After 13 seasons with the Mavericks with the 2011 NBA title as the highlight, the coach Rick Carlisle is back in Indiana. Passing through the Pacers between 2004 and 2007, he picked up a talented group who wanted to quickly find the playoffs in 2022. In Texas, Carlisle had concocted a prolific attack around Luka Doncic. With 116.7 pointsOffensive Rating in 2020, the Mavs quite simply had the most productive strike force in NBA history. A record broken in the meantime in 2021. Even if he does not have the same Indiana staff, the coach wants to boost the attack by emphasizing the 3-point shot. Last season, Dallas placed sixth in number of long-distance shots attempted, while the Pacers were 18th. We must therefore expect to see the volume of shots behind the arc soar as Carlisle said during the Media Day:
Our interiors must all continue to develop their 3-point shot. They all need to improve. It’s such an important part of the game today. It’s a long-term process. We just need to develop our players so that they understand where to take their shots and how to get them. Our collective 3-point shooting will improve as the season progresses.
One player is particularly in Carlisle’s sights. Double All Star Indy, Domantas Sabonis going to have to add this string to his bow. The big man already has excellent feel for his size and can take the opportunity to organize outside of the racket. But, 3-point shooting is not yet part of its offensive palette: 1 attempt per game in 2020 and 2.6 last season for a mediocre percentage (32.1%). For Carlisle the next step for the Lithuanian is to become a credible threat from downtown :
The next logical thing is to keep improving your 3 point shoot over time. If he can mix up effective outside play with his home attacking arsenal that he already has, that will make him even more out of control.
For his part Sabonis is not against a bit of novelty in the team. Carlisle has notably set up game patterns “Five Out“, where the five players start the attack behind the 3-point line. A recipe that worked Dallas and that Sabonis is eager to put in place at the Pacers:
We’re all going to have to get used to playing this way. So far the training camp is going well. It’s pretty crazy how time flies and he’s our coach. I am really impatient. He’s a great coach and we’re all delighted to be here. We feel his presence. We respect him on the ground. The referees will respect him and the league will respect him.
