Pacers

[gmc5032]

I know it's early, but the Pacers look like (at best) a slightly above average team this year with 2 very good players (Vic and Domas). Didn't like the Houston and Philadelphia games obviously. We need to beat upper tier teams like those at home. Maybe our chemistry isn't there yet but something just doesn't look right.

[Vorda]

I know it's early, but the Pacers look like (at best) a slightly above average team this year with 2 very good players (Vic and Domas). Didn't like the Houston and Philadelphia games obviously. We need to beat upper tier teams like those at home. Maybe our chemistry isn't there yet but something just doesn't look right.

We dont have enough talent... we need one more player to help Oladipo... DC is bad and he should to be replaced... last night 0 points and 1 asist... yeah... the problem is that we dont have nobody for trade couse we obviously make mistake with Myles contract... and we cant trade him this year... I would like to see Holliday in starting 5...

[JermaineOYea]

Myles can officially get the hell out of town. Dudes a flat out BUM.

[Pacers_Freak]

I know it's early, but the Pacers look like (at best) a slightly above average team this year with 2 very good players (Vic and Domas). Didn't like the Houston and Philadelphia games obviously. We need to beat upper tier teams like those at home. Maybe our chemistry isn't there yet but something just doesn't look right.

We dont have enough talent... we need one more player to help Oladipo... DC is bad and he should to be replaced... last night 0 points and 1 asist... yeah... the problem is that we dont have nobody for trade couse we obviously make mistake with Myles contract... and we cant trade him this year... I would like to see Holliday in starting 5...

I agree with a lot of what you said.... but Holiday??? C'mon man.

[Pacers_Freak]

Myles can officially get the hell out of town. Dudes a flat out BUM.

While I agree he hasn't played well with that extension we should hope for improvement because he's in indy to stay. We keep trying to force him into the post to get him going.... his game is the pick and pop.

[Vorda]

I know it's early, but the Pacers look like (at best) a slightly above average team this year with 2 very good players (Vic and Domas). Didn't like the Houston and Philadelphia games obviously. We need to beat upper tier teams like those at home. Maybe our chemistry isn't there yet but something just doesn't look right.

We dont have enough talent... we need one more player to help Oladipo... DC is bad and he should to be replaced... last night 0 points and 1 asist... yeah... the problem is that we dont have nobody for trade couse we obviously make mistake with Myles contract... and we cant trade him this year... I would like to see Holliday in starting 5...

I agree with a lot of what you said.... but Holiday??? C'mon man.

We could give him chance a few games... he can be worse than 0 points and 1 asist... we dont have other options...we have no trade assets... we can just wait for free agency next year... but we already gave Myles big contract so we can offer maximum to noone... bad situation...

[Pacers_Freak]

I don't disagree with DC.... but Holiday has not shown to be an NBA starter in any way shape or form.

[Wizop]

I would like to see Holliday in starting 5...

Holliday has yet to show me he is ready to start anywhere but in Fort Wayne.

the point guard who is having a great start to the year is CoJo. his defense is right up there with Vic's. however, chemistry issues come into play when you shuffle the rotations. would the 2nd unit be as good with Collison? what would the affect on DC's confidence be?

I listened to the post game show driving home last night, and Boyle raised the same issues regarding moving Sabonis to the first unit. he's clearly outplaying Myles, but that doesn't mean you can gain by demoting Myles. they are both getting serious minutes after all.

[Topofthekey]

I think the team is just suffering from a lack of direction on offense; it's the reason why everyone immediately got the impression that Pacers need a second scorer to help Vic when they watch Pacers play; I believe the actual problem is not so much that the Pacers lack scoring talent besides Vic (well they do, but it's not the main issue), but rather the problem lies with how the team executes on offense

One, there is no proven play maker on the team; DC, Vic, Tyreke, et el, are all decent at initiating the offense, but I think we may realize that quite often, Pacers miss the open man on offense. So while Pacers have players who are comfortable with handling the ball on offense, they don't quite have someone with the vision and awareness to properly set their teammate up and get them the ball at the right place at the right time; for example, look at Trae Young, you may or may not be sold on him being a future superstar, but watching him play on the Hawks, you have to admit that he is GIFTED at finding his teammates, setting them up for easy baskets; so while the NBA is quite position-less these days, I think for the Pacers at least, they do miss the skills of the traditional PG

Two, there don't seem to be an established pecking order on offense, and there seems to be a lack of directions on what to do on offense. Besides Vic, the Pacers genuinely look unsure who else to look for on offense, and as a result they become very tentative when they have the ball; their intentions are probably good, they are probably trying to look for their teammate instead of "forcing" something on their own; but when almost everyone does that, you end up just passing the ball around back and forth, unsure who is going to take the shot. Also, players who are off the ball sometimes just stand around and watch; one thing that struck me about the last 76ers game was how well their players moved without the ball; their secondary players like Shamet (a rookie!), Covington, Saric, etc were all actively involved in the offense, constantly moving even when they are not holding the ball, and as a result they got some easy baskets. For this, and the lack of a pecking order, I believe the responsibility at least partially lies with the coaching staff

For the first problem of lacking a quality play maker, there isn't an easy fix, and Pacers will probably have to just learn to make do with what they have. Perhaps it's something that can be addressed via a trade, or more likely, during the offseason, but for now they just have to play around the problem

For the second issue of lacking a pecking order and direction though, I think it's something that can be rectified. As we are aware, Domas has been showing assertiveness on offense; Pacers should take advantage of it by promoting him into the second scoring option of the team, and start feeding him the ball regularly in the post; sure Domas isn't elite (yet), and there may well be games where he'll struggle to score, but what it'll do is give the team some sort of identity on offense, a sort of classic inside-outside game based around Domas & Vic; and not just that, the rest of the team has to learn to help either, instead of just standing and watching after throwing the ball of Domas, they need to make it easier for Domas by stretching the defense, proactively moving off the ball to try to get open, so that if the opponent clamps down inside on Domas, he can punish them by passing the ball back out to the open man; I know it all sounds easy on paper and executing it is another thing, but that is the job of the coach, to well, coach the team so that they can execute it well

[Topofthekey]

Also, another thing I'd like to point out is the difference in demeanour of the Pacers on offense and defense

On defense, you can see that they are all very confident, like if you want to caption them, they all have this "I GOT THIS" attitude on defense. Sure, there are still lapses sometimes in switching, and they sometimes do silly things like jumping at the shooter unnecessarily or over gambling on the passing lanes, but by and large, when you watch them on defense, they exude a confidence in themselves, they know what they need to do and they know how to execute

On offense though, their demeanour quickly changes to something like "Uhm, guys? Anyone?". They look tentative, they look unsure what to do, and you can sort of tell they are only reacting to the fact that they got the ball in their hands after actually getting the ball in their hands, instead of already having some kind of plan in their mind that they want to execute

[Scoot McGroot]

Also, another thing I'd like to point out is the difference in demeanour of the Pacers on offense and defense

On defense, you can see that they are all very confident, like if you want to caption them, they all have this "I GOT THIS" attitude on defense. Sure, there are still lapses sometimes in switching, and they sometimes do silly things like jumping at the shooter unnecessarily or over gambling on the passing lanes, but by and large, when you watch them on defense, they exude a confidence in themselves, they know what they need to do and they know how to execute

On offense though, their demeanour quickly changes to something like "Uhm, guys? Anyone?". They look tentative, they look unsure what to do, and you can sort of tell they are only reacting to the fact that they got the ball in their hands after actually getting the ball in their hands, instead of already having some kind of plan in their mind that they want to execute

Both posts are good and interesting takes.