Indiana Pacers: 5 Things That Need To Happen To Make Small Ball Work
Ian Mahinmi must be one of the better rim protectors in the league and keep opponents off the board.
The biggest disadvantage to going small in today’s NBA is that it makes you susceptible to being weak at protecting the rim and losing the battle of the boards. The logic is simple. Paul George has never been an interior defender in his NBA career. If George is defending on the wing, then C.J. Miles will have to defend power forwards, something he’s never done in his NBA career.
This makes Ian Mahinmi a crucial part of the Pacers success or failure in going small.
Mahinmi is in his eighth NBA season for a few reasons. Mahinmi is big, athletic for his size, and defends the rim. His offensive game is extremely limited, but being a big, athletic rim protector can make you a lot of money in the NBA. Just ask Roy Hibbert, who doesn’t really qualify for being athletic.
Mahinmi has made only 21 starts in his career, but is being thrown into a great opportunity to showcase what he can do and for the team to mitigate what he can’t do. According to rim protection stats via Nylon Calculus,
Mahinmi ranked 10th in the NBA in field goal percentage at the rim, a better percentage allowed than noted rim protectors like Dwight Howard, Hassan Whiteside, Andre Drummond, and DeAndre Jordan.
With no other interior defenders outside of Mahinmi, Mahinmi’s rim protection will be one of the keys to the small-ball starting unit to keep opponents from outscoring them. Mahinmi’s help defense will be something to watch for throughout the season.
It’s also important that Mahinmi learn how to defend without fouling. Mahinmi has averaged 5.8 fouls per 36 minutes in his career. The Pacers have a few viable options with decent backups Jordan Hill, Lavoy Allen, and raw rookie Myles Turner behind him, but Mahinmi is their best rim protector.
Hill and Allen don’t have the size or athleticism to be rim protectors capable of making up for the lack of size elsewhere in the lineup and Turner needs time to adjust to the NBA before he can be counted on late in games to protect the rim.
If Mahinmi is limited by foul trouble, Vogel may have to opt to ditch the small-ball lineup in those situations to avoid being abused at the rim and on the boards.
On another defensive note, it’s a common misconception that small-ball abandons the concept of defense and is a strategy designed to outscore opponents, with more offense being the best defense. The Warriors proved that to be false last season. The Warriors gave up 99.9 points per game last season and was just .1 better than the league average.
However the more accurate description of their defense is their league-leading 101.4 defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) and also holding the opposition to the lowest field goal percentage allowed.
The Pacers will give up more points and will most likely give up more than 100 points per game this season, but that will probably be due to the team playing at a faster pace. If you allow a team more shot attempts, you’ll give up more points.
However as you track the Pacers experiment this season, use defensive rating and field goal percentage allowed as a more accurate statistic to measure defensive efficiency.
Despite a shift towards offense, the team’s defense will play just an important role in how this team works in a new system. Ian Mahinmi will be the most important player in that area.
Next: George Hill, Monta Ellis must attack