Golden: What’s wrong with the Pacers?
By ALEX GOLDEN (@AlexGoldenNBA)
ISL Contributor
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers under Nate Bjorkgren have not been fun to watch. The beginning of the season gave us a false hope, and after trading Victor Oladipo, the team has regressed more and more after each game. Am I blaming this all on Bjorkgren? No, not at all. Am I blaming this all on the players? No, not the case either. I believe there needs to be a collective blame of what is wrong with this team.
First and foremost, this team has no identity. As of April 3, 2021, this team is 16th in offense, 11th in defense and 16th in net rating. You can’t be more medicore than that. Some nights you’ll see a defensive gem, and other nights you’ll see them give up over 120 points and ridiculously high shooting percentages for the opposing team. The past decade had its ups and downs, but at least you knew that the team could hang its hat on defense. The Pacers have struggled offensively for a while, but always had a decent enough offense to compete in games, thanks to their defense.
With this current roster, you have one elite rim protector, a few good wing defenders and the rest of the group is subpar at best. Myles Turner has been instrumental in protecting the rim, but it’s the perimeter defense that has been atrocious all season. Most of the defensive blame this season gets put on Sabonis, but if you watch close enough, you see that he’s not the root of the problems. The team does take a bit of a dip when Sabonis is the lone center, but the guards and wings need to do a better job of guarding on the perimeter. Sabonis was more impactful last season as the solo center, but with the new system this Bjorkgren staff is running, it’s been problematic.
On top of all that, the Pacers allow the 2nd most points in the paint this season (51.0). If Myles wasn’t leading the league in blocks, I would hate to see where this team would rank. I agree that having T.J. Warren would help mask the defensive woes, but he’s still not an elite level defender. Warren was good under McMillan last season on the defensive end, but so was the rest of the team. Under Bjorkgren, we have seen all different kinds of defensive changes.
The team plays more zone than before, they switch on screens more than fighting through them, they guard the three point line tighter and they love to play the passing lanes, as they are 4th (8.5) in steals per game. The problem is, the roster assembled doesn’t fit what the system requires. If you look at Toronto over the last two seasons, their roster has much better wing defenders with players like Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam. It’s easier to run this Bjorkgren system with those athletic, lengthy and smart defenders. Indiana’s current roster doesn’t have athletic two-way guys like Toronto’s, which is why you’re seeing lackluster defensive performances.
As much as I like the majority of the players on this team, they don’t fit this system and the on-court chemistry has not been there this season. You can use the excuses of no Warren all year and a funky Covid-19 season to help justify the problems, but ultimately, the front office has to assemble a better roster. That starts from the draft all the way down to minor free agent signings. This team desperately needs to add more athleticism, along with length and 3-point shooting. That’s a tall task to complete, but the lack of movement at the deadline and in Free Agency has me worried that the front office believes the current group of guys can get the job done.
After asking the question on Twitter of how fans would feel with running it back with the same roster for next season, the majority said they would be dissatisfied. I agree with the pulse of the fan base, it’s time to capitalize on some of our top tier players and see what we can get in return. If the organization is this confident about Bjorkgren, they’ve got to get the right players to fit this system. Not only do they need the right players, they need a veteran leader in the locker room. Someone that’s had success and can help motivate these young players and hold them accountable. I understand the size of his contract, but if you look at the impact that Chris Paul has had on the two teams he’s been with the last two seasons, you realize how pivotal that type of player is for your team.
We’ve talked about defense and roster reconstructing, but we haven’t talked about the offense. The fourth quarter lapses have been rough to see. There is not a player on this team that can just go get you a bucket when the game is on the line. Caris LeVert could be that guy once he gets more comfortable, and you do miss that element of T.J. Warren, but he’s not here, and you have to figure it out. It’s come to the point that the best offensive possession the Pacers can get late in the fourth, is a McConnell fall away jumper inside the paint. Credit the man for working tirelessly on that shot, but that shouldn’t be your best scoring option.
Sabonis is the best playmaker on offense, and that might be a part of the problem. Indiana needs a point guard who can set up the offense. Brogdon is so much more effective off ball, where he can be more of a catch and shoot player, instead of an on-ball initiator. LeVert has been asked to do more ball handling, but I think he’s best used in that role sporadically, not as the full time point guard.
The team is shooting more threes this season, but they’re still only attempting the 16th most threes in the league. While they’re shooting more threes, they rank 18th in three pointers made this season. In addition to that, the Pacers are 25th in free throws attempts, and 24th in free throws made. However, the most positive offensive stat for the Pacers is their success of scoring in the paint. They rank 5th in the league in that category.
The mid-range game has become MIA over the last few years in the league, but I do miss seeing players take open mid-range shots. I think it opens up the entire game more and doesn’t make you so predictable. If all you shoot are threes and shots in the paint, it becomes easier to guard. Nobody should be upset if you can consistently knock down 12 to 18 foot jump shots. Without Warren though, not many other players on this team are consistently shooting in the mid-range, but I think it would be beneficial if they used that part of the offense to open up the rest of the offense.
Ultimately, there are just too many problems for this team to fix with just 25-games left. Sabonis sprained his ankle against Charlotte, Brogdon missed the game and with Warren out for the rest of the season, the excitement for the 21-26 Pacers is all but fading. They can easily still make the playoffs, and maybe be competitive in a first round series, but I’m not so sure that’s the best move for this team moving forward.
I’m not embracing tanking, but it sure would be nice to have a higher pick in this years draft. I have seen different comparisons of who this team is, and it feels like the 2014-2015 season when Paul George missed the majority of the season with a broken leg and Lance Stephenson left Indiana for Charlotte. The team barely missed the playoffs, but missing the playoffs got them the 11th overall pick, and they were able to select Myles Turner.
If the Pacers can get a really nice draft pick, make a few trades in the off-season, sign a player that fits this system and get a full training camp under their belt, I like the chances of this team having much more success. If the front office runs it back and we have another late first round draft pick, the majority of the fan base’s optimism would be gone. I don’t buy into the championship or bust mentality, but I do buy into admitting there are glaring issues and not finding excuses to justify the problems. No more excuses. Build a roster that: fits this system, has the ability to compete with the best of the NBA, can handle a veteran presence to hold them accountable and can overcome challenges throughout the season and stay unified.
