Indiana Pacers Breakdown: On The Right Pace

The Pacers may have fallen short against the Nets (108-107 on a buzzer beater by Devin Harris), but they look worlds better than they did at any point last season. In fact, now that the Pacers have purged themselves of Jermaine O’Neal and Jamaal Tinsley, they can finally make steps towards the near future.

Offense

The Pacers offense is extremely well coached, relying on screen/rolls on one side of the court, double curls around double screens on the other side, high post action leading to off ball curls into handoff and rolls, and back door cuts galore.

Rasho Nesterovic and Jeff Foster usually initiated the offense by fielding the ball at the high post, looking for backdoor cutters, and then giving the ball up to set screens for Indiana’s wings and guards.

If the ball didn’t initiate in the high post, it started with T.J. Ford receiving a screen and attacking in early offense.

The Pacers ended up with 44 points in the paint, mostly the result of Nesterovic and Foster slipping weak side screens when New Jersey overplayed and sealing under the basket.

The truest sign of Indiana’s coaching and unselfishness is their total of 31 assists to 10 turnovers on 43 made baskets.

Danny Granger cuts extremely well in space to create separation for his shot. On his final minute jumper that gave the Pacers their final lead, he cut towards the ball, but seeing Jarvis Hayes overplaying, smoothly changed direction, while being in position to catch and fire. And whether cutting into jumpers, or pulling and popping, his shot was true for the duration—10-20 FG, 4-7 3FG, 2-4 FT, 26 PTS.

Granger has unselfish instincts (4 AST), but a number of his passes were deflected, and though he earned a plus one by driving to the rim and getting walloped by Brook Lopez, he rarely took the ball to the rim.

T.J. Ford’s hyper speed allowed him to generally jet into the lane with the snap of his finger. Even so, two of his shots were forced early in the shot clock, and twice he tried to penetrate with absolutely no room (leading to one turnover).

And surprise, surprise, Ford hurt himself (back spasms) and missed the entire second half.

Brandon Rush—8-12 FG, 4-5 3FG—has the stroke to fill up the basket, and is athletic to boot.

Roy Hibbert—2-7 FG—was smart enough to seal Brook Lopez in early offense, but missed the ensuing layup. Two of his hook shots missed badly, and another layup of his was blocked.

Nesterovic, Hibbert, and Foster each set excellent screens and made great passes out of the high post. Nesterovic and Foster each hit 16 footers, and each moved smartly without the ball.

If Foster wasn’t boxed out, he’d assault the offensive glass, and if he was, he’d tap out loose balls to save possessions. For the game, he recorded seven offensive rebounds.

Stephen Graham runs hard on the break, but makes poor decisions in the halfcourt.

Josh McRoberts—4-10 FG, 5 AST—has touch with either hand, range out to 16 feet, and a willingness to drive and dish. However, he was also soft around the hoop, and in attempting  to show off to the crowd, pulled the ball all the way behind his head on a dunk attempt where Josh Boone blocked it from behind. A simple stuff would’ve led to two points which would’ve been the difference in the game.

Travis Diener is strictly a shooter—3-4 3FG, 11 PTS.

Jarrett Jack—0-7 FG, 0-2 3FG, 8 AST, 4 TO, 2 PTS—had trouble creating as a point guard, trouble passing over taller, longer defenders as a two guard, and couldn’t shoot straight from either position.

Defense

T.J. Ford had success matching Devin Harris quick for quick, but Jack and Diener were at Harris’ mercy.

Brandon Rush’ defense on Carter was awful, giving him too much room, closing out poorly, and biting on pump fakes 23 feet from the basket. Jack and Graham didn’t fare much better, and in fact, the only player who defended Carter well was Danny Granger. Granger’s pressure in the waning moments forced a bad pass and a turnover out of Carter.

Hibbert has a developed conscience about how to play help defense, but isn’t athletic enough to get much done.

Nesterovic and Foster bumped and banged Brook Lopez around down low.

Foster was able to show and recover defensively, but Nesterovic was too slow to prevent Harris and Carter from turning the corner and finding creases to the basket.

McRoberts was surprisingly fluid defending on the ball, but his perimeter closeouts were a step late.

The Pacers defended the paint well, often at the expense of leaving perimeter shooters unguarded.

Nesterovic takes up space but is a slow jumping rebounder, picking up only a single board against the Nets. Rush can pick off rebounds over the tops of the trees, Jack won’t back off an inch in a scrum, and Foster’s one of the best rebounders in the entire game.

What conclusions can be made regarding the Pacers?

They’re very disciplined and make the most out of the limited talent they had. Arguable their most well-rounded player (Mike Dunleavy), their best point making big (Troy Murphy) and one of their most prolific scorers (Marquis Daniels) were out, but the team didn’t miss a beat.

Their defensive struggles are a result of a lack of talent or experience, rather than a lack of effort.

Ditto for their offense.

Brandon Rush looks like he can find a niche in the league as a shooter/scorer, but Roy Hibbert doesn’t look like he’ll develop into anything more than a career backup.

The Pacers only post offense came when Nesterovic and Foster cut and were picked up by smaller defenders. Overall, the Pacers don’t have a low post player that can create his own shots against equally sized opponents.

Ford is fine for now because the team lacks athleticism, but he’s too unreliable to be a long term answer.

Nesterovic and Foster are fine backups, but the Pacers can’t go with both of them playing heavy minutes.

The Pacers as a whole play hard and smart, and have completely rebuilt their image in the wake of the Ron Artest fiasco. Their first steps in restoring their franchise have been taken. Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy can be built around, giving the Pacers a small nucleus. Plus, they have nice pieces all around the roster.

With a big name star and/or some astute drafting, the Pacers can easily find themselves back in the Eastern Conference hunt. Right now, they get the most out of their roster, a welcoming sign, and a reason for Pacers fans to have faith.