Indiana Pacers: David West Returning to Form?
By Shane Young
All is almost well in Oklahoma City, with both of the Thunder’s superstars back in the swing of things for Scott Brooks. As for the Indiana Pacers, Frank Vogel is still dealing with the wild, unhinged situation that rests with their lineups.
They had their veteran leader, David West, sidelined for the first 15 games of the season because of a severely sprained ankle. West had been nursing the injury with the proper care and didn’t want to get things rolling too soon. He wanted to return with no pain in his movements, which is understandable for someone that’s heading towards the wrong side of age 30.
Returning against the Orlando Magic last Friday, West has been exactly what you’d expect of his given his role over the last few seasons. But, then again, that was when he had two ball-dominant players in the backcourt, with Paul George and Lance Stephenson. If you recall the attention West was getting at the Pacers’ media day in September, everyone was pondering whether or not he could get back to leading the team in scoring and being a primary No. 1 option.
In the three games he’s been in the lineup for thus far, he really hasn’t disappointed in terms of finding ways to make things happen offensively. While he’s shot 20-of-45 from the field (44.4 percent), just his presence on the floor has already shifted so many things in a flux for Vogel. During that time, Indiana has only mustered one win in the three games, but it should be noted that they’re fresh off of playing stiff competition.
Orlando, the team they knocked off at home, is really no joke with their hellacious center in the middle, Nikola Vucevic who currently leads the league in double-doubles. Their two losses came at the hands of Cleveland and Phoenix, both being on the road. The Cavaliers, despite their rugged start, have won four straight games and are one of only four teams in the East to have a positive point differential on their resume. In fact, it’s second-best in the East, behind Toronto. So, nobody is blaming Indiana for their loss at Quicken Loans Arena.
Moving on to the desert on Tuesday, the Pacers knew exactly what they were getting themselves into. Jeff Hornacek hasn’t lost one game against the Pacers’ franchise since he became head coach of the Suns last season, moving onto 4-0 in the regular season series. Phoenix and Cleveland have a combined record of 20-15, but that’s not a true indication of how tough of opponents they are for this Indiana unit. If the Suns were in the East, they’d be near the 15 or 16 win mark themselves, and the Cavaliers have the most talent you could assemble together.
With West back in the lineup, everyone hoped things would continue going north for the Pacers. They had nearly climbed back to .500, which was a huge accomplishment in its own with such a shaken up roster. In addition, they are used to getting positive results from their 12-year power forward.
Last season, Indiana saw a significant jump in production when West was on the floor, compared to when he sat on the bench or was inactive. When West sat last year (,1491 minutes), the Pacers accumulated an offensive rating of 100.2 points per 100 possessions. When he was on the floor (2,472 minutes), Indiana was drastically better at an offensive rating of 107.
That’s a jump of +6.8, which was higher than the difference Paul George (+4.1), Lance Stephenson (+4.5), George Hill (+3.6), or Roy Hibbert (+4.8) made last season. Vogel needed West on the floor at all times during their run to the No. 1 seed last year.
But, has that changed in the matter of one season, or a few months?
When there’s West, there’s a way.
With him out there in the starting rotation for Indiana, things are only going to improve. While Luis Scola is as craft as a scorer you can find in a backup power forward, he doesn’t do all the necessary things on the floor that West lives for.
It’s more than just being a scorer, as West is averaging the same amount of points per game as he did last season (14.0). But, per 36 minutes, his scoring is actually at a career-high 20.2 points in such a metric. That’s due to his decreased minutes as a result of being fresh off an injury, and the fact that Vogel has an absurd amount of bodies to get in and out of the rotation.
Vogel doesn’t have to play everyone, but each piece to this team brings a different dimension that adds to their winning formula. They just need to make their formula generate an output that begins with a “W” more often, sitting at 7-11 on the year.
While the raw numbers don’t express just how smart and great of a passer West truly is, he’s already shown his play-making in the first three games of his year:
Seriously, there are only three or four power forwards that look to make high-quality bounce passes like that. Leading C.J. Miles beautifully toward the hoop for an easy slam was one thing, but getting the bounce pass perfectly through traffic — from the 3-point line — was another. It may be overreacting, or just a small sample size, but West’s assist percentage through three games is already exceeding his career high, at 19.8. He’s getting it done as a teammate for the new guys.
If you thought you’d see any signs of a slow and out-of-shape West to begin his season, you’d be wrong observing his first three games.
He’s been stronger, just as physical against his competition, and striving to get into the post. Against Cleveland, West was literally the only bright spot for the Pacers in the first quarter. They started extremely slow and careless on defense, but he fired back with eight points in the first, when the team gave up 16 to Kevin Love.
It was West, though, that really started to expose the Cavaliers’ defense in the interior, especially when he made it his goal to establish position early in possessions:
It may be because Love is little now, compared to other power forwards out there since he lost weight, but he just doesn’t have the strong desire to guard one-on-one in the post. On top of that, you see numerous Cavaliers just standing around the play, watching the shot unfold.
West isn’t keeping his offense restricted to just the mid-range or making plays for his teammates. On top of those crucial aspects of his game, he’s scoring in a variety of ways when he’s on the floor.
Indiana is even becoming collectively better at holding onto their possessions when West is on the court. Who knew that could happen? But, the Pacers’ turnover percentage with West on the floor (three games) has been 14.7, compared to the 16.4 percent that it is when he sits on the bench. Additionally (and surprisingly), their speed and manner of offense has been increased when he’s on the floor as well. During the minutes he’s playing, Indiana has been running at 96.8 possessions per 48 minutes, which is much quicker than their average of 90.2 per 48 minutes when he sits.
Some of it can be handed to the level of teams they’ve been matched against, but majority of it rests on the fact that offensive players thrive under West, and he makes decisions in a quicker, more proficient way than the average bench player.
With Portland (2x), Sacramento, the Clippers, Atlanta, and Toronto coming up in their tough month of December, that’s a combined record of 76-28 they’ll be against in the next 10 days.
Indiana is likely going to skid. However, don’t buy into any thought of it being about their blue collar, I-don’t-care-about-swagger veteran.
**All statistical support credited to Basketball-Reference.com**