8p9s Mailbag: Fitting in Glenn Robinson III and making Turner and Sabonis work
By Jacob Lane
Each week or so will be an opportunity for us to answer any Indiana Pacers related questions you may have. To send us your questions tweet us at @8pts9secs or Facebook us at @8points9seconds.
The All-Star break is here and other than Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, the Indiana Pacers are enjoying some time away from basketball.
We here at 8 Points, 9 Seconds, still have to put in work. Content isn’t going to create itself. With that in mind, it seemed as good as time as ever to bring back the mailbag.
But we’ve killed off Will Furr (not really) and replaced him this week with Jacob Lane, who will answer your Pacers related questions. If you want to get in on the next one, send us a question to me at Jacob_Lane08 or @8pts9secs on Twitter and or on Facebook at @8points9seconds.
Hopefully each week we can have some fun breaking down the good and the bad from the Pacers, and maybe even answer a few non-basketball questions if you need that done.
Without further ado, let’s get to your questions…
Where does Glenn Robinson III fit in?
One thing is for certain about the return of Glenn Robinson III. He will bring a certain skill set to the table, that no one wing on the current roster has: 3 & D.
My best guess is that once GRIII returns, fully healthy, which should be shortly after the all-star break, Nate McMillan will use him with the second unit. Could he replace Bojan in the starting five? There’s a shot, but it’s not likely.
Now the question becomes whose minutes does he take? Does he split time with Lance Stephenson, who has struggled a bit as of late? Does he replace Joe Young? Does he get minutes at the four in a small ball lineup?
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I think the most likely scenario is that he will take a few minutes from Joe Young and a few from rookie TJ Leaf.
Joe Young is having his best season as an NBA player shooting an efficient 47% from the field. TJ Leaf has shown glimpses to make you believe he could be a future contributor in the Pacers rotation. But after playing just one season at UCLA and needing time to develop, it’s more likely he’s best suited getting heavy minutes with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the G-League for now.
If GRIII can come back, provide 10-12 minutes a night of in your face defense, and knock down a couple of three’s and/or make a few nice cuts to the basket for dunks, it will provide a huge boost for the Pacers.
As the playoffs draw near, defense on the wing and three-point shooting will become more and more important in every game.
Speaking of T.J. Leaf…