Larry Bird’s Mistakes Set Up the Indiana Pacers for Mediocrity

We Were Hopeful, But Saw Trouble Brewing

We figured the starters could make it work, but there were plenty of questions with Monta Ellis and Jeff Teague sharing a backcourt. We suggested pairing Teague with almost anyone but Ellis, but it was a lesson that McMillan never fully took to heart.

The starters, once they put Monta on the bench, turned out fine. The bench was a mess that got it together at times, but never trustable.

Al Jefferson had his moments as well, but at in the end his fellow bigs — Rakeem Christmas, Kevin Seraphin, and Lavoy Allen — saw more time than him on the floor. An injury aided this, but Al’s minutes were dwindling before then.

Rodney Stuckey wasn’t healthy enough, and the revolving door at starting and backup shooting guard didn’t help Indiana’s bench either.

Of course, we all knew this was likely. I said as much before the season started.

"Weighing both the numbers and the eye-test, the bench in particular looks to be a looming disaster. There is only one ball and five players who are going to be very unfamiliar with each other when the season begins. That isn’t to say it can’t work. Players can adapt to new roles, but even if they are all willing to sacrifice, can they be as effective as a reserve unit? I don’t know, but the numbers themselves aren’t encouraging. If you forget Bird’s past mistakes when judging these moves, they were likely the best ones Indiana was capable of, especially on the fly. However, on paper, they don’t fit together."

All of this was (foolishly) wrapped in with the idea that maybe the could overachieve defensively despite the exits of George Hill, Ian Mahinmi, and Solomon Hill. Maybe Dan Burke was that defensive guru who could do anything. We wrote so many times that there were major issues to consider, but we never fully embraced the reality that they were more likely than not going to struggle, especially on defense.

Monta Ellis was the best example of this as he never settled into a role with the Pacers this season. He was expected to play defense with another undersized guard while also not eating up too many possession handling the ball. The defense didn’t work with Teague, but Ellis had value off the bench.

In the end, Ellis was a detriment to Indiana. Whether that was due to age, being put in a bad situation, or some other reason, it reared its head in the playoffs.

This is also where Nate McMillan might have coached himself out of Indiana.