How Bruce Brown's adaptations can adapt to the Pacers

And why the Pacers can't have too much of a good thing 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper 

I have a confession to make. Despite blogging about the NBA for nearly a decade, I've never been to Las Vegas for Summer League or any other purpose. From what I've heard, it's an amazing atmosphere for basketball, networking, and food. Media members meet up with other media members, fans can watch games with top-tier players also in attendance as fans, and, apparently, there are some truly epic desserts. Seriously, a milkshake isn't just a milkshake. It's a milkshake made with a chocolate frosted rim coated in peanut butter cups and topped with an entire slice of peanut butter cheesecake, whipped cream, pretzel rods, and chocolate caramel drizzle. Needless to say, it's ... a lot, and similar to the slate of Summer League games once many of the headliners are no longer playing, it seems as though it might start to lose some of its appeal, bringing to question whether there can be too much of a good thing.

Prior to reaching agreement with Bruce Brown on a two-year, $45 million contract, the same could be asked about the construction of Indiana's roster, which pending a potential trade with the Sacramento Kings for Chris Duarte, currently includes eight players in the height range of 6-foot-5 and under who play the one, two, or three with most playing the two or three. Put simply, unless other moves were in the offing, there was a case for this being the "milkshake topped with an entire slice of peanut butter cheesecake, whipped cream, pretzels rods, and chocolate caramel drizzle" of NBA rotations. It's ... a lot, and with Brown set to earn $22.5 million annually, it's probably safe to assume that he will be penciled in as a starter. 

According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, the new CBA requires teams to spend 90 percent of the salary cap ($122.4 million), by the first day of the regular season. This means the Pacers needed to spend at least $18.5 million this summer. Still, they're choosing to invest money in Brown, when he doesn't exactly play a position of need. But, here's the thing: he fills several needs without exactly playing a "position." Instead, he's malleable, just like his contract, which, while arguably an overpay, reportedly includes a team option in the second year. In that regard, by comparison to his other teammates of similar height and build, he's like the pretzel rods intermingled in the excessively sugary dessert -- he adds a different flavor profile and texture. 

As such, here's a look at what differentiates him, as well as how he'll fit in with the Pacers, on both ends of the floor. 

Offensively:

During his second season in Brooklyn, Bruce Brown was primarily used as a 6-foot-4 short-roller, recording 69 possessions as the roll-man. That role flipped in Denver, as he was used as the screen-and-roller only 11 times, while leading the pick-and-roll for a total of 258 possessions and nearly doubling his volume of plays in transition.

With the Pacers, the possibility exists for him to mix-and-match some of what he did at both stops. For example, consider this possession from the Western Conference Finals. Granted, the Lakers ranked 26th during the regular season in points allowed per 100 transition plays, but that's also sort of the point. Look at Dennis Schröder's first three steps by comparison to the way in which Brown gets out of the blocks. 

This isn't even a close race.

On the season, Brown scored 1.326 points per possession in transition, which was good for 86th percentile and exceeded the marks posted by Hield (1.220), Mathurin (1.206), and Nembhard (1.150). Plus, consider this: Haliburton finished the year ranking seventh in total "pass ahead" passes leading to shots, per Second Spectrum, trailing James Harden, Trae Young, Chris Paul, Nikola Jokic, De'Aaron Fox, and Kyle Lowry, despite the fact that only Lowry played in fewer games. 

As such, Brown is still going to get rewarded for running while also having the opportunity to run more often in an offense that ranked fourth in transition frequency, compared to ninth for Denver. There will be a shift in style. With Jokic throwing passes like a game of water polo, Brown was free to shove the ball down the throats of opponents, attempting more of his shots in transition as twos than threes. By comparison, the Pacers generally have their center run down the middle of the floor, sucking in the defense for wings who sprint to spots around the arc. That said, if Brown leaks out ahead of the break, where he has developed an array of finishing moves, ranging from a low, crafty gather to an in-and-out dribble, Turner is capable of adjusting as the trailer. Either way, Haliburton will constantly be peering over his shoulder in search of Brown, and Brown has the potential to manufacture even more of those opportunities for Haliburton with his defensive activity.

At the same time, there's also spots where the two of them seem as though they will complement each other in the half-court. Again, this wasn't as regular of an occurrence in Denver as what was the case in Brooklyn, but look at how Brown comes up out of the corner to screen and slip for Jokic.

The Pacers trigger one of their most common sets, which they refer to as "C" (in reference to corner), with those same type of touch screens. Here's Mathurin scoring in a similar manner against the Nuggets, coincidentally. 

When the slip isn't there, Haliburton swings the ball to the big for the player in the opposite corner to zoom into Chicago action, which in layman's terms is a pindown screen connected to a hand-off. In that event, the player who sets the touch screen, as Duarte can be seen doing below, simply spaces to the corner from which they came. For Brown, given that the secondary action is typically run for the player to attack downhill with their right, that's actually more significant than it may seem.

Over the last two seasons, Brown has shot 53.8 percent (49-of-91) on right corner threes, compared to 20.3 percent from the left (15-of-74). The opposite has been the case for Duarte, who has knocked down 41.2 percent of his shots from the left corner (33-of-80), while connecting on just 28.3 percent (15-of-53) from the right. Some of that might just be noise, but Duarte can be dogmatic in evading closeouts to his left, which means shots from the right corner, which require him to go uphill, are more difficult. Brown isn't a high-volume marksman by any stretch, at least not as far as stretching the defense, but he has a better chance of connecting on shots from that spot -- presuming that Mathurin improves at processing kick-outs.

Additionally, Brown can also make an impact as a screener when Haliburton draws extra attention. Think back to what happened during the final meeting with the Heat. After dropping 43 points in the prior match-up, Miami was effectively giving Haliburton the jack-in-the-box treatment, either popping up out of nowhere with an extra defender or lunging toward him to plug his driving lane. Here, with Nembhard as the screener, Haliburton gets the match-up he wants to attack Tyler Herro in space, but he yet again gets ambushed by a trap, forcing Nembhard to make a play from the middle of the floor as the release valve. 

Generally speaking, Nembhard is a heady passer. He's made plays for others out of different actions that position him as a guard screener. In that case, however, he took an extra, unnecessary dribble that allowed Herro to recover, and he isn't quite as proficient on runners (33.7 percent) as Brown (39.1 percent). This possession is from two years ago, but spot the difference. Off the double drag, Brown gets the ball on the short-roll and maintains his pivot, finding Kevin Durant when Duarte sinks in from the high, two-play side and before Sabonis can rotate. That, in turn, puts Justin Holiday in a tough spot, resulting in the baseline cut from Joe Harris.

Jarace Walker might be able to make that play, too. He also has a strong feel for short-roll passing, but he isn't as likely to draw assignments ranging from Herro to Sabonis, both of whom are match-ups that the Pacers could target with Haliburton's gravity and odd-man advantages. Moreover, it certainly never hurts to have multiple players who can pass, particularly from the middle of the floor. All of which is to say that, from leaking out in transition to operating out of the right corner and slipping into space, there's reason to think that Brown, in matching role to skill within the already existing offense, can hit the ground running (and rolling) with the Pacers. 

Defensively: 

Consider the following defensive possessions involving Bruce Brown. It's the first round of the playoffs between Denver and Minnesota. Karl Anthony Towns screens for the ball. When Bruce Brown switches, Towns drives, resulting in an awkward miss.

That isn't necessarily atypical for Towns, who has a tendency to struggle more in the post against guards than bigs, but roll the tape back by a few months, and Brown is in New Orleans, swiping the ball from Zion Williamson on an island, albeit with Jokic lurking in the shadows. 

For those keeping track, that's a hulking power forward, along with Towns as a 250-pound, 7'0 center. And now, here he is corralling a guard, navigating around the screen and getting back in front to contest Ja Morant.  

Don't get it twisted. Brown isn't going to shutdown Towns, Zion, and Ja, but the fact that he was able to record that range of possessions still speaks to another way in which he could be beneficial to Haliburton, and vice versa -- especially as it pertains to the last example versus Morant. In Brooklyn, the Nets were oftentimes playing two small guards with Brown defending at the three, which meant they didn't always have the length to recover and contest against bigger wings. For the Pacers, unless he adds strength, Haliburton has a propensity for getting overpowered at the point of attack. Meanwhile, Mathurin's screen navigation is generally less navigation and more running into contact (or losing his place after switching). With Brown, the Pacers will have the flexibility to continue assigning Haliburton away from the ball.

It remains to be seen if Jarace Walker will start next season or have a similar rookie experience to Bennedict Mathurin, but it seems as though the potential is there for Andrew Nembhard to get pushed back to the bench. After all, Brown is going to be the highest paid player on the roster. Mathurin finished last season as a starter and seems poised to continue replacing Buddy Hield in the first unit. If that's the case, then there might need to be some serious consideration given to finding a way for Nembhard to run more offense for the reserves. In the 19 games he started at point guard last season, he averaged 14.7 potential assists. For point of reference, LaMelo Ball averaged 14.3 potential assists in 36 games played last season, which ranked seventh in the NBA. Nembhard is capable of playing away from the ball; however, for his long-term development, it doesn't seem as though he'll be fully optimized if he plays with the second unit and doesn't have the ball in his hands more often. Last season, his usage rate was 16.6 percent in the 1,683 minutes he played without T.J. McConnell, compared to 14.3 percent over the 352 minutes they played together. 

And yet, that very conundrum arguably reinforces the case for Brown, as well as his contract. With a team option in the second year, the Pacers retain the option to have options next summer. In the meantime, while they're figuring out how to balance the roster, along with playing time and development, there's reason to think that Brown will be able to adapt to whatever version they land on. 

He may be 6-foot-4, but unlike the epic desserts in Las Vegas or the prolonged duration of Summer League, what he adds that's different makes him seem less likely to lose his appeal, whether now or whatever happens a year from now.