3 Burning Questions for the Indiana Pacers: Starters Edition

The Indiana Pacers have revamped their roster to get smaller and faster — but will the starting unit be able to fulfill team’s overall plan?

“November Paul George” is a term most Indiana Pacers fans know by now. Last year’s November PG was in the MVP conversation, and driving a not-insane debate about who was better: him or Kevin Durant?

Can Jeff Teague Space the Floor?

As has been obvious to anyone paying attention of late, Larry Bird continues to overlook half of the “pace and space” strategy in his roster building. Outside of Paul George, the Indiana Pacers starting lineup looks rather range-deficient players.

Neither Monta Ellis (30.9% last year from deep, 31.3% career) nor Thad Young (23.3% last year on only 7 makes, 31.9% career) can reliably shoot from deep. Second-year starting center Myles Turner can hit from the midrange and has theoretical three point range, but he only went a whopping 3-of-14from behind the arc in his rookie campaign, mostly on broken plays.

Paul George (37% on 566 attempts last year) will do his thing from deep on a huge number of attempts, but that’s only one player so far who teams need to respect from deep.

How Jeff Teague shots might make the difference between a unit that is too-easy to pack the paint against and a potent offense that is a nightmare to defend.

Jeff Teague had a down year statistically in a lot of respects last year, but he had a career year from behind the arc. He set career highs in makes (110), attempts (275), and shooting percentage (40%). Teague’s career percentage from deep (35.5%) is roughly league average, but he’s never shot the three with much volume. Even his 110 makes would’ve been fourth on the Pacers last year behind Paul George, C.J. Miles, and George Hill. And keep in mind that that total was a full 21 more than he had ever previously made in season.

It’s also entirely possible for Myles Turner to develop deep enough range to be a moderate threat from the arc, or that Thad Young has developed a bit further as a shooter and just didn’t have the chances to show it in Brooklyn. But those are both likely to be incremental things, if they happen at all.

The Indiana Pacers offense needs Jeff Teague to shoot reasonably well from deep. If he can split the different percentage wise between his career best last year and his career overall, that would land him about about 38%. A Jeff Teague that can balance attacking the basket (which he does at an elite level, averaging over 11 drives per game) with a bit more willingness to unleash the deep ball would open a lot of doors for the Pacers offense.

Feb 21, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Myles Turner (33) pumps his fist as he makes a basket against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Amway Center. Indiana Pacers defeated the Orlando Magic 105-102. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports — (Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

Can Myles Turner Protect the Rim on His Own?

Myles Turner had a bit of an odd rookie year. He started the year as a backup center then lost about 20 games after breaking his thumb.

When he came back, he started splitting time between power forward and center, and (twice) became the starting power forward for the Indiana Pacers. Turner’s issues with lateral quickness (and inability to guard the pick and roll) were exposed at times, as he was drawn away from the basket and put into space against stretch power forwards.

He still averaged almost a block and a half per game — even with Ian Mahinmi often being the primary paint defender — and that number exploded in the playoffs to a whopping 3.3 rejections per game. Turner was forced into his more natural role at center, as Ian Mahinmi’s contributions were spotty due to injury and foul trouble, and Myles proved to be a real deterrent in the paint for the Raptors.

The marquee moment of his rookie campaign also came on defense. Playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Turner met LeBron James at the rim and thwarted his dunk attempt.

The King thought he was about to put an easy poster on the rook, but Turner had other ideas. His smothered chicken was, in his own words, a “huge turning point” in this career.

Plays like this, and the entire series against the Raptors, show that the potential is there. But he still needs to prove he can do it consistently.

Overall, Turner played in 60 games last year, and averaged 2.6 fouls in his 23 minutes per game. The Pacers likely will need him to average more like 32 minutes this year, and his ability to stay out of foul trouble is paramount. In the past, he almost always had the safety net of knowing that Ian could protect the rim exceptionally well whether Turner was available or not. This year, Turner is really the only rim protector on the team, and his starting guards are Monta Ellis and Jeff Teague.

Needless to say, it will probably be a busy year for Turner at the rim.

If he can avoid foul trouble and protect the rim, the Pacers defense may be able to stay competitive and reap the rewards of starting two small, offense-oriented guards. If Turner acts his age on defense — he won’t turn 21 until the end of next season — and commits silly fouls, the Indiana Pacers will be left with Al Jefferson anchoring the back line of their defense.

indiana pacers paul george — (Photo Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports)

Can Paul George Play a Full, Consistent Year?

Paul George’s last two full years have been fantastic. He has averaged 21.7 and 23.1 points per game, shot better than 36% from deep twice, and posted PERs of 20.1 and 20.9. The numbers back up PG as one of the brighter stars in today’s game, and along with premier defense, he certainly passes the eye test.

He has been in the peripheral non-Steph Curry MVP conversation at times, and was one of the best players on Team USA’s gold-medal-winning team in the Olympics. No one doubts how good Paul is anymore. He’s a legitimate star. This is not a claim that “numbers are deceiving,” nor is this an attack on Paul’s talent. He truly is in the conversation as a top 10 player — and maybe even top five.

Paul George has had consistency issues over the course of a season, however.

In both of his defining seasons, George has seemed to wear down in the winter months leading up to the All-Star break. Last season, PG went from shooting 47.5% from the field and 49% from deep in November (unsustainable numbers, at least from deep) to 37% overall and 36% from range. His FG% didn’t make it over 42.2% in any month again until April, which was only a six-game month (although he did start creeping back up in February).