Indiana Pacers: Getting it done against playoff teams
In a tilt against the uncharacteristically strong Washington Wizards, the Indiana Pacers took care of business in a potential playoff scenario.
When John Wall went down last month, nobody expected the Washington Wizards to remain in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race. Not only have they done so, strangely enough, they have exceeded expectations, going for an impressive 10-6 record without him so far.
With that being said, the Indiana Pacers did exactly what they needed to do against a team that is thriving: They took care of business. The truth is that this is exactly what a playoff matchup could look like, and that could be really good news for Indiana.
Coach Nate McMillan took a page out of the Tom Thibodeau playbook, trotting four of his five starters out there for more than 35 minutes apiece.
With the exception of Thaddeus Young‘s disappearing act, the rest of the starters responded. They did exactly what they should be doing to pull off a first round playoff series victory.
Victor Oladipo poured on an efficient 33 points, and added seven rebounds and three dimes for good measure, showing he knows good and well that team alpha dogs don’t take nights off.
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Bojan Bogdanovic dropped 20 points and chipped in a couple of key steals. If he wants to be a meaningful starter who can carry a large load for a deep playoff run, he needs to prove he isn’t just a one-trick pony. This is how he can do that: grab steals and snag uncontested rebounds.
Myles Turner scored 12 points, but much more importantly, he rebounded the basketball. He needs to do this to be a proper force in the middle. If he plays his cards right, he should be able to bully almost any other center he faces in the playoffs.
Guys like Al Horford, John Henson, Marcin Gortat and even Jonas Valanciunas don’t possess the athleticism that Turner boasts. Especially if he ends up playing against Joel Embiid in the playoffs, he better start keeping himself honest now, because if he doesn’t, the Process will for him.
–Cory Joseph went for 16 points, five rebounds and two dimes. No big deal right? Well, what he showed was that he is a more than competent starting point guard that can protect the ball, play defense and be efficient when on the floor. Should Darren Collison‘s knee injury become a problem moving forward, Joseph will be looked at to play this role.
Thaddeus Young did indeed disappear in this game, which is troubling as Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. had a field day on the other side of the ball. However, despite his disappearing act, Young has been stellar this season, so it’s hard to envision this being a repeated thing. In addition, he swiped the ball three times. Not bad for an otherwise terrible individual night.
Look: This win was great for their momentum and despite the unbalanced roster attack, McMillan flashed the beauty of this Pacer roster.
They have bonafide starters that can do serious damage, especially if they get in a groove by playing heavy minutes, but at the same time, they can morph into a balanced attack with their depth and team-first culture, ensuring that the bench and role players will be ready when their time comes.
That flexibility just may be their X-factor come playoff time.
That’s especially true in a potential seven-game series against the Toronto Raptors, who are currently boasting an unprecedented NBA record of having 11 players averaging at least six points per game. Anyone playing them will need to be ready to match up with a variety of depth players who are putting up numbers like Fred Van Fleet, Delon Wright and more.
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The Pacers have shown so far this season that they are ready to do that.