Indiana Pacers: A balanced attack is bringing success to the Pacers

In a league full of high scoring superstars, the Indiana Pacers are setting themselves apart with a well-balanced attack that is leading to success

In a league full of high scoring superstars, the Indiana Pacers are setting themselves apart. The National Basketball Association is a league that has James Harden scoring 60 in a game while averaging 38.9 points per game. It is a league that has Giannis Antetokounmpo scoring 30.9 points a night and a league where Luka Doncic averages 30.6 points on a nightly basis.

But, you see, that is not the Pacers way. Without front-man and All-Star Victor Oladipo, the Indiana Pacers are doing more than staying afloat after their abysmal 0-3 start. Since then, the blue and gold have gone 12-4. They are winning with a balanced scoring attack and teamwork that is sometimes lost in the NBA.

Not a single player for Indiana’s “local tall men,” as Pacers’ radio play-by-play announcer Mark Boyle calls the team, are averaging 20 or more points. Point guard Malcolm Brogdon is averaging 19.4 points and 7.9 assists per game. He is fifth in the league in assists per game and is firmly planting himself as a contender for an All-Star spot.

The Latvian powerhouse and power forward Domantas Sabonis is wreaking havoc on all those who try to defend him or outrebound him. He is averaging 18.5 points and 13 rebounds per game.  He is fifth in the league in rebounds per game and he set his career-high for rebounds in a game earlier this season with 19.

On the day of the NBA Draft, the Pacers gave the Phoenix Suns cash considerations in exchange for small forward T.J. Warren. I hope the Suns are enjoying that cash because the Pacers organization and the Pacers’ fans are very much enjoying the 17.9 points per game that Warren has been adding to the blue and gold this season.

Since coming over to the heartland, his defense has improved dramatically as well. The defensive improvement and the extra 1.2 steals per game were a nice bonus that not a single person in Indiana expected.

Center Myles Turner is averaging the least amount of points among the starters at 11.7 points per contest, but do not let that number fool you. Turner does his part. The big man leads the starters in 3-point percentage at 42.2 percent and consistently spreads the floor allowing Sabonis to dominate inside and allowing Brogdon to penetrate the paint.

Turner’s defense is often an afterthought in today’s NBA, but it should not be. He is consistently altering shots while adding 2.4 blocks per game. He is making it hard for the opposing teams to get the shots that they want and making opponents think twice before driving into the lane.

The last of the starters, but certainly not the least, is shooting guard Jeremy Lamb. With an average annual salary of $10.5 million per year over three years, I thought maybe the Pacers had overpaid. I thought wrong because so far Lamb’s contract has been the bargain of the century.

When Oladipo went down last season the Pacers did not have a player that could effectively create their own shot.  Now with Lamb, who is averaging 17.1 points per game, and Brogdon, the Pacers have two of those players. The bench is adding its fair share of points as well.

Small forward Doug McDermott is adding 8.7 points per game while shooting 43.8 percent from beyond the arc. Guard Aaron Holiday had a double-double earlier this season and is currently averaging 9.2 points and 3.1 assists per game. Finally, point guard T.J. McConnell and small forward/shooting guard Justin Holiday have been the surprises of the group as they have added 7.0 and 7.6 points per game, respectively.

So, no, the Pacers likely are not going to have a player drop 40 points on a team, but they will have four or five players with 15 or more with three or four more scoring 8-10. They do not give you flash and maybe by today’s standards would be considered boring.

Yet, here they are fighting for a top spot in the Eastern Conference, without Oladipo, when some experts thought they would be a 9th or 10th seed. This Pacers team is winning games the old fashion way, so hold on NBA fans because the Indiana Pacers are coming.