How Isaiah Jackson can "slot" in at center

On playing 5-out with a non-shooting center -- or at least more limited shooting center

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

For his career, Isaiah Jackson has shot 7-of-34 from three. By comparison, Myles Turner shot a career-best 28-of-56 just on triples from the corners last season. A year ago, Jackson went to work on his jumper during the offseason, but the results of that labor didn't exactly have a chance to bear much fruit, as he went down with an Achilles injury in November after only appearing in five games and never attempted a shot outside of 10 feet. Once he's ready to return to action, it's possible he'll also be more shot ready. Still, for a team that ranked fourth in spread pick-and-rolls per 100 possessions last season, there's reason to ask how or if the Pacers can go about playing 5-out when Jackson is on the floor as a non-shooter -- or at the very least a more limited shooter.

In that regard, here's a few ideas from around the association, particularly with an eye for why the slots (i.e. the area on the court in between the top of the key and the wing) could be key to "slotting" him into lineups that project to have less space.

Keyed up

For long-time readers of this publication, this action (which the Pacers refer to as "C") shouldn't be new. It was covered extensively in a piece last summer on how the Pacers keep Pascal Siakam posted, and it was also discussed at length when Zach Lowe and I previewed the NBA Finals. In essence, it's an empty corner touch screen between the four and the point guard with the five-man spaced at the top of the key. If the defense switches the screen, the five has the opportunity to feed the mismatch with a high-low pass to the sealing four, who then only has to contend with a guard at the rim as the low-man.

Of course, part of what makes that pass possible is the degree to which the five is guarded on the perimeter. There, Xavier Tillman comes up out of the paint when Jackson touches the ball at the top of key. If the opposing big hangs back, that same entry gets taken away.

And, here's the thing: That's Thomas Bryant, who made 42 threes in 56 games for the Pacers last season. If the defense was willing to live with him shooting the ball, it's possible, if not probable, that the same will also be the case with Jackson. That said, the play doesn't begin and end with the high-low pass. If the post feed isn't there, or if the defense doesn't switch, then the Pacers get to the next action by dropping down into a stagger for the player in the opposite corner to cut to the wing.

Alternatively, if the big plays back, the option would also be there for Jackson to pivot into a second-side action, dribbling down into a hand-off for that same player in the corner without any pressure. In that way, the fact that he isn't a floor-spacing five could actually create space for the players receiving the hand-off to play in rhythm downhill. Still, neither of those options results in a touch for Siakam, who will presumably need to see more of the ball as the team's closer next season in the absence of Tyrese Haliburton.

To date, the Pacers have played less than 250 minutes, including the playoffs, with Siakam on the floor with Jackson. Granted, Jackson hasn't played with this version of Siakam, who shot a career-best 38.9 percent from three on 4.2 attempts per game last season, and it's possible that Siakam also hasn't played with this version of Jackson, who might return more ready and willing to let the ball fly; however, it bears pointing out that the Pacers have only logged a total of 55 minutes with the two of them on the floor without Haliburton over the last two seasons, scoring just 103.4 points per 100 possessions.

Playing the slots

That's why, in order to find more elbow room, the Pacers may need to consider playing the slots and shifting Jackson to the elbow-area extended -- at the slot, in between the top of the key and the wing. Just look at this possession from the Charlotte Hornets. Nick Richards has only attempted five threes in his five-year career; and yet, there he is, positioned above the break at the slot as the potential second screener in a double drag.

Ideally, Aaron Nesmith wouldn't give up a screen rejection to Seth Curry in that situation, but no defense is ever going to be entirely impenetrable. Once he gets beat, that alignment puts the five-man for the Pacers in the unnatural position of closing out to the corner in order to help Pascal Siakam as the helper.

That's asking a lot of Myles Turner, while also displacing him as the rim protector. In order to keep his presence around the basket, Turner could rotate to the rim instead of Siakam, but he's going to have to take a few extra steps to meet the ball from the slot than what would be the case if he was stationed at the middle of the free throw line with his man operating more traditionally at the top of the key.

Meanwhile, that rotation would also open a seam for his man to cut behind him to the rim for a potential dump-off pass or offensive rebounding opportunity.

Even if Siakam slides over to absorb the cut in that scenario, who is going to close out to the corner? This is effectively the vision in action. Jackson is at the slot as a pressure release, ready to receive the pass out of Indiana's 77-skip action, which the team refers to as "slice."

Normally, Haliburton chases his pass and "gets" it right back at the elbow to attack downhill with his dominant right hand. If that isn't there, however, they'll flow into split action as seen above, with the big as the trigger man. As Rick Carlisle told me during our conversation about random offense, Jackson doesn't prohibit the Pacers from playing five-out because he can "handle (the ball), passes very well, and can drive it."

Tellingly, when Jaylin Williams starts to smash down on T.J. McConnell's drive, Jackson cuts behind his rotation, as previously described. Lu Dort manages to level off the drive without help, so Jackson doesn't have an avenue to crash all the way to the rim, but the blueprint of how spacing him at the slot could lead to drop-off passes, offensive rebounding opportunities, or open corner threes is there. Plus, his ability to handle, as Carlisle mentioned, ultimately enables him to knife to the rim.

Those same spacing principles can also be applied to post touches and isolations for Siakam. Wing entries for Siakam have a tendency to be more static than the aforementioned high-low action "C" in which his touch screen topples a series of dominoes as counters, but the advantage here is that a smaller guard is once again positioned to help as the low-man. At the same time, Jackson is hovering around the elbow-area extended, ready to dive if his defender drops down to double or protect the rim.

And, there's the rub. Because Jackson is hovering around the elbow-area extended rather than standing opposite from Siakam in the dunker spot, his defender once again has more ground to cover in order to stunt while still staying connected. Remember, NBA defenders can't be in the paint for longer than three seconds if they aren't within reach of an offensive player. For that reason, even though Jackson isn't a formidable shooter, Orlando's Wendell Carter Jr. can still be seen stepping toward him, away from Siakam as the ball-handler rather than precluding (or occluding) Siakam from being the ball-handler.

Skip Ahead

Another way to keep Siakam involved, at least as the screener, while still playing 5-out with Jackson on the floor would be to leverage his lack of gravity as a shooter with skip passes.

Think of it this way: If Siakam sets an angled ball-screen at the wing, then every step that Jackson's defender takes toward the roll or to provide help behind the switch will be extra breathing room for Jackson to make a play from the corner, either stretching the floor with an uphill hand-off for a shooter, such as Aaron Nesmith, to slide behind him into the corner or turning the ball downhill with a keeper.

Haliburton was one of only five players in the NBA to complete at least 100 skip passes to the corners last season, and he obviously won't be available to play quarterback, but Nembhard has shown the ability to deliver passes to the corners with plenty of velocity, including with his off-hand, in a more limited playmaking role. Moreover, if Jackson has latent ability as a ball-handler and hand-off operator, this would certainly expose it (good, bad, or otherwise), while also providing a potential opportunity for him to get rolling with his vertical pop out of an empty corner hand-off.

Locking horns

A similar principle can also apply when the bigs dot the corners with inverted spacing. This doesn't exactly qualify as 5-out alignment, given that the guards start the possession at the elbows, but the concept of purposefully placing a non-shooting, lob threat in the corner as a means to punish help instincts still applies. If the defensive big sags off, a runway opens up to catch a lob at the rim. Granted, the window on this pass isn't wide so the timing is everything, but it's also much harder to stop someone at the rim when they have momentum and the nearest defender doesn't.

Also, the fact that the guard at the opposite elbow automatically circles out to replace the crashing big in the corner means that there isn't going to be any help at the nail on the drive; thereby, requiring help from the big who the lob threat is diving behind.

All of which is to say that, as was discussed during my conversation with Rick Carlisle, there can be spacing advantages to playing 4-out instead of 5-out, as the latter alignment opens the middle of the floor, whereas the former creates wider gaps on the perimeter for drives. Last season, the Pacers would oftentimes play 4-out with a guard in the dunker spot so as to force an opposing guard to protect the rim. That said, part of the reason why they were able to position a guard in the dunker spot is because Myles Turner was capable of holding space in the strong-side corner. It's possible that Jay Huff, who shot 38 percent on 50 corner three attempts last season, will be able to replicate those types of options and looks. Still, for a team that oftentimes played inside-outside-inside, morphing from early work with high-seals in the first seven seconds of the shot-clock to 5-out spacing to open up driving avenues and then seal screens to remove the help on those drives, there's reason to think that Huff may not be the only big on the roster who can take up residence on the perimeter.

In that way, it may not always come with Jackson firing away from deep; however, with the option to shift him to the slot or to the corners while uncorking skip passes and lobs or running uphill hand-offs, the Pacers can still potentially, and strategically, manipulate the space he doesn't create by spacing him in different locations around and along the arc.