RealGM

I think this is obviously our starting lineup and will be the group that we play the most. Main bench now will be McConnell, Sheppard, Walker, and a backup big man (free agent? Re-sign Bryant? Take Jalen Smith off the Bulls hands?) Then hope someone from the third string (Furphy, Freeman, any other random guys we bring in) works his way into the rotation. We played 22 guys over the course of last season - we’ll find players.

What do you think of this starting lineup?

Nembhard at point guard
Mathurin at shooting guard
Nesmith at small forward
Siakam at power forward
Toppin at center

Can Nembhard shoulder the load of a much bigger part in initiating the offense?
Will Mathurin seize the opportunity and become the leading scorer?
Can Toppin put up adequate defense down low?
Does Siakam just take over?

Can Walker break out with a much bigger role?

Who is our backup big going to be? Who do you like who is still available?

I would would personally prefer to have an actual dedicated center and use this lineup on occassion when the situation calls for it, but we shall see how the coaching staff feels about it. I didn't love the Toppin at backup center moments before they picked up Bryant, and that was as the backup 5 even not the starting 5.

I think the most likely backup 5 is either IJax or Bryant.

I would imagine we play a lot of minutes with Siakam and Obi at the bigs, but I doubt we would consider staring them together

By my rough calculation Pacers played about 40 minutes/game with two of Ty, TJ or Nembhard on the floor. Will they abandon that because we don’t have Ty? Not sure it’s logical to think that. Amazing opportunity for Kam Jones this year. Where does he fall on the spectrum Andrew Nembhard ————Triston Newton?

I don't think another PG is a terrible idea, but I do hope Walker gets a lot of on ball opportunities off the bench.

boomershadow wrote:I don't think another PG is a terrible idea, but I do hope Walker gets a lot of on ball opportunities off the bench.

It's gonna be interesting,... they did play a lot of experimental time at summer league with Walker playing the point?...

Pencil Huff in as second unit center. I do not have Obi starting at center although he'll get some minutes there. Will iJax and Wiseman be 100% in the Fall? If not, do we sign and start Bryant?

I'd like to see this 10 man rotation be tried:

Nembard McConnell
Maturin Furphy
Nesmith Walker
Siakim Toppin
Huff Jackson

Sheppard drops to 11th. Call Furphy and Walker both wings and don't worry about who is the 2 and who is the 3.

Wizop wrote:I'd like to see this 10 man rotation be tried:

Nembard McConnell
Maturin Furphy
Nesmith Walker
Siakim Toppin
Huff Jackson

Sheppard drops to 11th. Call Furphy and Walker both wings and don't worry about who is the 2 and who is the 3.

Sheppard is better and more reliable than Walker & Furphy as of right now. There's a reason he was getting minutes in the playoffs and those guys weren't. He's a solid defender who you can trust at any time. You can't say the same for Walker or Furphy. On offense he probably doesn't have the same potential as Walker or Furphy but he's also not going to suffer growing pains with turnovers like Walker has.

I think we'll run 12 or 13 deep pretty easily throughout the year, especially when injuries pop up. No need to overburden anyone on a "lost season" - develop Walker, Furphy, Jackson, etc. Give Kam Jones some run if he's up to it.

jowglenn wrote:Sheppard is better and more reliable than Walker & Furphy as of right now.

no argument but I still want to see if that second five with both Walker and Furphy is playable. I'm willing to sacrifice some wins for long term development - which is not the same as tanking.

boomershadow wrote:I don't think another PG is a terrible idea, but I do hope Walker gets a lot of on ball opportunities off the bench.

This season is a good oppty to play Walker, Furphy and Mathurin more. Those guys need to get real game minutes. Of course Mathurin has played a lot but I'm expecting him to play more this coming season. Walker really needs to play in his 3rd year so we can see what he's got hopefully he blooms. Otherwise it looks like they should have went with Coulibaly.

Scott Agness has this as the depth chart:

Pacers Depth Chart
• PG: Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell, Tyrese Haliburton
• SG: Bennedict Mathurin, Ben Sheppard, Kam Jones
• SF: Aaron Nesmith, Jarace Walker, Johnny Furphy
• PF: Pascal Siakam, Obi Toppin
• C: Isaiah Jackson, James Wiseman, Jay Huff, Tony Bradley
• Two-ways: Jackson, Dennis, Peter

Yeah, going super small looks to be the option after Turner signing elsewhere. Getting a stupid team like the Mavs to gift us a center if we're patient is something to keep an eye on, keep a close eye on Dereck Lively in particular