Ceiling of civilian players! How fragrant is McConnell in this year s finals?

Everyone knows that the Pacers lost the key G5.

Although I lost the game, the Pacers are not without highlights in this game. On the bench, McConnell played the most exciting performance in this year's playoffs so far.

McConnell played for a total of 22 minutes, shooting 8 of 14 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 1 of 1 free throw, scoring 18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. His plus-minus value is +4, the second highest in the team.

As a comparison, Halliburton, the Pacers' star and the injury-fighting player, played 34 minutes, made 0 of 6 shots, scored only 4 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, and made 3 mistakes, with a positive and negative value of -13. The lowest in the team. The content of the

may be more exciting than the data.

In the first quarter, McConnell got 5 minutes of playing time, but his feel was not very good, only 1 of 4 shots and scored 2 points. In the second quarter, McConnell made another three-pointer, and at the end of the half, he made 5 shots and scored 5 points.

The focus was on the third quarter, with McConnell making the field halfway through the third quarter, when the Pacers were 12 points behind the Thunder. As soon as

came up, McConnell assisted and scored a three-pointer, then stole Wiggins, and then with the remaining 5 minutes, McConnell began his own personal performance - a backward jump shot, a quick stop and a quick layup, a large mid-range shot, a fast break and a slow three-step layup, and a sudden stop to rebuild Caruso 2+1.

In less than 5 minutes, McConnell scored 13 points by himself, and the Pacers also rely on his strong performance to narrow the gap to 8 points before the start of the fourth quarter.

And this is not over yet. As soon as the fourth quarter came, McConnell assisted Siakam and made a three-pointer. Unfortunately, he violated the steps in the next round and was replaced by Carlisle;

In fact, Carlisle's substitution can be understood because McConnell's previous attack was too physically exhausted. After he left the court, Siakam main attacked and helped the Pacers catch the difference to 2 points, which also shows that the substitution was indeed effective;

The problem is that Carlisle then replaced McConnell again until 3 minutes left in the game. At this time, the Pacers were 13 points behind due to a series of mistakes in Nembhard's front. McConnell felt cold when he played again, and the difference was a bit difficult, and he finally missed the best opportunity to chase points.

As we said, although the Pacers lost G5, McConnell's performance in this game should be obvious to all. In a similar state, McConnell has actually lasted for the entire finals. The previous four games of this game:

-G1, 4 of 6 shots, 9 points, 4 assists and 1 steal

-G2, 5 of 7 shots, 11 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals

—G3, 3 of 8 shots, scored 10 points, 5 assists and 5 steals

—G4, 3 of 7 shots, 8 points, 2 assists

, in less than 18 minutes per game, McConnell can score 11.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.0 steals, with a shooting percentage of 54.8%, 60.0% of three-point shooting percentage, and 7 free throws, with a real shooting percentage of up to 62.1%.

In addition to G5's outstanding performance, G3's McConnell also amazed many people. He only played for 15 minutes and became the first substitute in the history of the finals to score 10 points + 5 assists + 5 steals. Three of the five steals were directly cut off the serve, which was even more impressive.

zoomed in to the entire playoffs. Currently, McConnell has handed over data: averaging 16.7 minutes per game, scoring 9.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists, shooting percentage in three events is 53.3%/42.1%/88.0%, and real shooting percentage is 59.0%.

As a comparison, McConnell in the regular season averaged 17.9 minutes per game, scored 9.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists, with a shooting percentage of 51.9%/30.6%/74.0% in three events, and a real shooting percentage of 54.7%.

You can see that McConnell's scoring efficiency has improved all in the playoffs. Even the three-pointers who are not good at have made 8 of 19 shots and 22 of 25 free throws, and his shooting percentage has been directly improved by 14 percentage points compared to the regular season.

This is the magic of this Pacers. There are so many players in their team who are good at playing on the big stage, such as Halliburton, Nembhard, Nesmith, and McConnell.

Let's talk about McConnell. What's special about this player is that he does not have particularly outstanding static talent, and even his figure is similar to many ordinary people. He is only 1.85 meters tall, his arm span is only 1.88 meters, and his palm size is the smallest in history, with a hand length of 19 cm and a width of 17.7 cm.

Because of his poor talent, McConnell was not selected in the draft. He relied on his father's relationship to play in the summer league of the 76ers, and then used this as a springboard to officially enter the NBA.

It should be said that McConnell is not a defender who adapts to the current era. His three-point ability is not good, and he can even be described as poor. He has scored a total of 15 three-pointers in the regular season this season.

But McConnell also has his own strengths. He has strong breakthrough ability and finishing ability at the basket, and is very good at mid-range shooting. In terms of data, McConnell's shooting percentages are 54.5% and 45.7% from mid-range distance of 5-9 feet and 10 feet in the regular season this season; McConnell's shooting percentages are 50.0% and 58.1% in the playoffs (exaggerated), and the efficiency of mid-range is more amazing than Siakam..

While marveling at these numbers, he was also amazed at how McConnell was able to play in the NBA with such physical conditions for ten years, and he was 33 years old this year, and he could still play so well on the finals stage.

In the next game of G6, if Halliburton is injured and unable to play or is in poor condition, McConnell may get more reuse. I hope the ceiling of civilian players can continue to be amazed.