The Bench Is Now a Huge Strength for the Pacers — For Once

Back on December 27, the Indiana Pacers went on the road to Brooklyn and won 110-85. It was the second night of a back-to-back with both games on the road. C.J. Miles was out due to illness, but it didn’t matter. The bench came up with one of their best games of the season, outscoring Brooklyn’s bench 52-16. Chris Copeland, C.J. Watson, Lavoy Allen, and Luis Scola all scored in double figures and collectively shot 54% from the floor.

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Fifty-two bench points isn’t typical this season. But it’s because of games like this one that fans have restored their faith in the bench, especially given the last two years when Indiana had one of the most dominating starting lineups in the league and one of the worst benches. But was the bench really as bad as advertised last year and are they as good as people think they are this year?

The 2013-14 Indiana Pacers Season

Last year’s starting lineup of George Hill, Lance Stephenson, Paul George, David West, and Roy Hibbert played a total of 1,468 minutes, the most in the NBA. That left little room for the bench, which ranked 28th in the league with 25 points per game on 43.3% shooting and scored just 16.1 points per 48 minutes, (25th in the league).

The bench numbers aren’t completely fair since lineups without any starters only appeared for three minutes per game. Statistics for the most commonly used lineups with players coming off the bench provide better context than raw bench statistics.

Besides the starting lineup, Frank Vogel’s most commonly used lineups featured one player coming off the bench. While the starters outscored opponents on average by about nine points per 48 minutes, four-starter lineups had no advantage. This indicates that either the bench players who played with four starters on the court either performed below average individually or disrupted the chemistry of the starters.

Indiana’s record when their bench outscores their opponent’s bench is a lackluster 14-15, but they’re 0-9 when their bench gets outscored.

The best explanation for the bad reputation of the bench is also the simplest; the bench players just aren’t the same caliber of players as the starters. Hill, Stephenson, George, West and Hibbert were all top 12 at their positions last year in wins above replacement. Even better, four of them were top-six overall in defensive win shares with George Hill finishing 20th.

This Indiana Pacers Season

Indiana doesn’t have a lineup that comes close to last year’s starters in either production or time on the court this season. With their best player out for the year, one starter from last year on another team, and multiple key players often out of the lineup with injuries and illness, Indiana has found very little consistency. Their two most used lineups have combined for just over 270 minutes, and neither will end up as the most used lineup this season if George Hill remains healthy throughout the second half of the season.

With so many fewer minutes for the starters, there’s more for the bench and the results show. The bench ranks fourth in the league in minutes per game (19.8) and points per game (40.3). Even their points per 48 minutes are much improved, ranking fifth with 19.5.

C.J. Miles has scored over 20 points six times this season with the first five coming off the bench.

In addition to an improvement in the overall bench numbers, several players are having career years coming off of the bench.

C.J. Miles has scored over 20 points six times this season with the first five coming off the bench. He’s scoring over 12 points per game, just shy of his career mark, and while his shooting percentage is just 36%, that can be attributed to a slow start in November and a career high percentage of his shots coming from behind the arc.

Luis Scola is having his best season in years. His 16.1 points and 11.0 rebounds per 36 minutes are better than both David West and Roy Hibbert’s output. And so is his 47.2% shooting from the field.

Ian Mahinmi and Lavoy Allen are also having great years. Mahinmi is back shooting over 60% from the floor and had he avoided missing so much time, would be ranked in the top 25 in rebounding rate. (The low minutes leave him unqualified for the leaderboard.) Allen is also a top-25 rebounder per 48 minutes and is having his highest scoring season while shooting 49%.

Indiana’s record when their bench outscores their opponent’s bench is a lackluster 14-15, but they’re 0-9 when their bench gets outscored.

What The Numbers Say

So was the bench really as bad as they looked last year? No. At least not entirely. Their overall numbers left much to be desired and at times they were completely inept. But several of their most common lineups not only outscored their opponents, but also kept pace with the starters.

Is this year’s bench really that good? Yes. Some of their success can be attributed to the increase in minutes since there is a strong correlation between the two stats, but individual improvements by several key bench players are also a big reason. There’s also no discounting Indiana’s winless record when their bench gets outscored.