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5 things that mattered from the Indiana Pacers Media Day

ByBen Gibson|
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 29: Here is a photograph of the Pacers logo prior to the Indiana Pacers against the Dallas Mavericks on March 29, 2015 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. 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 2015 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 29: Here is a photograph of the Pacers logo prior to the Indiana Pacers against the Dallas Mavericks on March 29, 2015 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. 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 2015 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)

NBA Basketball is almost back. Here are 5 things we learned from the Indiana Pacers Media Day on Monday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Did you want to see Domantas Sabonis and Aaron Holiday as astronauts — or should we say, cosmonauts? Well then welcome to the Indiana Pacers Media Day.

Most of Media Day is pleasantries and rehashing themes from the summer, but we did learn a thing or two about these Pacers. Some of it is actually pretty newsworthy, even.

While we didn’t get anything as exciting as Kawhi Leonard glitching, here are 5 things that caught our attention from the Pacers at this year’s Media Day.

Domantas Sabonis and T.J. Leaf are getting their contracts extended

We’ll probably have Tony East break this down more in-depth later, but the biggest news out of Media Day was the Pacers will pick up the team options on both Domantas Sabonis and T.J. Leaf, pending physicals.

That’s roughly $7.5 million on the books for the 2019-20 season, which for Domantas Sabonis alone is worth it. If Leaf can crack the lineup this year or next, even better.

Sabonis averaged a double-double when he started while posting 11.6 points and 7.7 rebounds on the season. With Myles Turner heading into restricted free agency next year, it’s a bit of insurance if they happen to let their current starting center leave.

Leaf is still a work in progress, but as we’ve said a million times, if his defense improves, he might find a role for himself in the future.

Victor Oladipo will sing to you over FaceTime

We all know Victor Oladipo can sing, but Kyle O’Quinn got his own concert at times when the two were talking over the summer.

I’m not sure what this means beyond Oladipo never stops singing, apparently.

“Don’t F with the Game.” — Nate McMillan

Despite his mild-mannered demeanor, Nate McMillan likes to drop F-bombs now and then, but at least on Media Day, he held back a little.

McMillan is a players’ coach and can develop young talent, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get on his nerves at times, either. I’m sure part of that is purely coach speak, but the entire Pacers roster appears to have a non-F’ing with the game approach.

He also commented again that he plans on using more traditional lineups since they won’t be facing LeBron James as often, and sees the Eastern Conference as faceless until someone steps up.

I don’t know if that plan will work, but Indiana has the right personnel to at least experiment with it.

Pick and Roll (Tyreke Evans + Myles Turner) = ?

Tyreke Evans said he is looking forward to running the pick and roll with Myles Turner, and mentioned how well it worked with Anthony Davis during their time with the New Orleans Pelicans.

While some astute observers may say “Myles Turner isn’t Anthony Davis”, it’s worth noting Davis was only a few percentage points better as the roll man on the pick and rolls two seasons ago.

Turner worked hard this summer on his body, but we’ll have to wait to see how it translates onto the court. Myles must evolve this season, but you can’t say he isn’t putting the effort into making it happen.

Nate McMillan says “we’re looking at a 9-man rotation”

The Pacers made several moves in the offseason to bolster their rotation, and it wasn’t just so they could be sitting pretty.

Indiana coach Nate McMillan said that they were looking at a 9-man rotation at the moment. Which coupled with another comment from Kevin Pritchard, likely means Kyle O’Quinn could be the odd-man out.

This isn’t overly surprising as Kyle O’Quinn is sharing a frontcourt with Turner, Sabonis, and Thaddeus Young, but also could mean we see less of the KOQ-Doug McDermott pairing we saw work with the New York Knicks.

However, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy, so perhaps he can impress McMillan and steal some minutes from here and there. It isn’t as if McMillan doesn’t plan to use him, but until we see which players work well together, it’s hard to nail down who is the odd man out for sure in the Pacers lineup.

The Pacers will have their first training camp practice on Tuesday.

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