Since the Indiana Pacers starters can’t play every minute, somebody from the bench has to play.
The Indiana Pacers bench play has been really bad. It has been a glaring weakness from day one that never got addressed. It’s really kind of unbelievable that Bird never saw it as a problem. While there are good players in the second unit, they simply do not fit together.
Just as a starting five is constructed the bench five should be thought of in the same way. The best teams have five guys on the court that each know exactly what their role is. This is why the starting five has been a top unit the entire year.
The question is, who deserves minutes as the playoffs come and rotations shorten?
Figuring out who fits better than others
This aspect is no doubt the toughest for coach Nate McMillan. The reason being, Larry did such a poor job of finding guys that fit a role. In the backcourt, Brooks, Stuckey, and Monta Ellis all play the same type of style. And in the front court you have the same problem with three old-school non floor-spacing bigs. Not only do the primary role players fill the same role, most are all on the back end of their careers.
Meanwhile the only bench player that actually fills a need in the second unit is sidelined for at least two weeks. So, with these constraints it will be almost impossible for Nate to truly find a backup unit that works.
Trying to find positives in the negative
One bright spot has been the move to the bench for Monta Ellis. Monta should have been an obvious candidate for the microwave scorer that every team needs off the bench. For some reason Bird and company forced Ellis into a first unit that proved disastrous for the first month or so of the season.
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Ever since this long overdue move to the bench Ellis has showed his game as being a perfect 6th man. Post all-star break Monta has average just shy of 11 ppg while shooting over 40% from deep.
The other positive for this bench five has been the emergence of Glenn Robinson III. He has validated his 20 plus minutes per game by showing a very valuable and underrated skill-set. Glenn brings energy and defense to a second unit that lacks both. Don’t forget that he hit a game-winning 3-pointer earlier this month.
Although his stats are a little underwhelming. The fact that he fills those two obvious needs is enough to warrant even more minutes when he returns from his injury.
Who deserves playing time moving forward
The only thing that matters now is the playoffs. This Pacers squad has showed all season that they are a 6th seed at best. So, the two that deserve the most time come April are Glenn Robinson III and Monta Ellis. These two should be the first off the bench (barring a set back from GR3) in every game.
That was the obvious and easy part but what comes next is more difficult. Although I am not the biggest Lavoy Allen fan his recent play has been very important to the Pacers. He can play minutes next to either Myles Turner as a glass eating four. Or next to Thad Young as a dirty work center.
This means that an 8 or 9 man rotation could make Indy a very dangerous team.
Where Nate gets in trouble is playing all five bench players at the same time. The only other player I would seriously consider giving more than 15 minutes to is Big Al.
Al can be a force on the inside but lacks an sort of defensive presence. When playing Jefferson Nate should have at least two out of C.J, Paul, and Thad on the court to help cover for Jefferson’s defensive shortcomings.
As for Aaron Brooks and Rodney Stuckey, they should be almost completely out of the rotation by the playoffs. I understand that spot minutes will happen due to fatigue but neither should ever play more than 10 minutes in a game.
Next: Rodney Stuckey's Unfortunate Fall with the Indiana Pacers
In the playoffs rotations shorten and the guys that play the best get the bulk of the minutes as it should be. Indy’s starters have showed they can hold their own against just about anybody. This means that an 8 or 9 man rotation could make Indy a very dangerous team.