The Pacers could benefit from a more aggressive defensive scheme
The Indiana Pacers had a less than stellar defense last season, and many claimed it was due to the introduction of Nate McMillan and the departure of Frank Vogel.
Although they had impressive stretches, the Pacers defense last season was largely a disappointment. It’s not easy to explain exactly why that was the case — they fared well in a number of crucial defensive statistics like contested shots per game and blocks per 100 possessions — but it nevertheless presents an obstacle going forward.
If Indiana wants to convince Paul George to stay a Pacer long term, as they reportedly intend to do, a significant improvement will have to be made on the defensive end. Broadly speaking, there are two primary ways to improve a defense (or an offense for that matter):
- Improve on weaknesses without sacrificing strengths
- Punt on weaknesses to further improve strengths
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While the former strategy should be the first considered — it’s usually preferable to get better at things over getting worse at things — I think the latter strategy is where the Pacers will find success next season, even if it’s a bit unconventional. Let me explain further with an example.
Pick-and-roll defense
The Pacers run a fairly conservative defensive scheme against pick-and-rolls for the most part. Most of the time, the roll defender drops back to protect the rim, and if the ball handler gets open for a mid-range shot, then so be it. Like this:
Thaddeus Young is more concerned about deterring Andrew Wiggins from driving to the rim than he is about a pull-up jumper. Wiggins made the shot in that example, but the math is still sound. You’d rather allow a less efficient shot than one of the most efficient in the game.
The trade-offs between conservative and aggressive pick-and-roll defenses are generally agreed upon. With a conservative scheme, you’ll force fewer turnovers and allow more open mid-range shots, but you’ll also allow a lower percentage at the rim and generally make fewer defensive mistakes. On the other hand, an aggressive scheme will provide you with more turnovers and therefore more fast-break opportunities, but you’ll also give up more highly efficient shots at the rim. Ben Falk explained this trade off very well in an article for Cleaning the Glass, using the Jazz as an example for a conservative team and the Bucks as an example for an aggressive team.
Based on that logic, the Pacers should have forced a low at-the-rim percentage but not that many turnovers right? Wrong.
The Pacers starting unit with Monta Ellis, despite their at times lackluster defense, was one of the best in the league at stealing the ball, and that helped the team force the sixth most turnovers in the NBA last season. Meanwhile, they allowed very few shots at the rim at a respectable 60.2 percent, but that percentage still fell outside the top 10 in the league.
So the Pacers ran a conservative scheme, allowed a good-not-great percentage at the rim, and still forced a lot of turnovers. It wouldn’t be wise to suggest that the team goes full-tilt aggressive all the time, as that strategy hasn’t been proven to be effective at the highest level aside from perhaps the LeBron-era Miami Heat. The Milwaukee Bucks play arguably the most aggressive pick-and-roll style in the league, and they had a worse defense last season than the Pacers.
What I’m suggesting is that Indiana sprinkles in a little more aggressiveness every now and then, especially when facing more shoot-first ball handlers. Look at this possession and picture Myles Turner and Lance Stephenson swarming DeMar DeRozan.
The Pacers have the defensive personnel to dust off this strategy when advantageous. If successful, they could force more turnovers than any team in the league, and they could boost their fast break points from 26th to something a little more passable. It’s very likely that this shift in strategy will hurt the team at the rim, but is dropping from 12th to, say, 16th in at-the-rim percentage going to kill them?
Next: What should the Pacers do with their rotation players?
Diversifying the approach to pick-and-roll defense could make the Pacers and much more versatile and intimidating team, and they’ll need every advantage they can get if they want to keep their westward-looking superstar.