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Is Pace and Space the Answer? Looking at the Results of Small Ball Lineups

By William Furr

Dec 14, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers guard C.J. Miles (0) reacts after scoring a three pointer against the Toronto Raptors at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Toronto 106-90. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 14, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers guard C.J. Miles (0) reacts after scoring a three pointer against the Toronto Raptors at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Toronto 106-90. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Indiana Pacers have embraced small ball — though not fully, and some results suggest they are smart to ease into a new philosophy.

Big versus small. Ground and pound versus pace and space. Size versus speed. This is the dilemma that the Indiana Pacers have been facing all season long.

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The Pacers have switched between starting Lavoy Allen and C.J. Miles as the nominal power forward, with Jordan Hill taking a few starts at the beginning of the year. Lavoy Allen is probably the least “sexy” of those three players. He doesn’t throw down rim-rattling dunks, he’s not expressive, nor is he a long-range shooter.

However, the results of the team when those three have started are interesting.

C.J. Miles and Jordan Hill are both .500, with the Pacers going 10-10 when Miles starts at the four-spot and 1-1 when Jordan Hill starts. The outlier here is Lavoy Allen. The Pacers are a stellar 9-2 when Lavoy Allen starts at the power forward position for them, with the two losses being on the road at San Antonio and in overtime against the Bulls in Chicago.

Such results fly in the face of Larry Bird’s push to overhaul the team — making it smaller, faster — being a big reason that the Pacers are exceeding expectations this season. This begs the question: Should the Pacers switch back to bully ball and drop the pace-and-space concepts Bird has sought to embrace?

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It’s important to note that, through 33 games, the Pacers have started 20 of them small and 13 of them big. This has not been the meteoric shift that was expected coming into the year, and is being overlooked in all the pace-and-space rhetoric. It’s also critical to understand that big change doesn’t come instantly or easily.

C.J. Miles has spent his entire career as a shooting guard or possibly an undersized small forward, and this represents a huge change for him. The Pacers are working in Jordan Hill, getting Ian Mahinmi used to starting, adjusting to Monta Ellis, and working out the rotation both with the bigs (Jordan Hill/Myles Turner/Ian Mahinmi/Lavoy Allen) and their backup wings (Chase Budinger/Glenn Robinson III/Solomon Hill). It’s not surprising to see the Pacers initially doing better with a big lineup that George Hill and Paul George are used to.

Again, we’re left with the question: should the Pacers switch back to bully ball and drop the Pace and Space mantra that Bird has been pushing?

So far, the Pacers have not fully switched to small ball, nor have they stayed the plodding, slow team they used to be. But they aren’t necessarily hedging their bets, waiting to switch one way or the other with the wind. Instead, the Pacers keeping both a small lineup and a big lineup at their disposal.

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It’s too early to say if it’s the right move, but the Pacers have not been afraid to zig when others zag in other ways (especially with their draft record) and this could be another instance. Maybe this is the Pacers attempting to get ahead of the curve by being able to play both ways. Time will tell, but this could be an interesting decision by a front office that isn’t afraid of backlash or confusion from fans.

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