Indiana Pacers 2018-2019 Preseason Primer
By Tony East
What lineups does McMillan roll with?
An important caveat needs to be put on preseason games before we can continue because it applies to multiple sections of this preview. The Pacers will probably only play their starters, and their real rotation, for about 15 minutes per game. They want to iron out the kinks and cement the key groups, but they more than anything want to avoid injuries. Anyway…
In this 15 or so minutes, keep an eye on what groups of five Nate McMillan puts on the floor. The starting five will be the same as last season, so that isn’t necessarily interesting. What will be interesting is the bench.
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Last season, either Cory Joseph or Domantas Sabonis was the first guy off the bench, dependant on the foul situation for the big men. This year the first sub will probably be Tyreke Evans.
But that comes with questions. Who comes out for Reke? Is it Darren Collison? Is it Bojan Bogdanovic? Do they sub out Thaddeus Young (or TJ Leaf, since Thad is out for the first game) and slide Bojan to the four in a smaller lineup? It could be anything.
If McMillan was so inclined, he could even bring on Evans for Victor Oladipo, and then bring Vic back in to wreck opposing bench units in the late first/early second quarter. McMillan has a ton of options with Tyreke, and the lineups that are used when the starters aren’t on the court will be fascinating.
In a more micro sense, there are other pairings of players to be mindful of. One of them is the constantly discussed Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis duo.
There isn’t much more than can be said about the pairing; we just have to wait and see. Last season, the team was overall a negative (in terms of net rating) when the two shared the court. But when the two shared the court without advanced stats bandit Lance Stephenson, they outscored opponents by 12 points in 114 minutes. This pairing can work, and this preseason could be the start of a deadly post partnership in the paint.
The other enticing duo to watch will be Victor Oladipo and Tyreke Evans (assuming Nate McMillan doesn’t sub in one for the other at all times). Evans being a secondary creator next to Oladipo should do wonders in terms of taking pressure off of him. Opposing teams won’t be able to overload the strong side anymore when Vic has the ball, as that would allow Evans to be able to attack with a numbers advantage if he were to get the rock. Essentially, these situations, where all five guys have their eyes square on Vic, will be seen less often:
Evans will help, both with his lethal shooting and ability to attack off the dribble. The Evans-Oladipo pairing could take the Indiana Pacers to new heights.
The final important thing I personally will be watching is how Doug McDermott is used. He could be exclusively used as the backup small forward, but I am skeptical that will be the case. I think McDermott will play power forward in some small ball groups. That would both stretch the floor for other Pacers players and open up more minutes for the cluster of guards on the team. It could be a way for the Pacers to unlock more versatility, and I would be shocked if they don’t try it over the course of the four-game stretch.