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Hey, that Domas Sabonis kid is pretty good: 3 things it means for the Indiana Pacers

By Jonathan Matthes

MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 21: Domantas Sabonis #11 of the Indiana Pacers handles the ball against the Miami Heat on October 21, 2017 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. 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 Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 21: Domantas Sabonis #11 of the Indiana Pacers handles the ball against the Miami Heat on October 21, 2017 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. 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 Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Domantas Sabonis of the Indiana Pacers
MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 21: Domantas Sabonis #11 of the Indiana Pacers handles the ball against the Miami Heat on October 21, 2017 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. 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 Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Two weeks into the 2017-18 season, Domantas Sabonis has done nothing but soar past expectations, dispel doubters, and play like one of the best players on the team. So, now what?

Back in the sweltering days of summer, back before Victor Oladipo was averaging 25 a game and almost everyone bemoaned how Indiana got swindled by Oklahoma City, Domantas Sabonis was a mystery.

Not anymore.

Now Sabonis is (excluding Myles Turner’s numbers, since he’s only played one game) second on the team in scoring (12.9 ppg), first in rebounding (11 rpg), seventh in the NBA in field goal percentage (minimum 4 games played), the second most used pick-in-roll mate in the league (41.2), and has looked every bit the starting center that the Pacers have been playing him as.

It looks like Sabonis didn’t accept the notion that the Pacers should pack it in this year and try again next year. Which isn’t bad, there are at least seven teams that are off to horrendous starts (Lakers, Heat, Suns, Bulls, Kings, Hawks and Mavericks) and all but Miami intentionally lack the firepower to recover. So what does Doma’s emergence mean for the Pacers going forward?

We can name at least three.

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