Should any Indiana Pacers players be receiving more or fewer minutes?

Four games into the season means that we are starting to get a grip on this Indiana Pacers team. Let’s take a look at the minutes distribution amongst players and see if anything needs to change.

After four games, we look at the Indiana Pacers and see a 2-2 record. They have played two good teams on the road and two lackluster teams at home. 2-2 is about right.

Changing the scope: they are one bad run to start the 4th frame against the Minnesota Timberwolves away from 3-1. Milwaukee was all jazzed up from their new arena opening so that game was uphill sledding anyway. Truly, the team has played well given their opponents are circumstances so far this season.

But that doesn’t mean things can’t be better. Every player has struggled in at least one game, and some have in multiple. Perhaps there are changes to the rotation, or minutes distribution, that could decrease the chances that a bad game occurs. Let’s take a look.

More Thaddeus Young – especially with the bench

Thaddeus Young continues to be the most underrated player on the team, perhaps in the entire association. The Pacers defensive rating plummets from 98.7 with Thaddeus Young on the court to 107.1 when he is off. He’s like the frame of a car – he doesn’t keep it running but he holds it all together, and there is no structure without him.

More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds

• 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
• Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
• 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
• 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
• Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?

Thad averages the third most minutes per game of anyone on the team, so saying “give him more minutes” isn’t as easy as waving a magic wand. But Thad is more effective than the Domantas Sabonis/Myles Turner pairing, he fits well with the bench, and he is as useful as the small-ball lineups the Pacers have started to use this year. He could be sprinkled into literally any group and be effective. Finding him more minutes can be done.

For example, Thad could be thrown in with more bench units. When Thad has played as the only starter, the Indiana Pacers have scored 45 points on 36 possessions while only conceding 26 points. That is about as good as it gets, especially for a second unit.

Look how much Thad impacts the score. This is why he should play more. This graphic shows the amount a team is leading by or trailing by with a player on the court. For Thad, the lead either improves or stays the same when he is on the court. It is rarely a negative. Those are the best types of players. He needs more minutes.

A little less Darren Collison

This could all be role dependant or simply worse shooting, but Darren Collison seems to be less effective early in the season.

Only 2 of his 7 threes have fallen through the net and only 10 of his 25 field goal attempts have resulted in points for the Indiana Pacers. Collison just seems to be a bit off.

Some of this is due to a change in role. Collison has seen his usage drop by over a percent from last season and he has taken on more off-ball duties. That is fine and dandy since Collison is an effective outside shooter, but he is also a quality ball-handler – he led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio last season. Perhaps fixing his struggles would be as simple as giving him more touches.

But maybe he could get those touches with the bench. Say Collison moves to a slightly reduced role and Cory Joseph were to move to play more with the starting five. Would that make things better?

I’m not sure. Joseph has seen his usage stay approximately the same from last season to this one. Maybe Joseph should see time with the starting five – where his defense can be useful and his ability to be effective without the ball on offense could be used – and Collison could spend more time with the reserves where he could get more touches.

I don’t think that Collison should be benched – he should still start as he supplies to spark to the starting five and the chemistry of that group is noticeable. But perhaps shifting around him and CoJo’s minutes a bit could help the team improve.

Get Tyreke Evans more time

This one is easy. Tyreke Evans is only playing 20.8 minutes per game. He was signed to get more playing time than that.

Tyreke hasn’t found his rhythm shooting the ball yet, but he’s not turning the ball over, he’s rebounding well for his position, he is creating opportunities for his teammates, and he is playing quality perimeter defense. That is a player that should play more.

Perhaps he could fill the gaps for a decreased role for Darren Collison. Maybe he could play more small forward and take some minutes from Bojan Bogdanovic and Doug McDermott (though they have both been good). I’m not sure exactly where to do it, but more minutes need to be found for Reke.

It’s early in the season, and changes will be made to the Pacers rotation throughout the year. Who knows what they will be, but perhaps these changes could help the team get a little more out of everybody.