Golden: Things I liked/didn’t like in the first five games
By ALEX GOLDEN
ISL Contributor
INDIANAPOLIS — Five games into the season, and the Indiana Pacers sit with a lousy 1-4 record. The Pacers have once again been bitten by the injury bug and their schedule has not been the easiest. Indiana’s front office felt that this current core (with a few subtle changes) would be able to compete and get back into the playoffs. While it has only been five games, there seems to be more pessimism from the fan base than optimism. I can agree with most of the fan base, but through the first five games, there are some things I liked, and some things I did not like.
Things I Liked
•Chris Duarte
Who else could I start with? The Rookie has exceeded expectations and was phenomenal in his debut against the Charlotte Hornets. Duarte scored 27-points and shot 9-15 from the field. Through five games, Duarte is averaging 18.6 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, is shooting 41.7% from three and is perfect from the free throw line in ten attempts. Not only has he been solid offensively, but Duarte has also been good defensively.
Duarte has been tasked with guarding some tough opponents in the first five games. Defensively, Duarte has avoided getting into foul trouble, been able to switch onto different players and has forced his opponents to take difficult shots. A lot has been asked of Duarte, thanks to the injuries of Caris LeVert and T.J. Warren, but he has risen to the challenge, and after one week of games, he was first on NBA.com’s Rookie Ladder. Not bad for a 24-year-old who was picked 13th overall.
•Rebounding
After finishing 26th in rebounding last season, the Pacers currently are the third best rebounding team in the NBA. Limiting opponents’ possessions is a key to winning, and that has been something this team has struggled with for years. Pacers All-Star, Domantas Sabonis, is one of the best rebounders in the league. It has been refreshing to see other Pacers players, specifically the wing players, get on the glass and rebound the basketball.
•Domantas Sabonis
Once again, we are seeing Domantas Sabonis thrive as a connector. He was merely unstoppable against the Hornets opening night, scoring 33-points on 13-for-19 shooting, while grabbing 15 rebounds. Sabonis is scorching hot at 63% from the field, and an improved 40% from three. Defensively, he has been put in a better situation under Rick Carlisle and has been more impactful than he was last season, where he was chasing wing players all over the court. So far, Sabonis has looked like his normal self with his third coach in three seasons.
•Malcolm Brogdon
Pacers fans are incredibly divided on Malcolm Brogdon, but if you put that aside and look at what he has done for this Pacers team in the first five games, you can easily make the case he has been one of the Pacers best players. He started off slow in the first few games, but late in the fourth quarter and in overtime, he stepped his game up another notch. He is not flashy or athletic, but he is smart and a good shooter. This Pacers team has been much better with Malcolm on the floor than off the floor.
•Myles Turner scores 40-points
Myles Turner put on a clinic against the Washington Wizards, where he scored a career best 40-points, shooting 15-for-22 from the field and grabbing 10 rebounds. Turner was an offensive force, and it was refreshing to see. He was shooting with confidence, engaged on both ends of the floor and easily the best player on the court that evening. For a player who has sacrificed so much, it was impressive to see him have this type of performance.
Things I Didn’t Like
•Carlisle’s Rotations
I am a bit baffled by Carlisle’s rotations, especially with the bench unit. Through the first two games, Oshae Brissett did not see the floor. Then, he made an impactful debut against the Heat, and is firmly in the rotation. Torrey Craig went from one of the first players off the bench, to barely seeing the floor, against opponents that his skillsets would be useful for. To top it off, Myles Turner has only played significant minutes in the fourth quarter against the Wizards, where he had his career high.
As the longest tenured Pacer and a starter, I can only imagine the frustration that Turner must have with his fourth quarter minutes. Against the Hornets, it was Jeremy Lamb in over him down the stretch. Saturday against the Heat, it was Oshae Brissett who closed the game with the other four starters. Monday against the Bucks, it was Goga Bitadze who was rewarded the closing minutes, while Myles watched from the sidelines. Then against the Raptors in a blowout, Turner did not see any minutes, but Carlisle still played Sabonis.
I understand Turner had early foul trouble against the Heat and Bucks, but the lack of playing time, specifically in the fourth quarter, is puzzling. Turner is the reigning blocks leader in the NBA, and you would think that the Carlisle would want him closing games, especially after how much he has emphasized getting better defensively. We know that the on/off numbers of Myles and Domas are not a net positive, but that does not mean you leave Myles off the floor in the closing minutes. This is something to monitor moving forward.
•How T.J. McConnell is Being Utilized
McConnell is best when he has the ball in his hands, running the second unit. Pacers fans are aware that McConnell is not a threat from the three-point line. All off-season long, we heard how McConnell was in the gym training with his father on his shot, hoping to be a threat from long distance this season. While we have seen McConnell knock down 33% of his threes this season, opponents are daring him to shoot them. When the ball is not in his hands, Carlisle is using him to ‘stretch the floor’ and it is creating problems for the Pacers offense.
I would like to see McConnell utilized similarly to how he was used last season. McConnell can get into the paint, kick it out to open shooters or take his infamous fadeaway jumper that he shot at a high-rate last season. He is terrific at getting others involved, with the ball in his hands, not standing on the perimeter posing as a threat from three. This must change.
•Third Quarters
Hello darkness, my old friend. The Indiana Pacers famous ‘turd’ quarters are back and in full effect. The Pacers are a -42.6 in the third quarter this season. That ranks 29th, just above the Los Angles Lakers who are a -42.7 in the third quarter. The Pacers would easily have two wins on the season if they are not outscored by twenty points against the Hornets on opening night.
Tony East asked Rick Carlisle how he can fix this problem, and although Carlisle acknowledged that it was a good question, he did not have much of an answer. It is odd to see a team come out flat to start the second half, but this has been an ongoing problem for this group of players. Hopefully, Rick Carlisle can figure out a way to make quarter three more pleasant than it has been.
•Injuries
Hello darkness, my old friend…we meet again. The Pacers cannot stay healthy for multiple reasons. The first reason they cannot stay healthy is because this team’s foundation of players all have a pre-existing injury history. When assembling this roster together, Kevin Pritchard was able to acquire Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren and Caris LeVert for one first round pick, a player who had his eyes set on Miami Beach and was injury prone himself (Victor Oladipo in case you were not sure who I was talking about) and cash considerations.
While you did not really give up too much to acquire these three starters, you invested in players who have missed a combined 123 games since last season. Warren missed 74-games, LeVert missed 33-games and Brogdon missed 16-games (and is OUT for Friday’s upcoming game against the Nets). Every single fan is tired of hearing the phrase “When healthy, we think this team can be a tough out.” One, those words are equivalent to hearing nails on a chalkboard and two, nobody wants to be the ‘tough out’ team. This is on the front office, and I think it would be wise if the Pacers front office wrote in bold letters on their white board: “THE BEST ABILITY, IS AVAILABILITY.”
The second reason this team cannot stay healthy is bad luck. Unfortunately, this team has had incredibly bad luck when it comes to injuries. For example, Isaiah Jackson finally got significant playing time against the Raptors in a blowout loss, and hits knees with teammate Domantas Sabonis, giving him a lengthy injury. The Rookie from Kentucky is the most athletic player on the team, and he was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Injuries are a part of the game, but it feels personal between the basketball gods and the Pacers receiving a bill of good health.
