Indiana Pacers’ Bench Playing Big Part In Team’s Season, Switchover

The Indiana Pacers made some big changes during the offseason and have since endured a bunch of frustrating injuries to start the regular season. Coach Frank Vogel was already trying to guide a team-wide transition to a new playing style without ideally suited personnel, and trying to pull it off at times without key members of the group — C.J. Miles, George Hill, Rodney Stuckey — hasn’t made the process any easier.

Still, the Pacers stand with their record at a healthy 9-5 and have even cracked the top-10 in some NBA power polls. Indiana has essentially been two teams so far: the “spread” crew it (in theory) aspires to be, with C.J. Miles at power forward, and the “big” crew it has been in the past, with a traditional power forward such as Lavoy Allen or Jordan Hill. That’s not an easy method for success, but Vogel has been juggling the two identities magnificently to start the season.

With all the scuffling, the Pacers’ bench has already seen a ton of run, showing that depending on the night, this group is going to be important up to ten guys deep. It’s also a group that’s almost entirely new from a year ago, so this stretch has been an opportunity for the bench to discover their roles and show where each of them fit in for the foreseeable future.

Rodney Stuckey — Stuckey was a revelation for Indiana during Paul-George-less season last year, setting career-high marks with his shooting and efficiency rates and becoming a go-to scorer for the team. This season, with the return of George Hill and the addition of Monta Ellis, he’s coming off the bench as the sixth man, a position for which his skills as a combo guard are ideally suited.

So far, despite missing five games due to an ankle injury, Stuckey has settled in well to this role, shooting a tick more than 44 percent to start this season, right in line with his strong rates from last year. Stuckey brings a couple crucial elements to this Indiana team: scoring ability and depth at the guard position.

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After the starting threesome of Hill, Ellis, and George, Stuckey is really the Pacer who can create scoring opportunities for himself or others, a skill that’s a crucial part of any bench unit. The transition to a “space and pace” style has been a nice change for a bullish guard like Stuckey as well since he has more freedom to push the tempo and get to the rim, two things he’s never had a problem with doing. Along with his scoring, Stuckey can handle defending either guard spot in a pinch, and his good health is the only thing keeping the Pacers from having a rookie point guard — the so-far-underwhelming Joe Young —head up its bench unit.

Stuckey’s cozy bench role probably won’t change even in the case of injury. We’ve seen that if Hill or Ellis is hurt, the other starting guard simply handles the point while Chase Budinger spot-starts at the 2. Vogel needs Stuckey off the bench, and he and Ellis are too ball-dominant and undersized to play together. The one thing to monitor with Stuckey is his three-point shooting: last season he shot an anomalous 39 percent, and this season, that number has cratered back past the mean to 11 percent. While it’s unlikely he lights it up again, Indiana would be ecstatic if he could get that number up closer to the league average.

Chase Budinger — Coming off several consecutive seasons in which injuries thwarted his ability to even play meaningful minutes, Budinger and his health were a big question mark for Indiana heading into this season. So far, though, the results have been fine: Budinger has played in all 13 games for Indiana and even started twice, appearing to be Vogel’s preferred choice to fill in the backcourt when Hill or Ellis is missing.

Nov 21, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Chase Budinger (10) shoots over Milwaukee Bucks guard Jerryd Bayless (19) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Pacers defeated the Bucks 123-86. Mandatory Credit: James Brosher-USA TODAY Sports
Where he can play has so far been more important for Budinger and the Pacers than what he can do. The 6-7 forward has played three positions for Indiana so far this season, handling some bruising “stretch four” work in super-small lineups in addition to his perimeter responsibilities.

He’s handled it admirably too, despite the limits to his physical abilities at this point in his career. This is a terrible cliche, but Budinger is a smart veteran who “does all the little things” that are necessary for bench players. Make the right pass, take a good foul, don’t turn the ball over, make open shots, get back on defense — these are all things that Budinger does consistently, which helps the team win, or at least keeps it from losing.

While that wouldn’t normally be enough in and of itself to keep a guy on the floor, Budinger can also shoot the three (41 percent this year) and space the floor effectively. Until that goes away, he’ll continue to offer valuable versatility for this team off the bench.

Glenn Robinson III — No one has been a more unexpected contributor this season than Robinson III, who has worked hard to get his game up and push Budinger for rotation minutes early in the season. The son of the former Indiana basketball legend is clearly much rawer than Bud, but he offers youthful energy and athleticism without the head-hanging to which many young players are prone.

Other than his straight-up athleticism and talent, that’s probably GR3’s greatest quality, his resilience. In breaking through to get these surprise minutes, he has experienced some serious bumps in the road, namely on defense. Robinson III works hard on that area of the floor, which is a great start, however, he lacks a fundamental understanding of how to play defense off the ball. While he gives noticeable effort and improving results as an on-ball stopper, his man consistently beats him for buckets away from the ball thanks to his bad positioning, lack of awareness, inability to run through screens, etc. The weekend game against Chicago in mid-November was a very bad example of this, as Dougy McBuckets killed Little Dog.

Still, Robinson III’s progress is undeniably a nice surprise for Indiana. He’s still got a long ways to go, but his jumper is clearly coming along, and he’s shown some confidence and finishing abilities off the bounce. Depending on how his progress continues, his role in Vogel’s rotation should balloon or shrink accordingly.

Nov 24, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Indiana Pacers center Jordan Hill (27) attempts a shot over Washington Wizards forward Kris Humphries (43) during the second half at Verizon Center. Indiana Pacers won 123 - 106. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports — Nov 24, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Indiana Pacers center Jordan Hill (27) attempts a shot over Washington Wizards forward Kris Humphries (43) during the second half at Verizon Center. Indiana Pacers won 123 – 106. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Hill — After a brutal start to his Indiana tenure, Hill has settled into the rotation as one of Vogel’s most valuable big men, the only dude on the team who can play either power forward or center. That’s not to say that he does it exceedingly well, but he has the know-how and, just barely, the mobility to pull it off in most cases.

Hill is also the team’s only true post-up threat, and even with his unimpressive 50 percent shooting from in close, Vogel still deploys him this way at times, usually when bench units really need a safe basket. In that regard, Hill gives this jump-shot-oriented team a necessary inside scoring presence; now if he would just stop shooting his own bricky 18-footers.

Although he can be frustrating, Hill has found a nice role with the Pacers, and his rebounding has been incredibly necessary as this group continues to navigate smaller lineups and improve its team-rebounding. He’ll be fine if he stays right where he’s at, and maybe even better if he stops chucking from mid-range.

Lavoy Allen — Allen has so far been the plus-minus darling for Indiana, as he virtually only plays the power forward position in the team’s “big” lineups, those that feature a traditional power forward and center. Despite all the “smaller, faster” talk, those have so far been the Pacers’ best lineups this season, and Allen’s numbers have largely reflected that success.

More than anything else Allen rebounds the hell out of the ball, particularly on offense. He averages 3.4 offensive and 9.5 rebounds overall per 36 minutes, and those numbers have helped an inefficient Indiana team get extra chances on offense as well as close the door on opposing possessions at the other end. Hill is actually a decent passer as well; at the very least, he’s able to locate open shooters on the perimeter when he has the ball around the paint.

It’s good that Allen is content to do the dirty work because his offense is brutal. Currently, he’s shooting 39 percent, an unthinkable percentage for a big. Obviously the Pacers aren’t turning to Allen for scoring, but considering his value in other areas, it would be nice to see him at least not be a liability on offense.

Myles Turner — Sadly Indiana’s first-round pick from this year is sidelined for another few weeks after fracturing his thumb against the Orlando Magic a few weeks ago. The good news is that Turner played very well in his early season action for the Pacers, showing encouraging signs for his future potential.

True to the hype, Turner showed off a quick release and lethal jumper that’s good out to about 22 feet during his first 8 games with Indiana, with real potential to become a three-point threat. While the finer points of his offense are coming around, he possesses a soft touch and clearly has the smarts and talent to be a savvy scorer on that end. Defensively, he’s still learning how to defend without fouling, yet he’s been able to make block shots and deter opponents near the rim as well. Along with Ian Mahinmi, he represents Indiana’s only sources of rim protection.

There’s no need to rush Turner back given his age and the team’s middling stakes. Once he does return, though, he’ll offer a huge boost as he’s already probably the Pacers’ best two-way big man. Vogel and the team love Turner and want to keep him healthy while also giving him as many chances as possible to help the team and his development.