by Dustin Dopirak
NDIANAPOLIS − Just five days after beginning training camp, the Pacers get to see how they look against a team other than themselves.
Indiana begins preseason play against the Grizzlies at 8 p.m. ET Sunday in Memphis. The game won’t be televised locally on Bally Sports Network as the Pacers’ two home exhibitions games will, but it will be available on NBA League Pass and on the Pacers Radio Network (93.5 and 107.5 FM in Indianapolis).
It’s the first time the Pacers will return to Memphis since an on-court incident involving star guard Ja Morant and his father, Tee, in a game on Jan. 29 turned into an off-court confrontation between associates of Morant and members of the Pacers’ travel party. Morant is suspended for 25 games for conduct detrimental to the league after he twice posted videos on social media that included him holding a weapon. He’s not allowed in the building for preseason games, and will not be eligible to return until Dec. 19, and the Pacers will play at Memphis for the first time in the regular season on Dec. 21.
With that drama unlikely to be an issue, there are still several interesting storylines as the Pacers try to build on a somewhat surprising 35-47 finish in 2022-23. Here are four things we’ll be watching Sunday night.
Can the Pacers rebound?
Improving a defense that finished 29th in points allowed and 26th in defensive efficiency has been the central focus of the offseason. Within that focus, the most important areas where they needed to improve are one-on-one defense and keeping ball-handlers from getting into the paint. But another is rebounding to complete defensive possessions.
The Pacers finished last in the NBA last season in defensive rebounding percentage, grabbing just 68.5% of their opponents’ misses. They allowed 15.4 second-chance points per game, the second-highest figure in the NBA.
They addressed the problem in the offseason by adding size. Last season, their centers rebounded relatively well with Myles Turner, Jalen Smith and Isaiah Jackson each averaging at least 9.0 rebounds per 36 minutes. However, the only non-centers who averaged more than 7.0 rebounds per 36 minutes last season − Oshae Brissett and Trevelin Queen − were playing limited minutes and are no longer on the roster. They were starting 6-5 Aaron Nesmith, a natural wing, at power forward, and hope that 6-9 Obi Toppin and 6-7 rookie Jarace Walker will help. They also hope free agent addition Bruce Brown, who is 6-4 but has averaged 6.2 rebounds per 36 minutes in his career, helps.
Memphis, though, offers an immediate test. With Steven Adams and Jaren Jackson Jr. starting on the front line, and Xavier Tillman and others coming off the bench, they finished sixth in the league in offensive rebounding percentage and in second-chance points, and eighth in overall rebounding percentage. If the Pacers don’t respond immediately to the rebounding challenge, they could find themselves on the wrong ends of block outs.
“Memphis for the opening preseason game, regardless of who they have playing, they’re a smashmouth, physical, high-level rebounding team,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “That will be a great test for us.”
How much do Pacers rookies play?
Obviously, with so much competition on this year’s Pacers roster, every personnel choice Carlisle makes in the preseason will be interesting, and the choices he makes in the early games will be even more intriguing. The organization is at a place where it doesn’t seem to have any dead weight on the roster, or even players who appear to be around to provide veteran leadership but not on-court production. They have 15 players they believe in, but only five can be on the floor at a same time, and most teams put together a first and second unit and don’t have much time left for the rest of the roster. The Pacers have some decisions to make immediately and those will affect long-term roster decisions as they pursue a return to the playoffs.
With that being acknowledged, Carlisle’s comfort level with rookies Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard in preseason games will give a sense of where they fit, and that will affect the destinies of several other players.
As the Pacers’ lottery pick and just the second top-nine pick since 1989, Walker is obviously the more intriguing rookie, and much could be determined by how ready he is to contribute. Measured at 6-6 1/2, 248.6 pounds with a 7-2 1/2 wingspan at the NBA Draft combine, Walker brings size to the power forward position that the Pacers didn’t have a year ago, and he was drafted primarily for his defensive skills. He proved at Houston that he can defend on the perimeter and in the post and can be a dynamic shot-blocker and rebounder, and those skills immediately showed up at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
That being said, the Pacers also added Toppin, a former lottery pick, and it’s likely he’ll get the first crack at the starting job heading into his fourth NBA season. Jordan Nwora, acquired last season from the Bucks at the trade deadline, averaged 13.0 points per game in his 24 games in Indiana and doesn’t want to relinquish playing time. Walker, of course, hasn’t played in an NBA game, so Carlisle has to gauge how ready he is to be thrown into the fire.
Sheppard’s position on the roster is also intriguing. He was drafted 26th overall because the Pacers like his shooting, defense and hustle. The wing positions could use more of all three of those talents, but in Buddy Hield, Bennedict Mathurin, Bruce Brown and Aaron Nesmith, the Pacers already have several proven players. There doesn’t have to be a rush to get Sheppard on the floor, but it will be interesting to see if he will play any part in the position battles.
So far, Carlisle said he’s happy with what he’s seeing in the rookies.
“They’re enthusiastic,” Carlisle said Thursday. “They go hard. They’re athletic. Both Sheppard and Walker had their best day today. They just figure things out. You get into Day 3 of an NBA training camp, you will have learned a lot the first few days.”
How will Carlisle distribute point guard minutes?
All-Star Tyrese Haliburton will certainly be the Pacers’ starting point guard, but the second-unit point guard is another intriguing position battle. Unless circumstances demand that Andrew Nembhard move back to an off-the-ball role this season − which is unlikely with the addition of Bruce Brown − the Pacers will have to decide whether Nembhard or veteran T.J. McConnell runs the point on the second unit. If it’s McConnell, they’re certainly not going to want to banish Nembhard to the end of the bench, so they’ll have to figure out another role for him. However, if Nembhard wins the job, they’re probably won’t want to banish McConnell, either.
Sunday’s game could give some sense of how Carlisle is handling that scenario. Both Nembhard (neck) and McConnell (ankle) have dealt with minor injuries early in camp, so it’s possible that one won’t be available. Still, both are talented, gritty and steady, and both are tough defenders.
How will Bennedict Mathurin and Buddy Hield split minutes?
Bennedict Mathurin and Buddy Hield are the Pacers’ most explosive offensive wings, but the Pacers probably can’t have them both on the floor too often because of what it costs them on the defensive end. That likely means splitting their time. Starting Mathurin seems to be the long-term plan after the No. 6 pick in the 2022 draft became one of the most productive rookies in Pacers history. However, Hield is also one of the most prolific shooters in NBA history, having broken the Pacers’ franchise record for single-season 3-pointers (288). He also has great chemistry with Haliburton, and he’s heading into the final year of his contract with negotiations for an extension apparently stuck.
Preseason lineups don’t set anything in stone, but it will be interesting to see if the Pacers start Mathurin now to get Hield used to coming off the bench, or if they start Hield and force Mathurin to take the job. It will also be interesting to see how much they try to foster − and potentially force − chemistry between Mathurin and Haliburton, or if they make sure Haliburton and Hield get some time on the floor together.
What happens in preseason doesn’t necessarily lead to what happens in games that count, but Sunday marks the first opportunity to get a sense of Carlisle’s thinking on some very difficult decisions, and one of the most difficult will be between his two top-scoring wings from last season.
Originally appeared on Indianapolis Star