The Indiana Pacers returned to the court this week after a four-month break. What did they show?
The Indiana Pacers have completed their scrimmages in the NBA bubble, the last official step the team had to complete before restarting their season.
The blue and gold went 2-1 in the three games, but truly, the wins and losses didn’t matter. These games were all about ironing out kinks that had appeared as a result of the team being apart for months during the NBA shutdown. “We will be working on some things,” Head Coach Nate McMillan said of his approach to these scrimmages, referring to chemistry, the rotation, a few sets, and more.
These preseason-esque games were a great opportunity for the Pacers to perfect those types of things and get ready for the season. And in the absence of Domantas Sabonis, there was plenty to learn about the team, and the bubble, from these three battles.
One takeaway that was unexpected is that the Pacers played faster than most anticipated. They hunted for shots early in the shot clock and looked to attack in semi-transition instead of setting up plays or actions.
In the regular season, Indiana ranked 24th in pace. In the three scrimmage games, the squad operated as the sixth fastest team in the NBA. They were flying on offense.
Sabonis’ absence plays a large role in this. Without the All-Star center in the lineup, the Pacers inserted Aaron Holiday into the starting five, a smaller guard with a quick trigger. The decrease in size combined with an increase in ball-handling allowed the Eastern Conference’s fifth-seeded team to play a much different style.
“You’ve just got so many ball handlers on the floor,” starting point guard Malcolm Brogdon said of the guard-heavy lineup. “It’s going to be super beneficial for us.”
Sabonis will miss time in the seeding games, so the Pacers will likely carry this faster group into the regular season. It had varied levels of success, but it gives the team a new look for opposing teams to plan for.
When viewing a TV broadcast of the scrimmages, nothing feels particularly weird or off during the course of play. But when the camera pans away from the action, or when a timeout gets called, it becomes clear just how different these games are.
There was no crowd physically in the stadium, though there were some virtual fans on giant big screens.
