward a breather.

Independent of pure shot-making results, among the starkest differentiators between Nesmith and Bridges is how Nesmith exhausts Brunson regardless of which team controls the ball. Whether it’s for Haliburton or Pascal Siakam, Indiana is unrelenting in its deployment of him as a screener. Whereas Bridges’ aversion resigns him to ghosting or slipping screens, which lets Haliburton off the hook, Nesmith is rugged and precise. He’s also so adept neutralizing screens defensively to the point it deters New York from using Bridges in this manner because Haliburton will hardly be exposed to danger.

He guarantees and demands Brunson be involved. If Brunson switches, Haliburton and Siakam are equipped to win that matchup. If he shows, Nesmith’s sturdy requires a lengthier hedge and strings out the initial point-of-attack defender’s recovery. Brunson’s defense has been a disaster all series, some of which stems from Nesmith’s excellence as. a pick man.

Indiana doesn’t solely rely on Nesmith to facilitate favorable matchups for Haliburton and Siakam. He’s a dynamite shooter who’s blossomed into a viable cog attacking closeouts. Brunson’s endured both aspects. There’s a level of force he owns driving closeouts Bridges cannot replicate and Brunson cannot stop. Plus, the Pacers refuse to send much help and even give Bridges a chance to burn closeouts against Haliburton.

Maybe, Bridges is not prepared to wrangle with Haliburton 94 feet possession after possession. His offensive duties are more expansive and taxing than Nesmith’s, and Indiana’s merry-go-round offense is harder to chase than New York’s methodical, isolation-rich, pick-and-roll-heavy style. All of those facets, in varying ways, are compliments toward the Pacers and Nesmith, and criticisms of the Knicks and Bridges, whether they be schematic, roster-based or performance-driven.

The offensive and defensive distinctions between Nesmith and Bridges are writing the story of these Eastern Conference Finals. Their games are shaping how each team’s offensive-minded stars — who both double as the worst perimeter defender in their team’s starting five —  can hunt and if those stars can be hunted themselves. Nesmith lets Haliburton hunt and prevents Brunson from hunting; the same goes for Bridges. That’s disastrous for the Knicks and wonderful for the Pacers.

Plenty of other components should follow, but it’s hard to reflect on this series and not immediately recognize the Cold War Aaron Nesmith is emphatically winning over Mikal Bridges. Neither player guards the other yet it’s still the quiet clash underscoring almost everything — one powering the Pacers toward their first Finals in 25 years and spiraling the Knicks toward a 26th straight season short of the NBA’s grandest stage.