Indiana Pacers: Ian Mahinmi’s Quiet Career Year

The Indiana Pacers are still the Paul George Show, but Ian Mahinmi is quietly having a career season.

At 13-9, the Indiana Pacers have emerged as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. They currently sit at fifth in the standings, sport the league’s 10th best defense (99.5 points allowed per 100 possessions) and they’re also sporting a top-10 offense after an abrupt switch to small-ball over the summer.

For a team that was projected to be a borderline playoff team, this start has been something of a revelation in the East.

At the forefront of the conversation has been Paul George‘s return to superstardom. In his first full season back after a horrific leg injury in 2013, PG-13 has not only returned to the spotlight, but dominated it with the best play of his career.

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With George averaging 27.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game on superb .440/.429/.840 shooting splits, his early entrance into the MVP conversation has been the chief reason behind Indiana’s strong start.

C.J. Miles is also worth mentioning as the team’s X-factor, since his willingness and ability to take on the tougher defensive assignments against power forwards has allowed George to save some of his energy for the offensive end, where he’s able to capitalize on mismatches as a stretch-4 in Indiana’s small-ball lineups.

Miles is quietly having a career year, averaging 15.4 points per game, knocking down 41.3 percent of his 7.3 three-point attempts per game — all career highs. However, even with PG-13 playing at an unbelievable level and Miles serving as the X-factor, two players alone don’t make a team, and with Monta Ellis still trying to find his groove in Indiana, another role player deserves some recognition.

When you think of career years, you don’t typically expect them to come at the age of 29 unless you’re talking about all-time greats like Michael Jordan or LeBron James, who both peaked around that time. You don’t really expect a role player to emerge in a career season at that age. But in the case of Ian Mahinmi, that’s exactly what’s happening in his seventh season in the league.

Averaging an under-the-radar 8.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, Mahinmi has quietly been having the best season of his career. He’s only taken six shots a game, but he’s making 57.9 percent of them, knowing that his offensive role is to score at the basket — aside from a few midrange jumpers, which he’s actually converted at a respectable rate (6-for-14).

With 106 of his 126 field goal attempts coming around the basket, Mahinmi has made 62.3 percent of the looks that constitute nearly 85 percent of his shot selection.

Rookie Myles Turner has a far higher ceiling, but with Indiana’s new shot-blocker and stretch-5 still recovering from a thumb injury, head coach Frank Vogel has continued to roll with Mahinmi, who was starting over Turner even before the injury.

Having versatile defenders like George and Miles makes for a great foundation, but Mahinmi’s time playing behind Roy Hibbert seems to have benefitted his capabilities as a defensive anchor.

The Pacers are actually 0.2 points per 100 possessions better on the defensive end with Mahinmi off the floor, but keep in mind that this is the starting center of an elite defensive team we’re talking about here. This team can defend from top to bottom, so that stat is pretty much negligible.

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Mahinmi is a somewhat limited player offensively, but he understands his role and has been quietly going about it better than ever before. The Indiana Pacers are still the Paul George Show and that won’t change anytime soon, but if you’re wondering how he’s managed to carry his team to a 13-9 start, look no further than underrated role players like Ian Mahinmi.