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FiveThirtyEight: The Pacers Are Bucking Every NBA Trend. And It’s Working.

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FiveThirtyEight: The Pacers Are Bucking Every NBA Trend. And It’s Working. 

Post#1 » by boomershadow » Sat Mar 24, 2018 4:01 am

Indiana’s offensive approach is diametrically opposed to the league’s best team. The Rockets are notorious for avoiding midrange shots; the Pacers hover nearly just as far above the league average in how often they take long twos as the Rockets are beneath it. The median team shoots from the 16- to 23-foot range about 12 percent of the time; Houston takes 4.4 percent of its shots from that distance, while Indiana takes a whopping 19.3 percent of its shots from there.

The contrasts in shot selection don’t end with midrange jumpers. Unlike the Rockets, who take a league-high 50 percent of their shots from 3-point range and get to the free-throw line at the second highest clip in the league, the Pacers rank among the NBA’s bottom six in both 3-point attempt rate and free-throw attempt rate.

A fair amount of that seems to stem from coach Nate McMillan’s offensive philosophy, which encourages pulling the trigger quickly if a defender is allowing the solid jump-shooting team more than a few feet of space. “We talk about playing early, playing late,” McMillan told me. “If you have an open look or a rim attempt early (in the shot clock), take it. If you don’t, then make teams defend. But when we have open looks, we want to take them.” The Pacers have often done that, with the caveat being that, in today’s NBA, those midrange attempts are often ones the defense would like for Indiana to take.


Chris Herring

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-pacers-are-bucking-every-nba-trend-and-its-working/
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Re: FiveThirtyEight: The Pacers Are Bucking Every NBA Trend. And It’s Working. 

Post#2 » by AussiePacer » Sun Mar 25, 2018 12:49 am

Interesting take.

I see the logic in taking the good shots when you can get them, and while I'd like us to shoot more 3's, it's going to be the points in the paint and FT attempts that are going to help us come playoffs. If we can get Victor back to his driving best and continue to see the improved aggression from Myles we can become more efficient and maybe in turn, get some better looks outside too.
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Re: FiveThirtyEight: The Pacers Are Bucking Every NBA Trend. And It’s Working. 

Post#3 » by Wizop » Sun Mar 25, 2018 1:07 am

shooting percentage is a function of shot selection. I agree you shouldn't pass up open shots.

also plays into the Quinn Buckner drinking game. if I've already posted it, I apologize for the duplication. you drink when Quinn says it was a good shot, he just missed it. or you can drink when he says good defense, they just made it. perhaps one player could play Pacer misses and the other opponent makes.

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Re: FiveThirtyEight: The Pacers Are Bucking Every NBA Trend. And It’s Working. 

Post#4 » by boomershadow » Sun Mar 25, 2018 2:56 am

Wizop wrote:shooting percentage is a function of shot selection. I agree you shouldn't pass up open shots.

also plays into the Quinn Buckner drinking game. if I've already posted it, I apologize for the duplication. you drink when Quinn says it was a good shot, he just missed it. or you can drink when he says good defense, they just made it. perhaps one player could play Pacer misses and the other opponent makes.

Sent from my phone.


I'm just glad I'm not the only person who has noticed this.
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Re: FiveThirtyEight: The Pacers Are Bucking Every NBA Trend. And It’s Working. 

Post#5 » by glasket » Sun Mar 25, 2018 12:01 pm

boomershadow wrote:
Wizop wrote:shooting percentage is a function of shot selection. I agree you shouldn't pass up open shots.

also plays into the Quinn Buckner drinking game. if I've already posted it, I apologize for the duplication. you drink when Quinn says it was a good shot, he just missed it. or you can drink when he says good defense, they just made it. perhaps one player could play Pacer misses and the other opponent makes.

Sent from my phone.


I'm just glad I'm not the only person who has noticed this.

Quin Buckner what a legend


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Re: FiveThirtyEight: The Pacers Are Bucking Every NBA Trend. And It’s Working. 

Post#6 » by Wizop » Sun Mar 25, 2018 12:39 pm

the realgm podcasters say they watch the pacers feed because while homers they are objective about fouls. the legend though is Slick. Jerry Baker who is now the stadium announcer was a long time radio voice in the early years and Reb Porter's 2ah was classic.

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Re: FiveThirtyEight: The Pacers Are Bucking Every NBA Trend. And It’s Working. 

Post#7 » by Tom White » Mon Mar 26, 2018 4:15 pm

Wizop wrote:shooting percentage is a function of shot selection. I agree you shouldn't pass up open shots.

also plays into the Quinn Buckner drinking game. if I've already posted it, I apologize for the duplication. you drink when Quinn says it was a good shot, he just missed it. or you can drink when he says good defense, they just made it. perhaps one player could play Pacer misses and the other opponent makes.

Sent from my phone.


As close, exciting and "on the edge of your seat" most of these games have been recently, I find it easier to just drink regardless of what the announcers are saying.
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Re: FiveThirtyEight: The Pacers Are Bucking Every NBA Trend. And It’s Working. 

Post#8 » by granger05 » Mon Mar 26, 2018 4:19 pm

The article includes a link to THIS basketball reference chart of fg% at different distances. The article phrases all this as taking advantage of a market inefficiency, defenses are giving you open shots at some distances, so take those shots. However, I think you could also look at this as an area where the Pacers could improve. Their 3% is pretty good, why not make a point to shift those long 2s to 3s.

You can make a case that their 3% will drop if they take more of them, but that's not necessarily true. There's some chunk of 3s that are going to be taken at the end of quarters, end of shot clocks, end of games when you've got to have a 3, etc... Those are going to be lower percentage shots. If you increase your number of 3s taken in the flow of the offense you'll have more good attempts to offset the crappy attempts that every team is going to have in their ledger.

Anyway, it's nice that the Pacers are getting written about and noticed.

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