Sports Illustrated - 21.10.2019

The Pacers were dismissed as a

postseason contender on Jan. 23

when All-Star guard Victor Oladipo

went down with a right-knee injury,

but they battled to the fifth seed in

the East. How’d they do it? Well, not with their

18th-ranked offense. It was with a DEFENSE THAT

HAD A RATING OF 106.0, third best in the league.

Indiana forced turnovers on 15.8% of possessions,

the second-highest rate, yet allowed free throws

at the sixth-lowest rate (.243). And all without

Oladipo, the team’s best defender.

Oladipo will miss the first couple of months, but

the Pacers could still improve defensively. Their

two biggest departures were Bojan Bogdanovi ́c

and Thaddeus Young, and the team’s defense was

better when they were off the court. Indiana added

Malcolm Brogdon, a workmanlike stopper at either

guard spot. The Pacers may not be a lot of fun to

watch, but their efficient and tenacious D should

keep them in the playoff picture. —Joe Wilkinson

106.0

TELLING NUMBER

*NEW ACQUISITION

ENEMY LINES

A rival scout weighs in

∂48 wins ∂Lose in 2nd round ∂The Pacers will lead the league in games won with fewer than 100 points.

Starters

MALCOLM

BROGDON*

15.6 PPG; 4.5 RPG;

50.6 FG%; 42.6 3FG%

PG

VICTOR

OLADIPO

18.8 PPG; 5.6 RPG;

5.2 APG; 42.3 FG%

SG

DOMANTAS

SABONIS

14.1 PPG; 9.3 RPG;

2.9 APG; 59.0 FG%

PF

MYLES

TURNER

13.3 PPG; 7. 2 RPG;

2.7 BPG; 48.7 FG%

C

Swapping Bojan

Bogdanovi ́c for MALCOLM

BROGDON is a downgrade.

Brogdon just isn’t that

kind of scorer. Nate

McMillan does a good

job keeping the offense

simple. You are not

going to see Brogdon

running off screens like

Bogdanovi ́c. When they

get VICTOR OLADIPO back,

the two together should

work out decently. But

it’s asking a lot if you

want Brogdon to be a

top scorer.... At times

DOMANTAS SABONIS and

MYLES TURNER worked well

together. When Sabonis

comes in, they can

play five-out and have

him as a facilitator. It

diversifies the offense.

But if they are together,

one of them has to be

a perimeter threat.

Otherwise it doesn’t

work.... You don’t

realize it, but Sabonis

is really strong. Super

skilled, but his strength

makes it really hard to

go against him. When

he puts his body on

you, it’s a challenge....

JEREMY LAMB is super

soft. He’s kind of a

tease. He’s a good

shooter but not a great

shooter. He probably

had about as good a

year as he could have

last season. He bails

out of plays when there

is a chance to show

some toughness.... It’s

clear with Nate: You’ve

got to guard here. If

T.J. WARREN does that,

he can be a weapon

for them offensively.

Midrange has been his

thing, but he shot the

hell out of the ball from

three. He has a little

more ability to get to

the rim, bang home

threes, shoot those

pull-ups.... Last year

you started seeing

defenses try to take

Oladipo out of things.

But he [got] better

going to his left and

better handling traps.

Projected Lineup

JEREMY

LAMB*

15.3 PPG; 5.5 RPG;

44.0 FG%; 34.8 3FG%

SG

DOUG

MCDERMOTT

7. 3 PPG; 1.4 RPG;
   49.1 FG%; 40.8 3FG%

SF

Bench

SF

T. J.

WARREN*

18.0 PPG; 4.0 RPG;

48.6 FG%; 42.8 3FG%

74 Crystal Ball:

GREG NELSON (OLADIPO)

THE
EAST

Pacers

INDIANA

2019 – 19 RECORD 48– 34 2nd in Central

COACH NATE MCMILLAN 4th season with Pacers