On the Pacers' bench and the no good, very bad play

Oof

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

For the majority of the season, the Pacers have demonstrated strength in numbers. In addition to being a balanced attack, with seven players averaging double figures in scoring, they also typically get a huge boost from their depth, posting the highest aggregate scoring output per 100 possessions among benches in the Eastern Conference. That is with the exception of what happened during the most recent loss to the (now) 12-win Charlotte Hornets, in which the reserves for the Pacers collectively tallied just 43.5 points per 100 possessions. For point of reference, that's the lowest scoring output posted by the bench as an aggregate since Pascal Siakam's debut in Portland, when the second unit was arguably overextended on the second night of a back-to-back after several reserves had acted as starters the night before against the Kings. In this case, the bench wasn't exactly running on fumes; the offense just struggled to run smoothly  -- at least not with any consistency. 

Of course, some of that should probably be expected. After all, this was only Doug McDermott's second game back with the team since being acquired at the trade deadline, Jalen Smith was out due to back spasms, and Siakam was attempting to prop up what was a relatively unfamiliar bench group as the only starter. That said, even with those caveats, it was noticeable that the same play which only a few weeks ago had powered the Pacers to a grimy win over the Memphis Grizzlies suddenly couldn't provide the same wheel grease as when Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin both showed in-game progress within the action.

Here's what happened. At the end of quarters, the Pacers typically go to what is referred to as 1-4 flat or more simply a flat pick-and-roll with both corners and the dunker's spot filled. With T.J. McConnell at the controls, McDermott is responsible for approaching as the screener and opening a gap for McConnell to attack downhill as the driver -- preferably to the plucky guard's right with his strong hand. Except, there were a few problems. 

In the first instance, McDermott made and held contact on the screen to force the switch, but he did so to the right of the on-ball defender, which meant McConnell had to try to split the defense with his left before briefly going into a backdown, all without much momentum. Then, at the other end of the floor, the Hornets went right at McDermott in semi-transition and scored. On the next offensive possession, the Pacers went back to 1-4 flat again, only with McDermott slipping out into space to McConnell's left. That allowed McConnell to drive into the gap at speed, but the defense didn't switch on the non-contact (blur) screen, and he ended up losing the ball while also leaving meat on the bone (honey on the stick?) for the Hornets in terms of clock management (i.e. there was still five seconds left to play).  

Needless to say, that wasn't an ideal sequence, nor was the clunk that occurred at the end of the third quarter out of the same play. After starting the game 0-of-4 from deep, McDermott didn't play in the second half, so Obi Toppin filled in as the screener as part of a bigger lineup with Isaiah Jackson and Siakam both on the floor against a center-less unit for Charlotte.  

Notably, as the defensive "big," Grant Williams is barely sliding laterally to help, at the urging of Seth Curry, instead of up. Meanwhile, Curry is top-side of Jackson to take away the lob. To be fair, Jackson counters by screening Curry's outside shoulder, but the ball never finds Mathurin behind the pin-in as McConnell misfires trying to shoot over the top of Tre Mann. Still, that's quite a bit different from the positioning of players down the stretch against Memphis, when Mathurin was in the dunker's spot with Smith and Nesmith dotting the corners. Here, with a guard in the unfamiliar position of both stymying the defense of the ball-handler while also responsible for protecting the basket, Nembhard turns the corner and gets to the rim against the switch with less fear of a shot-blocker. Additionally, in contrast to Curry, the corner defender, being GG Jackson, prioritizing sticking with Nesmith rather than establishing top-side position prior to the penetration. 

With that in mind, on the next and final possession of the frame, Siakam took over the controls from McConnell, who even for someone who has only made a total of three shots from deep this season didn't exactly create the illusion of being shot ready or really anything ready with his hands on his hips. Meanwhile, Siakam is trying to organize the possession, waving off Jackson in order to get an empty ball-screen from Mathurin, as arguably the most competent movement shooter on the floor, before going at the mismatch. Turns out, there wasn't actually that much credible shooting on the floor, movement or not, which ultimately just resulted in him getting swarmed late in the shot clock.

Granted, the lack of production from the bench wasn't the only reason why the Pacers lost. When Charlotte went small with 6:30 left to play in the game, the starters struggled to manufacture stops, as they gave up numerous driving angles as a group and repeatedly got their wires crossed on switch-or-stay decisions while getting outscored 17-13 the rest of the way. Also, even as Siakam was making tough shots and trying to act as the through-line for the bench, he very quietly had quite a bit of trouble getting through screens, especially away from the ball, where he kept running into contact and has also recently exhibited a growing number of lapses as a help defender. In that regard, the All-Star Break could be timely, not only in allowing him to recharge after the whirlwind of changing teams midseason and constantly adapting to changing lineups, but also to provide the team with the opportunity to fully flesh out how to best optimize his length and versatility on that end of the floor. 

All of which is to say that, differences from Hield aside, McDermott isn't always going to come up empty from deep, and some of the lineups that were particularly cramped as far as spacing probably won't end up being in circulation when the roster is at full strength, let alone against a Hornets team that, while still not good, suddenly was different to account for with more shooting post-deadline. And yet, even if it's way too premature to start pushing the panic button (wait until after the All-Star Break and when/if Tyrese Haliburton is back to being 100 percent), there might at least be reason to consider pressing some different buttons -- whether in the form of more Ben Sheppard, more tweaks to the defensive scheme, or simply more chemistry and force from whichever players happen to be on the floor at the same time.  

To that point, as is evidenced by the rare off-night from the bench and the no, good very bad play that has often, and even recently, been highly effective for the Pacers, changes can change things a hurry -- sometimes, for worse and, maybe, perhaps also for the better.