Shake Up Starting Lineup?

[Pacercoltboiler]

The last two games, Domas, Lance, and Bogy are the only three who don't have a deer in the headlights look. Joseph, despite his shooting, and Young also played well. I'd say Joseph, Lance, Bogy and Domas have to start. I love Victor, but every time they double he has a 50% chance to turn it over. On Grady and Big Joe, they talked about how Vic keeps motioning Domas for a screen even though the pick and roll hasn't worked since game 1. We might have to dust off GRIII, Joe Young, and Leaf. There has to be a combo that won't turn the ball over. I really like Collison, and it almost seems like he is hurt. That is the only way I can explain it. If he can't go, we don't have anything to lose by starting Joseph and bring in Joe Young as backup. As for Leaf, he can obviously score and pass. Does Cleveland have anyone who could punish his defensive liabilities?

PG - Joseph, Young Collison doesn't seem right.
SG Lance, Oladipo Lance is many things, but never bothered by Cleveland's defense. Bring Vic off the bench, and tell him to just D it up.
SF Bogdonovich, ? If Lance gets more minutes, who backs up Bogy? GRIII, or go big with Thad?
PF Thad, Booker Leaf could present scoring and matchup problems if Cleveland can't exploit his defense.
C Domas, Turner Domas is a true stud, and Turner has played better than I thought he would.

Young, Lance, Thad, and Domas play great together, we just need to find some backups to spell them for a bit. We don't have anything to lose. Collison doesn't look right, and Vic should not have the ball in his hands right now.

[Vorda]

You cant bench Vic... without him we are lottery team... only player who deserve to be benched is DC, but we Know that all year... we only need Vic to start score his shots... nothing else... and we will win next game...

[winter_mute_13]

You cant bench Vic... without him we are lottery team... only player who deserve to be benched is DC, but we Know that all year... we only need Vic to start score his shots... nothing else... and we will win next game...

I don't always agree with your view on DC, but in the playoffs so far he is definitely a disappointment.

Problem is, who do you replace him with? CoJo hasn't played well either IMO...

The big change I would like to try is to put Lance in at SF, in order to get an extra ballhandler in to help with the traps. The problem is, where does that put Bojan, who has been our best shooter, or Thad, who has been the best defender? Nate is going to have to make some tough decisions.

[boomershadow]

I wouldn't mind seeing what happens when th CoJo in the starting lineup, but I wouldn't expect it.

[Pacercoltboiler]

Vic should not be a primary ball handler, I agree that Lance needs to be in for that purpose even if Bogey comes off the bench. The Turnovers are killing us. Even when we don't turn the ball over, we end up with confusion and a short shot clock. I also think we need to make the change and double the heck out of Lebron. This whole let him score 50 and see if he gets tired thing is a big failure. If we could bring the double off of anyone but Korver, let the other three cavs try to beat us. Love from outside is far from automatic, and JR Smith is streaky. Come on Nate, make adjustments and give us a game 7. This Cavs team is very, very beatable.

[Pacercoltboiler]

If Cleveland's weakness is giving up points in the paint, why haven't we hammered them down low every single possession? Domas is hurting them, and I think Thad could do some damage as well. Not sure why we can't take it to the rack against their backcourt. They have no rim protector, and Lance is the only Pacer who can drive the lane. Make this the Domas and Thad show, with Lance driving the Lane.

[Vorda]

You cant bench Vic... without him we are lottery team... only player who deserve to be benched is DC, but we Know that all year... we only need Vic to start score his shots... nothing else... and we will win next game...

I don't always agree with your view on DC, but in the playoffs so far he is definitely a disappointment.

Problem is, who do you replace him with? CoJo hasn't played well either IMO...

The big change I would like to try is to put Lance in at SF, in order to get an extra ballhandler in to help with the traps. The problem is, where does that put Bojan, who has been our best shooter, or Thad, who has been the best defender? Nate is going to have to make some tough decisions.

We dont have options... CoJo and DC are not PO starters... we only can hope that Vic will rise his play... but, for next season we must find better PG, somebody who will help Vic to run this team...

[Vorda]

You cant bench Vic... without him we are lottery team... only player who deserve to be benched is DC, but we Know that all year... we only need Vic to start score his shots... nothing else... and we will win next game...

I don't always agree with your view on DC, but in the playoffs so far he is definitely a disappointment.

Problem is, who do you replace him with? CoJo hasn't played well either IMO...

The big change I would like to try is to put Lance in at SF, in order to get an extra ballhandler in to help with the traps. The problem is, where does that put Bojan, who has been our best shooter, or Thad, who has been the best defender? Nate is going to have to make some tough decisions.

We dont have options... CoJo and DC are not PO starters... we only can hope that Vic will improve his play... but, for next season we must find better PG, somebody who will help Vic to run this team...

[Wizop]

The big change I would like to try is to put Lance in at SF, in order to get an extra ballhandler in to help with the traps. The problem is, where does that put Bojan, who has been our best shooter, or Thad, who has been the best defender? Nate is going to have to make some tough decisions.

so put Lance in for DC as a combo guard instead of for Bogie as a small forward.

[pizza guy]

Dance with the ones that brought ya.

Nate has done a good job all year with his rotations, allowing the hot hand to stay out there and playing to our advantage when we find one. This series has suddenly been different for some reason. Start the usual 5 and just allow the game to dictate rotations. Less DC and more Sabonis. But don't panic and do anything crazy. The team needs the confidence going into this game, and mixing up the starting lineup would definitely shake that confidence.

[Tom White]

If Cleveland's weakness is giving up points in the paint, why haven't we hammered them down low every single possession? Domas is hurting them, and I think Thad could do some damage as well. Not sure why we can't take it to the rack against their backcourt. They have no rim protector, and Lance is the only Pacer who can drive the lane. Make this the Domas and Thad show, with Lance driving the Lane.

The only thing I would add to this is Thad seems to be getting a bit.....anxious (?).....with his shot in this series. Not sure if it is because he is afraid of having it blocked or what it might be. It just seems he is releasing a bit too quickly on his shot. Sort of just pushing the ball up instead of shooting it like normal.

I remember Bill Russell used to say that he won many games before the opening tip. Getting to the opponents mentally. I see this same effect happening to some of our guys. Is it a lack of playoff experience, or is it a bit of fear of making mistakes? I would hope it is not simply fear of the opponent. Shouldn't be. I don't know for sure.

[Pacercoltboiler]

I think if we stay put, we're going home. It has been bad basketball. Play the guys that come to play, and sit the ones who are lost.

[DoubleEagle4]

I dont think the starting lineup should change, but I want Lance in there early and often. Get that crowd into it!

[Topofthekey]

Thad has been the one Pacer that hasn't been disappointing this whole series

True, he missed some layups that he should probably normally would have made, but no one is expected to shoot 100%, even MJ missed some layups

On the contrary, I see That's play as one of the big reasons that Pacers have kept the series competitive

Case in point, Game 5, the second last possession for the Cavs, when LeBron got the ball underneath the rim; Thad did a GREAT job of bodying up LeBron, leading to LeBron turning the ball over, giving Pacers possession and a chance to pull ahead

That was a damn smart play by Thad, I can easily imagine someone else such as Domas or Myles getting called for the foul if they were in that situation, or not being able to stop LeBron from getting the basket, but like I said, Thad did his job, earning Pacers a possession. It was just too bad Pacers couldn't score, and then LeBron hit that 3

When I saw him already diving for the loose ball barely two or three possessions into a game (can't remember which game it was, either Game 3 or Game 4), my only reaction was "damn, Thad's bringing it, he's not playing around"

This is exactly the kind of performance you want from your supporting cast, making great plays, hustling right from tip off, getting their job done

Pacers just need someone else other than Vic on the offensive end; Cavs have pretty much successfully taken him out of the game since Game 1, and other than Bojan in Game 3, no one else has managed to step up

Pacers have a great supporting cast, they have a great leader in Vic, they just need a buddy for Vic to punish their opponent for focusing on Vic; it's the main reason why I was a huge proponent of acquiring Kemba Walker before the trade deadline. I imagine this series would be over by now in Pacers' favour if they had Kemba at PG

[Topofthekey]

I also agree on what some of you said about Leaf

To me he has been underutilized all season long

True, he has gaping flaws in his game, but he definitely brings something to the table when he is on the court, Nate should have done a better job of integrating him into the rotation. The question is of course, at whose expense? That is a fair question to ask, because with DC/Vic/Bojan/Thad/Myles/Domas/Lance/CoJo that's already 8 players who all belong in the rotation, and that is not counting others like GR3 or Trevor Booker

It's why early in the season, I posted something about going with a 10 man rotation instead of the tight 8 man rotation that Nate usually favours

A 10 man rotation throughout the season (shortened to an 8 man rotation for the playoffs) means that come playoff time, Pacers will have more options if they run into trouble. As of right now, it's a little too late to insert Leaf into the rotation and expect something to happen; he hasn't been part of the rotation all season long, throwing him on the court now and expecting things to happen is a bit too optimistic

[Pacersike]

I don't think we have to, to be honest.

We need playmaking as much as defense and while CoJo would give us better defense, it would only expose our starting frontcourts lack of playmaking even further and make it even tougher for Oladipo. Lance is an option, but both Bobo and Thad give us valuable other things in shooting and hustling. Lance doing Lance things is always dangerous as well.

In this matchup, Myles Turner has the advantage of playing against short guys, who can't contest his shots too well, and when facing a team with Lebron, rim protection is very much needed. Besides length, there isn't much size on the Cavs either, to push Myles off balance. Myles is playing well enough, but I wouldn't call Nance and Love as centers a big test for him or Sabonis. Valanciunas and Poetl, those guys can really test our centers. Let's hope it will still come to that

Sabonis hasn't looked too good on defense, but how many teams have a guy like Lebron on their team, who can score that easily inside? Domas will be fine as starting center against most teams, but in this matchup I would opt for Turner, to protect the inside from Lebron and to shoot it over their 6-9 skinny centers.

[Pacercoltboiler]

When Vic is hot, he is hot. Collison played great too. I don't know where these guys were for a few games, but I hope they bring it on Sunday. Great Job Pacers. Did they double Vic in game 6? Did the coaching staff figure out how to help Vic vs the double?

[Wizop]

When Vic is hot, he is hot. Collison played great too. I don't know where these guys were for a few games, but I hope they bring it on Sunday. Great Job Pacers. Did they double Vic in game 6? Did the coaching staff figure out how to help Vic vs the double?

hard to double when we push the ball. we need to make it a full court game.

Sent from my phone.

[Tom White]

.............that is not counting others like GR3 or Trevor Booker

I think it will be interesting to see what happens with GR3 this off-season. I like the guy, and feel badly that he has had to deal with injuries, but his roster spot might be one that is available for an upgrade.