If you’re an Indiana Pacers fan and were watching them take on the Charlotte Hornets last season, you knew you were in for a long night. Will that change this season?
The Indiana Pacers lost the season series 0-3 against the Hornets last season by an average margin of 10 points. They were a match-up nightmare — particularly with Marvin Williams.
Williams is a legitimate stretch-four in this league and forced the Pacers to make changes to their starting lineup and game plan, though that didn’t change the final results for Indiana.
The Pacers new roster is completely different than last year’s and here is why they match up a lot better with the Hornets.
Thaddeus Young
The Pacers couldn’t start Myles Turner against Charlotte last season. He was primarily playing the four, with Ian Mahinmi playing the five. He had a really hard time covering Marvin Williams — who lives on the perimeter — while trying to defend the pick and roll. He wasn’t much better against Cody Zeller either. The Pacers had to rely more on a guy like Solomon Hill, who is now in New Orleans.
Of all fours to acquire in this league, Thaddeus Young might be the best one to acquire for defensive versatility. He’s very capable of closing out on shooters and defending the perimeter. He also is one of the quickest fours in the league — which will obviously help his case.
Myles Turner vs Cody Zeller
Myles Turner is a great rim protector but did have his struggles being in thee correct defensive position last season, particularly in the pick and roll. Cody Zeller got some easy buckets last year playing as the roller with Kemba Walker. Turner is still only 20 years old, so you can expect some growing pains in that category, but he’s only getting better.
He should be better in that defensive situation than last year.
Kemba Walker
Kemba Walker lit up the Pacers last season. He averaged 26.7 points per game through 3 contests. George Hill, who I label as an elite defensive point guard, couldn’t even contain him.
Jeff Teague is obviously not as good defensively as Hill, but he’s much faster and possibly in the top three fastest in the NBA. Plus, if Teague gets beat, it’s nice knowing you have a stud rim protector behind you in Myles Turner — assuming he’s not caught in the pick and roll again. Ian Mahinmi was a good rim protector last year, but Myles Turner has a legitimate shot to average 2+ blocks per game this season.
Pace
The Hornets are one of the few team’s in the NBA that like to play with a slow-pace. Indiana is used to that, but they’re focused on running and scoring more points. If the Hornets are forced to play Indiana’s game, momentum could certainly swing in the Pacers’ favor. The Pacers need to make sure that they dictate the pace of the game.
Defensively
Charlotte is an elite defensive team. Back to the pace of play — if the Pacers want to score against this team, they’ll need to do it playing fast. You don’t want to play in a half-court game against this team when their defense is set.
Next: The 7 Biggest Questions for the Indiana Pacers
It will be entertaining to watch these two teams battle this season. It should be much more competitive than it was last year. The Pacers play against the Hornets for the first time this season on November 7th in Charlotte.