8p9s AMA: Why Won’t the Indiana Pacers Run With Ty Lawson?

Should the Indiana Pacers re-sign Ty Lawson? What about Ian Mahinmi? Which Pacer player spends th most time on hair care? All this and more.

Welcome back to the 8 Points, 9 Seconds mailbag, where we take your questions on the Indiana Pacers and make you feel internet famous because we answered them!

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@8pts9secs with all the talk of playing faster, why does it seem like only Lawson is in a hurry to move the ball up court?
— It'sUncleGeoff (@RealUncleGeoff) March 28, 2016

Geoffrey K: With all the talk of playing faster, why does it seem like only Lawson is in a hurry to move the ball up the court?

Excellent question. For most players, it comes down to comfort and habit. Running consistently has to start with the bigs, and the big men who Lawson is spending his court time with (Jordan Hill and Lavoy Allen) aren’t necessarily running bigs. That’s not to say they physically can’t — they’re obviously able — but as a big man, running starts with the rebound.

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On a running team, when a player gets a rebound, he has to immediately be looking up the court. Lawson has consistently had to wait for Allen and Hill to come down, clear space, turn around, and consider their options. Beyond that, it’s a learned habit for the wings. They have to turn tail and be shooting down the floor the moment the Pacers have the rebound, and they’ve not had to do that with any point guard on the roster.

Talking about being a running team is great, but you can’t just become a running team. It’s similar to changing an offensive scheme midseason and claiming you’re immediately that thing. It will take time, but Ty Lawson is a great piece to start running more.

Stone: If Ty Lawson continues to play well and improve, do you think the Pacers will re-sign him when the season is up? Possibly even start him?

The ideal outcome here is probably that Ty Lawson rediscovers his Denver form and stays on the straight and narrow, then resigns with the Pacers at a discount because he’s thankful that Larry Bird gave him a shot. That would be great, but it seems more likely that Lawson cashes in with a point-guard-hungry team in the offseason, if he’s able to look revived.

I don’t see him starting over George Hill in any scenario though: starting Ty Lawson and Monta Ellis together in the backcourt would test even the defensive prowess of Frank Vogel, and would likely be badly exposed by most back courts outside of Philadelphia.

Do you think we'll resign Mahinmi or go after another center in FA #8p9sAMA
— Gavin Gruszewski (@gruworld1) March 28, 2016

Gavin G: Do you think we’ll resign Ian Mahinmi, or go after another FA Center?

This might be the biggest offseason question for the Pacers. Ian Mahinmi has been outplaying his contract massively all year, and will be in for a tidy pay raise this summer. It’s nearly impossible to predict player values given the meteoric rise the salary cap is going to take, but it’s a safe bet that Mahinmi will probably command at least double his current salary (of $4 million per year).

The Pacers may be hunting a max-level free agent this offseason, and it would be very difficult to retain Mahinmi and sign a max level player. There’s also the question of whether they want to stay with the two-bigs lineup featuring Mahinmi and Myles Turner, or whether they’d prefer to move Turner to the 5 and sign a more traditional small ball 4. It’s possible that Larry Bird and Frank Vogel have different opinions on that (and we know who makes those decisions around here). My guess is that the Pacers will wind up retaining Ian and making a few other smaller moves, but it’s definitely a story that bears watching.

Eltoasto: Poor-shooting guards are going extinct while the Pacers collect them, what dodo bird will they sign next?

I’m putting my money on undersized bigs who rebound but can’t shoot or check bigger opponents. Quick, get Ed Davis and Reggie Evans on the line! Heck, why not Carl Landry too?

On a serious note, there’s something to be said for exploiting market inefficiencies. These guys aren’t bad players. They’re exploitable, but there comes a point where the value is there for what they bring, even if they have some flaws.

LG: Will Paul George top 24 points per game next year?

Yes. The Pacers might be better off if PG stayed around 22 and they got someone who could consistently get 18 next to him though.

@8pts9secs which Pacer would spends the most time with hair upkeep? My initial thought is Jordan but those twisties Myles must need care
— Joe (@Graylack) March 28, 2016

Joe G: Which Pacer player spends the most time with hair upkeep? Jordan’s locks? Myles’ twisties?

I’m gonna go off script and say blonde George Hill. Bleaching hair takes time and upkeep!

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Melissa W: As someone who’s not following too closely, why are we losing leads in the 4th quarter? Starters, bench, coaching? It’s happened over and over this season. On Grady and Joe, they talked about lacking that plan to finish a game, and that PG is a Robin in search of a Batman.

This has been the question all season, since the early collapses against the Bulls. At this point, it very much seems like an utter lack of execution. Doesn’t seem to matter much which five guys are on the court: there are consistent mental lapses. Lazy passes, bad shots, poor defensive effort, poor rebounding — it seems like everyone has been guilty at some point.

The average Pacers endgame seems to typically go something like this: Pacers turnover, opponent scores, Pacers take a bad shot, Pacers have a good defensive stand, opponent offensive rebound followed by a kick-out 3, Frank Vogel timeout, Pacers take a terrible fadeaway with the game on the line.

It’s not one simple thing, but at this point, I think everyone — coaches and players — deserves blame.