Aaron Nesmith making a strong case to start for the Pacers
By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor
INDIANAPOLIS — When the Pacers acquired Aaron Nesmith in the Malcolm Brogdon trade in the summer of ’22, most fans and NBA experts were underwhelmed, to say the least. But if there’s one thing we should all know by now: Never doubt a Kevin Pritchard trade. This deal was a major win for Indiana, and it continues to get better. It gave Haliburton the keys to the franchise. It gave the Pacers more draft capital. And it gave them a very solid player, in Aaron Nesmith. Now the question becomes: When will Nesmith get a chance to start?
For a team that is desperate for defense, it would make sense to start one of their better defenders. And it’s not like the offense would suffer with that change. Coming into Saturday’s game, Nesmith was averaging 11.9 points per game, while shooting a ridiculous 66.8 effective field-goal percentage on the season. He’s shooting 47.2% from three, which is third-best in the NBA, trailing only Cason Wallace and Kevin Durant. The numbers have been even better in the month of December, with Nesmith averaging 14.1 points, on 51% from deep.
“He’s been terrific,” Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s been shooting at an elite level. And he’s one of our best defensive players.”
Nesmith signed an extension through the 2027 season earlier this year, and Carlisle was one of the biggest fans of the new agreement. “There’s a reason we wanted to sign him and have him be one of our long term pieces,” Carlisle said last month. “His development both offensively and defensively is on the come up. He’s getting better all the time. He’s a really important part of what we’re doing here.”
The one knock on Nesmith’s game has been the foul trouble this season. But that comes with the territory, being undersized and being forced to defend a lot of 4’s and/or bigger wings. His value to this team would improve greatly if he became the team’s second-best defender. The Pacers will continue monitoring the trade block to see if they can acquire a great defender to go with this historically good offense.
After starting 60 games a season ago, Nesmith has only been in the starting lineup once this season. He had 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting in that one start. This season, he has averaged 21.3 points on 64% shooting when he has logged over 30 minutes. The Pacers are 3-0 when Nesmith scores 20+ points, and 9-5 when he scores in double-figures.
Regardless of Nesmith’s role moving forward, he’s an important piece for the Pacers moving forward. It’s a great feeling having a young talent locked up for many years as well.
