Raptors vs. Pacers: let’s hear from an Indy expert
By Brian Boake
It’s time to drill down into the Indiana Pacers, the Raptors first-round opponent. Who better to ask than one who covers the team?
One of the pleasures of being part of the FanSided network is the ease by which we can tap other teams’ experts on the shoulder and get compelling information from them.
I connected with Ben Watson, the Editor of our Indiana Pacers’ site, www.8points9seconds.com. The questions I asked Ben are in bold, and his responses are in italics.
Since Roy Hibbert flamed out, the Pacers seem to function without a center. How do they do it, and is it a fatal flaw?
Ian Mahinmi surprised all of us with the way he stepped up to be a solid center. His rim protection was always above average, but he was extremely clumsy on offense. We even had a sarcastic highlight post when he scored 16 points in a preseason game. If Mahinmi wouldn’t have found a way to average 9.3 points a game — which isn’t much, but is an improvement on 4.3 ppg — he would have been too much of an offensive liability to keep on the floor for long periods.
The only loss the Pacers suffered in the season’s last 7 games was to the Raptors. Furthermore, the Raptors sat a number of their starters. Was that game some sort of a brilliant “let’s lull them to sleep” manoeuvre, or just a bad night?
Just a bad night, but a sign of a bigger issue. Indiana has struggled to be consistent. They’ve shown they can be very good as they beat the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder in March, but they also lost to the Brooklyn Nets soon after. They can keep pace with the NBA’s best, but to do it for 7 games…
Myles Turner looks like the real deal. Can you tell our readers something about him?
He thinks Cinderella is too basic and would pick Jasmine as his favorite Disney Princess (Twitter Q&A’s get weird). His quickness and accuracy can be a challenge for defenses and he can score 20+ points on a given night. However, it looks like defenses have adjusted to that and he’s hit a roadblock. That’s why he lost his starting spot, with the other problem being he still has a good bit to learn about basketball at the NBA level. He just turned 20 and has plenty of upside, but he also looks like a rookie at times too.
Is Paul George more effective at small forward than at the 4-spot?
He basically hasn’t played power forward other than a few games and in a few instances where the opponents best player is a power forward. It was a bit of failed experiment. Thankfully with the emergence of Myles Turner, there was less need for PG to cover bigger players. He can handle fours, but he’s just not a fan of playing that position.
To me, a team with George Hill starting at point guard doesn’t project as a future champion. Am I wrong?
Sorta yes, sorta no.What often gets lost is George Hill’s defense, one of the strongest parts of his game. However, as the point guard, yeah, he’s not the best option. But Frank Vogel has started to use Monta Ellis more as the point and Hill as the shooting guard. It may be a surprise, but Ellis has become a team leader and isn’t afraid to pass the ball. If Hill is hitting 40.6% of his 3-pointers and staying active offensively, then they can make it work.
Who is the Pacers “X-factor”, that guy you think is ready for a big and surprising series?
C.J. Miles. He just got out of a shooting slump and is shooting the lights out lately. When he’s hitting 3 pointers (something the Raptors struggle to defend) the Pacers offense is usually in a good flow and spreading the floor. When Indiana went 11-2 in November, Miles’ shooting played a big part.
Do you expect coach Frank Vogel to “shorten the bench” (as we say in hockey) or will the rotation continue as it has?
It could get weird. Near the end of the season, Vogel pulled Myles Turner out of the starting lineup due to a scoring slump and bad defense. That opened the door for Solomon Hill, who is an excellent defender, but not a great shooter. However he’s been hitting his 3-pointers lately, so that could be a factor. If Solo is knocking down shots, Vogel can have a normal rotation, but if he can’t score then things might get out of order as Vogel will need to find offense somewhere, possibly in the form of Turner. But since they don’t play the same position, that means other players will have to be swapped in and out to make it work.
If things go sorta smoothly, Vogel will keep the rotation short, but he may have his hand forced if the Pacers struggle offensively.
Thank you, Ben!