Indiana Pacers: What We Learned in Week 7

Week 7 was not a great week for the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers went 0-4 in the murderer’s row part of their early schedule, getting blown out by the Atlanta Hawks at home, making a valiant comeback attempt against the Los Angeles Clippers (also at home) but coming up short, losing at Toronto against the Raptors, and then getting blown out at home in a game that was never as close as the final score indicates against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Aside from a few minutes of the Clippers game, none of these contests were close. The Pacers made multiple lineup changes throughout the week with varying degrees of success, and we’ll take a look at those and more in this week’s what we learned.

Chris Copeland Is Still Not the Answer at Small Forward

Chris Copeland started two games this week at small forward. Copeland is presumably in the lineup to stretch the defense and provide shooting, but in his two games starting, Copeland shot a combined 5-of-14 from the field and 3-of-10 from 3.

He scored 16 total points in his starts against the Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta Hawks, posting an embarrassing -30 plus/minus against the Clips and -8 against the Hawks. He also allowed Matt Barnes and Demarre Carrol to shoot a combined 50% from the field and 40% from the arc (these are their combined totals from the game, not possession specific, but Cope was their primary defender).

He wasn’t much better off the bench, shooting 33% en route to 5 points in a total 18 minutes.

Since his hot(ish) start to the season, he hasn’t looked good regardless of what position he plays, missing 3s and committing silly turnovers. Copeland leads the team in nearly every turnover statistic; some of that can certainly be attributed to him being forced into a larger role in the offense early in the season, but it’s not getting better.

This isn’t saying that Cope can’t snap out of it and be a useful player throughout the season, but he has not been good for the Pacers recently.

Solomon Hill Might Not Win the 3-Point Contest This Year

Solomon Hill’s 3-point shooting looked good early in the season, but he’s fallen off a cliff recently. Hill is down to 28.2% on the season, and was 1-for-8 (12.5%) last week.

Hill does look like an NBA player – he is a solid defender (and still improving), and has a sneaky off the bounce game. He seems to surprise at least one or two defenders per game with his quickness, leading typically to good finishes (and occasionally spectacular missed dunks). He is a solid rebounder (the top non-big man rebounder on the Pacers per total rebound percentage, the percentage of available rebounds grabbed while on the floor), gets to the line, and is a solid free-throw shooter.

However, until he develops a consistent 3-point shot, he will continue to cramp the spacing of the Pacers offense.

In Fact, the Pacers Have All Forgotten How to Shoot the 3-Ball

The Pacers shot 31-93 from the arc last week, right at 33.3%. For the year, they rank 23rd in the league at 32.8%. For a team that has spent heavily in consecutive years to import shooters (Chris Copeland and C.J. Watson in the 2013 summer then C.J. Miles, Damjan Rudez, and Shayne Whittington in the 2014 offseason), that number is not going to get the job done.

The Pacers currently have just one player shooting better than 35% behind the arc, C.J. Watson, and he’s only played in 9 games. If Copeland (38.9% from behind the arc in his career, counting this year) and Miles (34.6%) can return to their career forms, the Pacers will be much better off.

Roy Hibbert Is Playing Hurt

Amidst concerns about his ankle, Roy Hibbert had an ugly week, averaging 7 points per game on 38.7% shooting. He grabbed 20 total rebounds (5 per game), and got abused on the defensive end, notably by Chris “yes, he’s still in the NBA” Kaman and Robin “no, that’s not sideshow Bob come to life” Lopez.

Both centers got him on a number of ball fakes, and Damian Lillard, especially, looked unafraid of Hibbert’s presence around the rim. If the big fella is indeed hurt, the Pacers may need to rest him, even if it means playing Lavoy Allen/Shayne Whittington more.

The Pacers are Getting Destroyed in the First Quarter

The Indiana Pacers were outscored by 25 points in the first quarter last week, an average of 6.3 points per game. They were -20 in the second, third, and fourth quarters combined.

Indiana Pacers Head Coach Frank Vogel tried three starting lineups last week, and all led to losses. (Stuckey/Hill/ Cope/West/Roy lost twice, while Watson/Stuckey/Miles/West/Roy and Watson/Stuckey/Hill/West/Roy lost once earch.)

However, the final unit (Watson/Stuckey/Hill/West/Roy) did manage to win a first quarter, albeit by 1 point. That lineup was played with Miles missing the game due to a bruised knee, so it remains to be seen if that lineup was Vogel trying something new, or Vogel yet again adjusting due to injury. But hopefully we’ll see that lineup get another chance to start games off without the Pacers falling down by double digits.

The Indiana Pacers Week Ahead

Games: vs Los Angeles Lakers (Monday), at Los Angeles Clippers (Wednesday), at Denver Nuggets (Saturday)

Prediction: Pacers go 1-2, beating the woeful Lakers at home before falling to the Clippers and Nuggets on the road

Last Week’s Prediction Results: 2-2

Season Long Prediction Results: 11-10

What to Watch For: Donald Sloan’s triumphant return to the rotation… Roy Hibbert not scaring dudes at the rim… Lavoy Allen getting bullied by bigger centers while filling in for Ian Mahinmi… George Hill on the practice court (even if it’s non-contact)… Solomon Hill building beautiful brick homes from behind the arc… Luis Scola still not making 2/3 of his free throws (65.5%)… C.J. Watson shooting 41% from behind the arc for a team that needs it badly… Rodney Stuckey eating at the line and begging for an And-1 related nickname… C.J. Miles, maybe, climbing out of his slump (that 30-point game was awesome) once he returns from this (hopefully) minor injury… David West only averaging 12 points and less than 1 free-throw attempt per game on a team that desperately needs his scoring… Nine Pacers averaging between 9 and 13 points per game… Damjan Rudez making clever passes, shooting 3s, and adjusting to the NBA speed while refusing to fall out of the rotation… Solomon Hill leading an NBA team in minutes and shooting 10 shots per game…

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What We Learned About The Indiana Pacers: Week 7

By William Furr | Dec 15, 2014