5 takeaways from the Indiana Pacers sweeping the Warriors

4. The Pacers’ role players are a dream

Although most Pacer fans always believed it, most NBA fans know that Lance Stephenson’s eclectic skill set and gritty play makes him one of the best role players in the league. Aside from him, when it comes to role players, the Pacers have more rolls than a bakery.

Whether it be Lance, Domantas Sabonis or Cory Joseph, the truth is their bench guys are getting it done. In two tilts against the Warriors, both Stephenson and Sabonis took care of the boards, a selfless and gritty task, pulling down nine and six, and six and five rebounds, respectively, in the two contests. It may sound like not much, but they are the enforcers that kept the thin Warriors bench hurting after the starters put them on blast.

While key bench players Andre Iguodala and Shawn Livingston played in the first contest (despite a depleted starting five for the Warriors), coach Steve Kerr didn’t rely on Livingston as much in the second game, and instead tried to encourage Nick Young to help make up for Kevin Durant’s abysmal shooting night (he went 2-for-10 from 3-point range and shot 8-for-23 from the field). In that game, Iggy didn’t play altogether.

The conditions were ripe for the exploiting, and the Pacers didn’t miss a beat.