Indiana Pacers: Will Small-Ball Lineup Work?

They say change is a good thing. Sometimes, it’s even necessary.

Only time will tell if it’s easy.

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Few teams have been more active this offseason than the Indiana Pacers, who are in the midst of a complete roster overhaul. After watching his team fail to make the playoffs last season, team president Larry Bird felt it was necessary for the Pacers to change their style of play in order to remain competitive in today’s NBA.

For years, Indiana was known for its blue-collar, no-nonsense approach to the way it played. The team utilized big lineups and emphasized defense before offense. They didn’t care about how much they won or how pretty it was; all that mattered was that they won.

And it worked. The Pacers and their defensive-minded, grind-it-out style of play made it to two consecutive Eastern Conference Finals.

However, as teams like the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks found success in small-ball lineups this past season, Bird saw the necessity for change, lest the Pacers were left behind in the evolving NBA landscape.

That’s why Bird didn’t think twice about publicly criticizing Roy Hibbert after the season, saying the big man would have a smaller role moving forward and have to work for a spot in the rotation.

Hibbert — a two-time All-Star and the team’s defensive anchor — wasn’t in Bird’s plans, and he hoped that by publicly humiliating him, Hibbert would decline his player option for the 2015-16 season, giving the team more cap space and flexibility in free agency.

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Bird knew that change wouldn’t happen overnight. The Pacers couldn’t simply make one big move and change their style of play; rather it would require a series of moves, and hopefully some things going their way during the offseason. Bird had a vision, he just had to figure out how to get there.

And then the dominoes started falling.

In the draft, Indiana selected Myles Turner — a former top high-school recruit who underwhelmed his freshman season at Texas — with the 11th pick. Turner is a tweener at the professional level, but in a good way — he has the offensive traits of a stretch 4 and the defensive capabilities of a traditional rim-protecting center.

From the moment his name was called by Commissioner Adam Silver, everyone knew that Turner was Hibbert’s eventual successor.

Soon after, the team dumped Hibbert — who accepted his player option for more than $15 million — to the Lakers for a second-round draft pick.

After David West unexpectedly opted out of the final year of his contract to go chase a title with San Antonio, the Pacers were quick to use the saved money to re-sign Rodney Stuckey and add Monta Ellis, two undersized shooting guards with big scoring punches who can run the floor.

With all the moves that Bird and the Pacers are making, it’s obvious that they are going all-in on playing small ball.

But will it work?

Effectively utilizing a small lineup requires versatile players who are capable of playing and defending multiple positions on the court. That’s what makes the Bucks such an intriguing team — they have players like Michael Carter-Williams, Jabari Parker and Khris Middleton who can switch screens on defense without missing a beat.

If the Pacers want to play small, they need multipurpose players like the Bucks have. Interestingly, the Pacers already have at least one of those players — and a very good one at that — in Paul George. At 6’9″, George has the size to play the stretch four in a small-ball lineup, or step out and be a lockdown defender on the perimeter.

He’s the perfect player for the Pacers to build a small-ball team around.

And Bird knows that. That’s why he and head coach Frank Vogel plan to play George at power forward this upcoming season. By doing so, the team will be able to insert another guard into the lineup, resulting in faster pace and better floor spacing.

With George onboard, Indiana must now find players to complement him in his new role.

Ellis is a good start. The guard’s strengths — driving to the basket to score or find an open teammate — makes him a perfect fit alongside George. In pick-and-roll situations, the combination of Ellis and George has the potential to become almost impossible to stop.

After the screen, George can either use his athleticism to finish at the rim, or pop out on the perimeter to knock down a three-pointer.

Two other guards — Stuckey and second-round draft pick Joe Young — compare offensively to Ellis, while players like C.J. Miles and George Hill can help space the floor with their shooting abilities. With the personnel the Pacers have, there is no doubt that the team can play like Bird wants them to.

But there are concerns, such as whether or not the new-look Pacers will be able to defend. It feels wrong doubting the Pacers’ defense, but there are legitimate questions that need to be addressed.

The primary concern is lack of size on the perimeter. George Hill, Ellis, Stuckey and Young are all 6’3″ or shorter. To make matters worse, George Hill is the only one out of the group that is considered a good defender.

With George playing power forward, the Pacers will need other perimeter players to step up on the defensive end. Otherwise, Indiana may be giving up a lot of open looks.

In the post, the Pacers are bigger but lack proven rim-protectors outside of Ian Mahinmi. Hibbert’s contributions defensively were worth much more than people gave him credit for, and Mahinmi and Turner must help fill the defensive void that he left behind.

Turner has looked more than capable becoming a defensive force in summer league, averaging over four blocks per game, but that’s only summer league and the rookie is yet to play an official minute of professional basketball.

Asking Turner to come in and be the team’s rim protector right away might be asking too much for a rookie, so Mahinmi will have to serve as a stopgap until Turner becomes acclimated to the NBA.

When next season tips off this fall, the Pacers will look drastically different. The NBA is evolving, and so are the Pacers. As the league shifts to smaller lineups and faster tempos, the Pacers are doing their due diligence to keep up.

Are Bird and the Pacers making the right decision? Only time will tell. But if this season was any indication, they’re on the right track.

Next: Monta Ellis: Bargain Deal for Pacers

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