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The chemistry experiment known as the Indiana Pacers’ rotations

By Ben Gibson

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 3: Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers goes through a workout as part of Basketball Without Borders Africa at the American International School of Johannesburg on August 3, 2017 in Gauteng province of Johannesburg, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 3: Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers goes through a workout as part of Basketball Without Borders Africa at the American International School of Johannesburg on August 3, 2017 in Gauteng province of Johannesburg, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Indiana Pacers established their rotations in the very first practice on Tuesday, but what can we expect from those groups?

There weren’t too many surprises so far with the Indiana Pacers rotations through two days of practice, but that tells us something in itself.

For one, Nate McMillan still prefers the veteran players when there is a coin-flip situation. Another thing confirmed is Lance Stephenson will remain the sixth man, a role he’s thrived in with the Pacers. Now we can start putting some serious thought into what it means for the Pacers this season.

The Pacers lost more talent than they gained with the departures of Jeff Teague, C.J. Miles, and Paul George, but that doesn’t mean this season’s team can’t be entertaining. In some ways, the 2017-18 Pacers starters may fit better together than the ones we saw last year, particularly the ones with Monta Ellis.

The Indiana Pacers Starting 5

Darren Collison, Victor Oladipo, Bojan Bogdanovic, Thaddeus Young, Myles Turner

The starting unit isn’t such a bad combination save for the fact both Darren Collison and Bojan Bogdanovic are both defensive liabilities. Offensively, though, Collison provides scoring while Bogdanovic gives the Pacers shooting (36.9% 3-point shooting for his career) from the small forward position.

Both of them help space the floor, something that the Pacers can leverage as an advantage this season. According to Nicholas Sciria’s Spacing Rating stat — a measure of how well a lineup spaces the floor relative to the rest of the NBA — the Pacers are above average in the 58.3 percentile. Having two big men, Young and Turner, capable of knocking down 3-pointers is something we’ve seen before, but we’ll have to wait and see if the rest of this lineup can make the most of that space.

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While Bogdanovic and Oladipo are the only Indiana starters that put up 3-pointers with any regularity, the entire lineup shouldn’t be left open if they are standing at the 3-point line. With Collison’s ability to score in the pick and roll — and Turner’s knack for knocking down shots in those situations — the Pacers offense looks mildly impressive if things click together. As stated before there is less talent, but this group may have better chemistry.

However, last season taught us things don’t always click together despite the most positive bloggers’ predictions. With that grain of salt, there is some hope that despite this offense having much less firepower, it can be productive.

Expect Collison and Oladipo to eat up a large number of possessions. Oladipo may have sat back with Russell Westbrook controlling things with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he shouldn’t be deferring to anyone in Indiana. Seeing how Oladipo and Collison share the ball is worth monitoring, but I don’t predict to cause to much stress. Myles gets his chances in the pick and roll, something Collison said he and Turner will use as teammates now.

Young is likely to play a bigger role than he did a season ago, but as a power forward he doesn’t always get to dictate the rules of engagement. I expect him to do more, but Oladipo and Collison cut into how much his role can expand.

The defense is likely to have issues that both Thad and Myles will need to clean up, but Indiana’s offense should be fun to watch if they can space the floor and take advantage of the space they are given.

The Second Unit

Cory Joseph, Glenn Robinson III, Lance Stephenson, T.J. Leaf, Domantas Sabonis

This group might be a science experiment gone terribly wrong, but there are reasons to think they can come together as well.

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Last season we saw the Lance Effect was very real. Getting the more mature version of him — save one play against the Toronto Raptors — was the kick in the ass the Pacers needed to push them into the postseason. Keeping that energy going for an entire 82-game season will not as easy, but Lance Stephenson as the sixth man is still the right role for the swingman. Stephenson will also play a role in blended units with the starters, likely giving Bogdanovic extra rest.

They won’t have much going for it in regards to spacing, nor should we expect their defense to be anywhere near the league average. Each player has strengths and possible upsides (Joseph’s shooting, GRIII’s all-around game, Leaf’s offense, Sabonis’ potential), but the fit as a group is certainly questionable.

On paper, I expect this group to bleed points, but if they can find ways to maximize each other, there is hope that they can score a few points as well. Stephenson attacking the rim can open up opportunities for others, but things will get ugly the rest of the group is missing shots.

Blending these players with the starters sounds like a better plan than hoping they can hold their own as a unit.

The Rest

Joseph Young, Damien Wilkens, Alex Poythress, Jarrod Uthoff, Al Jefferson

This isn’t so much a unit as it is simply the end of the Pacers bench. Al Jefferson is the only player here that will see significant minutes unless these players step up their game in major ways. And that’s assuming the slimmer, more fit Al Jefferson is back in McMillan’s good graces.

Outside of Al, Young looks buried behind a number of other ball-handlers on the team and won’t even get a chance to break through unless injuries happen. The story is similar for power forward Alex Poythress, who would have to outplay Leaf or Sabonis to earn minutes. Not to mention Poythress is only there because Ike Anigbogu is hurt. Jarrod Uthoff shoots well but is fighting more established players for time on the floor as well. Damien Wilkens is too old to make sense beyond a veteran presence to keep the kids in line.

That’s not meant as an insult as much as there are just better players ahead of these guys. They’ll need to find something we haven’t seen from them before if they want a job other than bench warmer.

Next: Pacers will experiment with Domantas Sabonis at center

These are just the training camp lineups, but they confirmed many of the comments from McMillan and Kevin Pritchard over the summer. We expected the veterans to get the nod in most cases, but watching how the players on the second unit earn (or lose) minutes will give us a glimpse of the team’s future.

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