Tyreke Evans and the Indiana Pacers bench saved the day in their win over the Miami Heat, showing the value of the added depth on the roster.
Normally, if Victor Oladipo isn’t scoring, the Indiana Pacers are in trouble. But against the Miami Heat with their star and most of their starters struggling, we saw how Tyreke Evans and the rest of the bench can provide insurance for those off nights.
Evans posted a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 6 of 13 from the field (46.2 percent) but more impressively 5 of 7 (71.4 percent) from deep. This is the Evans the Pacers were hoping for when they signed him. The long-range shooting and aggressively attacking version of himself.
And getting him to shoot more was a point of emphasis during Indiana’s layoff.
Tyreke Evans ain’t John Stockton
Oladipo ribbed Evans over the past few days by calling him John Stockton. While the king of assists isn’t a bad player to be compared to, the Pacers wanted more aggression from Evans in getting his own points instead of worrying as much about sharing with others. Coach Nate McMillan said the same thing.
While Tyreke called it crazy, he admitted he was passing up shots.
Evans missed a few early attempts, but he kept at it as he led the team in scoring thanks mostly to his 3-point shooting. He wasn’t looking to pass the ball as two assists can attest to.
The Indiana Pacers bench saves the day
Indiana’s bench outscored the starters 53-46. Even though they’ve had their issues this season, they’re one of the NBA’s best.
It wasn’t just Evans last night, either.
Covered up by Tyreke’s greatness was another double-double from Domantas Sabonis with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Myles Turner’s block party led the starters, but Sabonis filled up the stat sheet with the reserves as they dominated their Heat counterpart, which only scored 27 points.
Cory Joseph’s hot shooting (51.8 percent from the field on the season) with a pair of 3-pointers tucked into his 12 points. His scoring is actually down this season, but that’s probably a good thing as he’s picking his spots better and letting his teammates get their own buckets. His assists are only up slightly from last season, but he found Sabonis several times for easy baskets on Friday.
While we’d like to see Doug McDermott get more shots, you might notice on some of Tyreke Evans’ baskets how the floor is weighted in McBuckets direction, creating space for Evans (and others). If Evans keeps scoring, defenses won’t have such an easy choice.
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McDermott’s shooting 41.5 percent from deep on his 41 attempts, so it’s hard to complain too much if the rest of the team finds ways to score. He’s pulling defenders out toward the wings, and if he’s doing that he’s contributing by keeping the paint cleaner for everyone else.
And the bench can be better
While the win over the Heat showed what they are as an insurance policy, they can be better. Evans missed some bunnies at the rim, but if Evans, in particular, can stay on track, then everyone’s going to benefit.
If Evans is scoring at will and dismantling opponents in the pick and roll with Sabonis, defenses have to lean into that. And if they do, that means cleaner looks for Joseph and McDermott (and hopefully more attempts).
Peak Reke was on display last night in Indiana. If he the optimal version of himself keeps coming off the Pacers bench, then the entire bench, and in turn, the team, are only going to get better.