3 takeaways from the Indiana Pacers opening night win

The Indiana Pacers dominated the Memphis Grizzlies from start to finish on opening night. Let’s find some takeaways from the first game of the year.

Talk about a perfect opening night for the Indiana Pacers, huh?

A 111-83 drudging of the Memphis Grizzlies was the perfect way to get all the fans reeled in and excited about the new season. Pretty much everyone played well in some facet of the game, and Will Furr felt kind enough to give everyone an “A” player grade for their performance. It was a truly perfect opening night.

With a game that matters comes takeaways that matter. We got to see the Pacers execute some things that actually have a tangible impact on this season. Let’s find some key takeaways from night number one of the Pacers season.

Tyreke Evans will fit in very well on this Pacers team

Your team leader in assists on night number one of the season? Tyreke Evans.

Why is that the lede I chose for Evans? Because it shows that Tyreke gels with other guys on the team. Evans wasn’t brought in to necessarily be a distributor. His main asset that the Pacers craved was his ability to score and keep the team buoyant with Victor Oladipo on the bench while also being a secondary option with Oladipo.

In game one, he showed all of that and more. He went 5/7 from inside the arc, showcasing his ability to get to the rim. He was a +23 and facilitated many of the second units best offensive sets. But like I opened with, he showed his fit with the squad by diming other guys up on multiple occasions. Six of them, to be exact.

He fits in exceptionally well with so many guys. His pick-and-roll magic is the right puzzle piece with Domantas Sabonis. His perimeter D meshes with Cory Joseph‘s feisty perimeter chops. His passing suits Doug McDermott well. Tyreke is going to be a great fit in Indiana.

Oh, and he has some grit too:

Tyreke is going to make this team better, plain and simple. He will be a joy to watch all season long.

The Indiana Pacers defense could be top-5 in the league

Last season, the Indiana Pacers finished the season with the 13th best defense in the league, allowing 108.1 points per 100 possessions.

This season, I think it’s clear the Pacers defense will be better, and it could even get to top-5 levels. Domantas Sabonis, albeit in just one game, looked way more comfortable defending the basket. A now yoga’d up Myles Turner looked spry defending the paint. All of the usual suspects had solid defensive games, and even Doug McDermott and Bojan Bogdanovic looked okay on that end of the floor. It was a masterful team performance.

Just look at how preventative the team was at allowing easy baskets:

If that is a pattern that the team can keep up each and every game, I would be shocked if they aren’t at least a top-10 defense, and possibly top-5. Opening night was a statement on that end of the floor.

Domantas Sabonis could average a double-double this season

I’m not even sure this is a hot take anymore. Sabonis could very easily average a double-double between points and rebounds for the entire season.

He did it in almost every preseason game, and on opening night he had an absurd 14 points and 15 rebounds. And he made it look easy. The rebounds were effortless, the points came from dunks, duck-ins, and simple layups. The things he did were repeatable.

What’s to stop Domas from doing that every night? I think nothing is the answer. He will get plenty of playing time; both sharing the floor with and backing up Turner. He is an effort maven and an efficient finisher. I’ll place the bet: Sabonis will average a double-double in 2018-19.

I’m sure at least one of these takes will seem outlandish by the end of the season, but it is fun to make massive conclusions after one game. The Pacers are on pace for an 82-0 season. Let’s enjoy the ride.