The Indiana Pacers inspire with spectacular offensive basketball and are also in the semi-finals of the newly introduced In-Season Tournament. Tyrese Haliburton leads a historically good offense. But how dangerous can these Pacers really be?
The game between the Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks in the group phase of the In-Season Tournament a few weeks ago ended 157:152 – without overtime. A whopping 309 points were scored; the score was only higher ten times in NBA history after 48 minutes. And somehow we had an inkling that defense wouldn’t play the biggest role.
The betting providers set a point line of 252.5 before the game, the highest in 27 years, and yet both teams cleared the bar eight minutes before the end. Pacers games are shootouts like we last saw in the 80s from the Denver Nuggets under legendary coach Doug Moe. To this day, the 81/82 Nuggets are the only team to rank 1st in offense and 30th in defense.
The Pacers could do the same (1 and 28). Offensive spectacle has been a hallmark of the Indiana Pacers this season. Outside of the historic game against the Hawks, the Pacers have already put up 152 points against the San Antonio Spurs and 144 points against the Miami Heat within the first 6 weeks of the season. They lead the league with an offensive rating of 123.6 and are nearly 4 points per 100 possessions ahead of the second-place 76ers. To put this into perspective: there are 3.6 points between 2nd and 10th place. Offensive success is based on several factors.
Indiana Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton performs at Curry level
Haliburton, traded from the Kings in 2022, is the heart of Indiana’s offense. His statistics this season read impressively, but only begin to reflect his value to the team. As the primary ball handler, he is not only the engine but also the brains of the offense. He leads the league with almost 12 assists per game, while also limiting turnovers (assist-to-turnover ratio: 5.05).
There are no limits to the dimensions of his playmaking. Haliburton’s skillset includes full-court outlets, no-look passes to open throwers or opening passes from pick’n’rolls. Added to his brilliant overview is his development as a scorer this season. Compared to last year, he takes more shots per game (18 to 15), hits them more efficiently and goes to the free throw line more often (5 to 3.6).
His shooting from the perimeter is even more impressive. 44.7 percent on almost 9 attempts per game, we only know this volume coupled with this accuracy from Stephen Curry. This is also the most important factor in Haliburton’s development. Before the draft, scouts doubted whether the guard could really create for himself and were probably blinded by his somewhat strange throwing form. After 207 NBA games, these doubts should now be put aside (41.2 percent 3P). So the Pacers have a real fixed star again; the team will be built around him as best as possible.
Tyrese Haliburton: His stats for the Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers: Rick Carlisle can let off steam
Rick Carlisle is primarily responsible for this, who has been the Pacers’ strong man since 2021 and probably the ideal coach for a player like Haliburton (Mike D’Antoni would certainly have fun too!). From his time with the Dallas Mavericks (2008-2021), he is known as one of the league’s most innovative offensive-minded coaches. But fast play was never possible there. Dirk Nowitzki couldn’t do it, Luka Doncic didn’t want it, which is probably why they parted ways. With the Pacers, Carlisle finds a better breeding ground for him.
With the unifying element of Haliburton’s playmaking and a young team with many good throwers, Carlisle was able to establish offensive mechanisms that enabled the Pacers’ historic season to date. The most important element is the speed of the game. The Pacers play at the fastest pace in the league, allowing them to gain possession 104 times per game. Regardless of whether possession of the ball arises from a static game situation (e.g. after a throw-in) or from a turnover, the ball is carried into the offensive within a few seconds.
As a result, the Pacers often run into disorganized defenses where they can create outnumbered situations or attack mismatches. The Pacers take almost a third of their shots in the first eight seconds of the shot clock, something D’Antoni, the architect of the Seven Seconds or Less Suns, should be proud of. Within this system, Haliburton can exploit his brilliant game overview and enable himself or his teammates to make easy decisions. In particular, the summer’s newcomers, Obi Toppin and Bruce Brown, fit easily into Carlisle’s style of play with their great athleticism and quick transition game.
Another element of success is filling the team with above-average throwers. The Pacers are currently hitting 39.2 percent of their three-pointers (5th place) on 39 shots taken (also 5th) from distance per game. Only Dallas and Boston sink more triples per game.
Indiana Pacers: The best three-point shooters
Due to the threat of the three-pointer and Myles Turner as a stretch 5, players like Toppin and Benedict Mathurin have plenty of space to be able to finish athletically around the basket. So what makes the Pacers’ offense so historically good? A mixture of a selfless superstar paired with well-tailored role players and extra pace!
Indiana Pacers: Major limitations in defense
On the downside of the Pacers’ stellar offensive numbers, however, they have the third-worst defense in the league this season with a defensive rating of 120.2. The construction sites in the defense are diverse. First of all, there is a lack of quality on-ball defenders in the Pacers’ ranks.
No Pacers player is able to disrupt the opponent’s build-up game. With Brown there is only one passable guard defender, Haliburton is almost at Trae Young level. Rather, fast guards like Donovan Mitchell (38 points vs. Pacers) or Tyrese Maxey (50 points vs. Pacers) enjoy all the freedom in the world because they can move to the basket at will. Another defensive issue for the Pacers is dealing with physical and large teams.
Although Turner still produces the odd highlight block, he is not enough compensation in terms of both rim protection and rebounding for a team with weaknesses in on-ball defense. The defensive system does not seem to be able to compensate for these deficits either. The Pacers regularly experience miscommunication during switches, double teams or rotations that lead to easy baskets for opposing teams.
So there is at least room for improvement here to get a little better with limited personnel for the defense. Ultimately, for the Pacers it all starts with their offense, which makes them a playoff candidate.
With a budding superstar, plenty of offensive energy and reliable shooting from outside, the Pacers have already picked up one or two big wins against the East’s heavyweights. Even in a format like the in-season tournament, the Pacers with their fast rhythm and well-combined ball relays are must-see TV for the basketball world. In general, the Pacers look like a classic Cup team.
In a best-of-seven series they would have had no chance against Boston, but in a single game with this firepower everything is always possible for the Pacers – as seen in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night. However, in terms of long-term success into the playoffs, the team still has too many deficits, especially defensively, which can be specifically attacked in a series. The somewhat slower and physical style of play in the playoffs (these factors have weakened somewhat in recent years) as well as the targeted exposure of the opposing team’s weaknesses are aspects that both the Pacers’ offense and defense are not designed for playoff success .
Indiana Pacers: The perfect Cup team?
This admittedly radical prediction can also be supported by historical facts. In the past nine years, teams with a top-five offense and bottom-five defense have never advanced past the first round of the playoffs. An exception is the Cleveland Cavaliers in LeBron’s final season (17/18), who were favored by both the best player of our generation and the worst quality field in the East. Outside of that, the trend that could also be in store for the Pacers is confirmed.
NBA – The Offense First Teams of the past years
But all of this is a bit too far for the moment. The trend is the “Friend” of the Pacers, the team is undoubtedly developing in the right direction. Haliburton is 23 years young, and of the role players only Hield and TJ McConnell are older than 27. Indiana is in the honeymoon phase. They play attractive basketball, there are very few expectations on the franchise, and for now this looks like a team that can be a consistent playoff team. And with a bit of luck, there could even be “hardware” for the first time in franchise history.
It would only be the NBA Cup, but no one in little Indiana will be immune to an entry into the history books The final phase against Boston already showed this, how excited the Pacers are for this newly introduced trophy. By the way: The over/under line for the semifinals against the Bucks is already 255.5, which is even higher than in the aforementioned game in Atlanta.
2023-12-07 09:00:00
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