by Wheat Hotchkiss
Bruce Brown made quite the first impression in Indiana.
It started hours before tipoff with his memorable arrival for his first regular season game as a Pacer.
Brown strolled across the tunnel connecting the Ascension St. Vincent Center practice facility to Gainbridge Fieldhouse wearing a cowboy hat and brown overalls, with no shirt underneath.
It was an image that will be seared into the brains of his teammates and even head coach Rick Carlisle for a long while, judging from their reactions.
But if Brown plays like he did on Wednesday, he can wear whatever he wants. The Pacers’ big free agency signee lived up to his billing, dropping 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, 6-of-8 from 3-point range in Indiana’s 143-120 win over the Wizards.
“Different color overalls every night, man,” Carlisle quipped after Brown’s performance. “I’m in.”
Brown’s outfit may have made him stand out, but he fit right in with his new teammates, adding another weapon to an already potent offensive attack.
Eight Pacers reached double figures in the victory.
All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton had his first double-double of the season with 20 points (15 in the third quarter alone) and 11 assists. Second-year guard Andrew Nembhard had a double-double of his own backing up Haliburton at the point with 12 points and 10 assists. Bennedict Mathurin picked up where he left off in his standout rookie season, scoring 18 points and also dishing out five assists. Buddy Hield knocked down four threes off the bench en route to 14 points. Jalen Smith (13 points and eight rebounds), Myles Turner (11 points, eight boards, and three blocks), and Obi Toppin (11 points and four rebounds) all had productive nights.
It all added up to the most points ever by the Pacers in a season opener and two points shy of the franchise record for points in any NBA home game.
“It just felt like the ball was moving,” Haliburton said. “That’s what we’ve tried to preach all preseason. We know we’ve got a lot of different guys (that) it can be their night at any time. I feel like it’s a really balanced scoring attack.”
“Everybody likes to see each other succeed on this team,” Smith added. “Everybody touching the ball, we know you’re going to find the open look some time. It’s going to be there as long as you keep moving the ball and just keep moving, something’s going to open up.”
The ball found Brown in particular on Wednesday. The 6-4 guard has carved out a reputation as a versatile player and tenacious defender over five NBA seasons and was an invaluable contributor on the Nuggets team that won a title last season.
But Brown was not known as a prolific 3-point shooter. Entering Wednesday, he had never made more than four threes in an NBA game. He had five through three quarters against Washington, then added the sixth early in the fourth, knocking down a shot from the left wing off a dish from Nembhard.
He had a big smile as he turned back up the sideline, high-fiving a couple fans sitting courtside on his way back down the court.
“I think just the offense,” Brown said of what allowed him to get so many looks from beyond the arc. “We play fast. Everybody’s running. Myles one time got me an open three just because of his seal. Just our offense is so random. Anybody can score the ball that night and it was me tonight.”
“Tonight he did exactly what we signed him to do,” Carlisle said. “He was a no-frills, veteran competitor that was ready to play on night number one.”
Brown’s performance earned him an invite into the postgame press conference alongside Haliburton, where of course, he was asked about his pregame outfit.
“Y’all can get used to the cowboy fits,” Brown said. “That’s just me. That’s what I love. It’s just my love of country music so I dress like I’m from the country. That’s just my swag.”
Haliburton couldn’t help but chime in.
“The cowboy hat is cool,” he said. “But naked under the overalls is crazy.”
“The boosts (were) ostrich, though,” Brown retorted. “Y’all don’t know nothing about that.”
“My bad,” Haliburton said, dapping up his new backcourt mate.
Brown certainly has unique taste within the Pacers locker room, but Carlisle said he also brings a championship work ethic.
“I get here early every day and he’s here before me every day,” he said. “He’s an early morning guy. You walk in the gym and Luke Combs is playing and he’s shooting and he’s doing his stuff.”
Brown’s versatility shown through on Wednesday. Not only was he in the starting lineup, Carlisle often deployed him as the lone starter alongside four bench players from the second unit. That group included Nembhard and Nesmith, Indiana’s two best perimeter defenders aside from Brown.
Bringing in Brown has added to the Pacers’ depth, but it also has created a ripple-down effect on the Pacers’ rotation. Brown slid into the starting shooting guard spot that Nembhard occupied last year as a rookie. Nembhard is a natural point guard that played primarily off the ball last season in deference to Haliburton and T.J. McConnell.
Carlisle experimented with a 10-man rotation that included both McConnell and Nembhard in the second unit in Friday’s preseason finale, but ultimately determined that he would roll with just a nine-man rotation to start the regular season, with Nembhard getting all the minutes as the backup point guard. He met with McConnell on Tuesday, breaking the news to him in what he called “one of the most difficult conversations I’ve ever had to have with a player.”
“I was almost in tears talking to him about it,” Carlisle said. “One of the reasons was that he was just so great. He was just him. He said, ‘Hey, listen, I’m disappointed. I’ll be ready. I’ll be professional, you know that. I’ll do everything I can to set an example.’
“This is one of the great competitors really in the history of this franchise. There certainly are going to be opportunities for him to play, but heading into this game the minutes plan just didn’t shake out well for him, so we talked about it. That was tough.”
McConnell was vocal on the Pacers’ bench throughout Wednesday’s game, cheering on Nembhard and the rest of his teammates. With the game in hand, he checked in for the first time with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to a loud ovation (partially because he was subbing in for Haliburton). He was his usual energetic self, hitting both his shots and tallying four points, two assists, and two steals.
Smith was quick to praise McConnell after the game when asked about Nembhard, noting that the nine-year veteran has been “a big brother” figure for the younger point guard that has been instrumental in his development.
“One of the other great things about T.J. is he’s been a big Andrew Nembhard supporter,” Carlisle confirmed. “He’s been in his ear for the first year-plus. He’s given him little tidbits of advice to play the position better.”
Carlisle was quick to point out that it’s an 82-game season and McConnell’s services will definitely be needed over the course of the year. But for now, he is outside the rotation. And he’s not the only talented player in that position.
The rotation also doesn’t include Jarace Walker — the eighth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Nor does it include fellow first-round pick Ben Sheppard or 2021 first-round selection Isaiah Jackson. Jordan Nwora, a talented scorer who set a franchise record with a 25-point quarter last season, and Daniel Theis, who helped Germany win the FIBA World Cup this summer, are also on the outside looking in.
“We feel like we really have 11, 12, 13 guys that can be a part of the rotation,” Haliburton said. “We just feel like we’re a really deep team. That’s why training camp has been so good. We’ve just been competing, getting after it…It’s just a testament to the roster that’s been built here and the hard work that guys have put in this summer.”
That depth can lead to more tough conversations, but it also should serve the Pacers well this season in their quest to return to the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.
Wednesday was only one game, but they certainly made a memorable first impression.
Originally posted on pacers.com