As the All-Star break is arriving the Indiana Pacers sit in a pretty good position moving forward. Sitting in the 6th seed position in the playoff picture, the Pacers are well aware of the upcoming challenge of maintaining their spot in the playoffs.
A lot of changes are also coming the Pacers way as new adjustments will need to be worked out and the kinks of the system will need to be worked out. this will be based primarily within the second unit. The second unit has been a pretty well balanced attack this year but with Victor Oladipo returning to the starting line-up and receiving more minutes; the second unit is going to have a few changes in it. Here is where I will discuss the questions of the second unit and how it will progress moving forward after the All-Star break.
How does Jeremy Lamb fit in?
With Victor Oladipo returning from his injury, and now returning to the starting line-up, Jeremy Lamb will be coming off the bench for the remainder of the season. Lamb has been a quality starter this year but on previous teams has been a valuable six man, which is the role he will begin to play as the Pacers move forward. This will be a new adjustment for the second unit as Lamb will provide a quality scorer to this unit and will also add some size to the bench as well. Lamb has been a good addition to the Pacers and seeing as he has played minutes with the bench this year already throughout games, he will fit in just fine. As the second unit begins to play with Lamb he will become the lead option of the bench and with two point guards in Aaron Holiday and Tj McConnell both likely to be on the floor the motion and scoring of the offense will only improve from here. Lamb will also add to the defensive end with size and length, adding versatility on that end of the floor as well.
Small Ball or Big Ball?
With the addition of Jeremy Lamb to the bench it gives the Indiana Pacers some options on who to play and what lineups to play coming out of the All-Star break. The first option is small ball. With both Aaron Holiday and Tj McConnell playing good amounts of minutes it could turn into a run and gun pace of play for the second unit. This would keep both point guards on the floor with Lamb at the 3 spot, Justin Holiday or Doug McDermott at the 4 spot, and whatever center happens to be on the floor at the time whether it be Sabonis, Turner, or rookie Goga Bitadze. This will allow for the Pacers to push the ball with excellent three point shooting and a way to mix it up for teams on the defensive end. Where it might hurt is on the defensive side of the ball. Playing the two point guards at the same time hasn’t hurt the Pacers much this year on that end so it will likely continue to be that way moving forward. The other option is to play a bit bigger. This would allow for either of the point guards to play with Lamb at the 2, Justin Holiday and Doug McDermott to both be on the floor, and again whichever center is on the court at that time. This lineup still gives them and excellent three point lineup and will also create a bigger and more versatile defensive look on the other end. Either lineup will be playable and most likely be successful. It will depend on opponent lineups for the night. Which lineup will we see more often; that is soon to find out.
Coming off of the All-Star break this week the Pacers will look to pick up some wins and make a final playoff push down the stretch. The will likely finish between the 4-6 seed in the Eastern Conference depending on the chemistry coming off the break. Practices during this time will be huge for the whole team but especially the newly designed second unit and Victor Oladipo. As they continue to work towards playoff time; the Indiana Pacers could be a dangerous team here late in the season.
Alston Bane 