One adjustment the Indiana Pacers could make is returning to their early-season small ball style of staring C.J. Miles at the 4 spot.
After the Indiana Pacers got theyselves embarrassed on their home court by the Toronto Raptors in Game 3, I chatted with my main man Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic. As are most people following back-to-back bad losses by Indiana, he was wondering about what adjustments Frank Vogel will make in the Pacers’ must-win Game 4.
The truth is that there are plenty, and the best “adjustment” the team could make would be simply playing better across the board. There is no “adjustment” to not be sloppy with the ball and commit heinous turnovers. Nor is it an “adjustment” to not go 10-of-42 (23.8%) over the past two games.
That said, somethings must be altered.
Myles Turner, for example, should and almost certainly will start Game 4. And in chatting with Mr. Murphy, I suggested another potential starting-lineup shakeup that is intriguing.
I am curious to see what a George Hill, Monta, PG, CJ, Turner starting unit would do. I think Turner starting Game 4 is a given. He started the second half in place of Lavoy Allen down low alongside Ian Mahinmi, who looked more mobile in Game 3 than in Game 2, but still limited by his sore back. So the question is whether Vogel stays uber-big with the Turner/Mahinmi twin towers or goes small. The lineup you note, with Solo, would be the safer one, while having C.J. Miles there would be the better chance at opening the game by actually putting some points on the board.
And since the matchup would presumably be Luis Scola, either of those guys could do just as good of a job. Of course, Toronto could adjust be getting some post-ups for Luis, but if you’ve pushed Dwane Casey to go away from the All-Stars and Valanciunas, you’ve kind of already won the strategic matchup battle anyway, even if Scola flips in a few crafty, scoop shots around the rim.
The upside of C.J. Miles spacing the floor and hitting a few 3s in the first quarter, however, is vast. If that happens, PG attacks the hoop, Myles Turner does some spacing with long 2s, and Indiana forces a steal or two? There is the potential for a decent lead at home with a loud crowd building momentum that could carry the team to a great first half.
Would it work?
Who knows.
But the potential of a few early 3s inside The Fieldhouse in front of on a Saturday afternoon crowd sounds uplifting enough that it could be the slap in the face the Pacers need to continue focusing and executing for the rest of the game. And that might offer more than an injured Ian Mahinmi or a Solomon Hill-like Solomon Hill could give you out of the gates.
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Sure, C.J. Miles was 0-for-5 from 3-point range in Game 3, but his previous results, even recent results, often have no connection with what happens next. Everyone who has watched him over a season or two knows that he’s as likely to hit his next 5 triples as his is to miss them all. But he’ll fire them up and force defenders to covering him behind the arc.
Jon Washburn, in his column on potential adjustments, suggested starting C.J. by moving Monta to the bench. That, he notes, should add more spacing to the starters and allow Ellis to bring some offense to a bench that has been woeful in the past two games.
Would that work?
Who knows.
But we know that what has been happening for the past two games has definitely not been working. So it’s now time to either roll the dice on the status quo or get funky and make some moves.