Pacers lineups we’re excited about: 3 speedy guards, 2 talented bigs
With the new season drawing closer every day for the Indiana Pacers, let’s take a look at a lineup that should be fun and interesting: 3 guards, 2 bigs.
Nate McMillan and the rest of the Indiana Pacers‘ coaching staff will have many new faces on the roster to experiment with going into the 2019-2020 season. This should allow the Pacers to test out much different looking lineups than what they’ve used previously in recent memory. On paper, this is exciting, as the team might be able to craft a new identity that takes them to the next level.
It’s become common knowledge at this point that Indy will aim to buck the conventional trend of the modern NBA next year as they insert two centers, Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis into the starting rotation.
Because of this, it could be fun to roll out some more chaos in the backcourt to offset having two true centers in the frontcourt. So, one possible lineup we’re looking forward to seeing next season is one featuring Aaron Holiday and Victor Oladipo sharing ball handling duties and Malcolm Brogdon on the wing alongside Turner and Sabonis down low.
- Aaron Holiday
- Victor Oladipo
- Malcolm Brogdon
- Domantas Sabonis
- Myles Turner
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In this lineup, you have at least 4 players on the court that defense have to account for from three point range (possibly 5 if Sabonis’ 53% from range last year can actually be used to consider him good from deep). This is huge, because despite having two centers on the court, the floor would still remain adequately stretched for Oladipo and Brogdon to slash to the hoop.
We know Aaron Holiday is still raw and developing, but sharing playing time next to Oladipo and Brogdon is an awesome duo to learn from. These three players could fly around in the backcourt, daring the defense to keep up with them as they run off double screens from Sabonis and Turner, who could then pick or pop appropriately after freeing up someone else.
This lineup simply allows the Pacers to get much more creative on offense than what we’ve seen recently. Technically, the only player here that’s somewhat out of position is Brogdon at the small forward, but with his tall size for a guard (6-foot-5) and long wingspan (6-foot-11), he can absolutely hold his own on the wing.
Defensively, it should still typically work as well. Aaron Holiday isn’t a good defender yet, but Oladipo and Brogdon could cover him well enough. Likewise, Sabonis will have to improve on guarding the perimeter if he’s going to be a “power forward” now, but Myles can cover some of his mistakes as well by keeping the paint locked down.
Issues to arise from this lineup would all probably just stem from gaps in communication and a general unfamiliarity with certain positioning and new roles. Sabonis and Turner will have to really buy into playing off of one another to make sure they aren’t getting in anyone else’s way or clogging the lane. Holiday, Oladipo, and Brogdon will have to gain some chemistry together too, and it’ll be even more of a challenge with Victor still trying to get healthy once he returns and is easing back into the lineup.
Next. Analyzing the Pacers' depth chart. dark
Still, there’s a lot to like with this quintet of Indiana Pacers, and it’s exciting that McMillan will be able to tinker for a while this season to really figure out what lineups and matchups he can capitalize on. Look for more potential Pacers lineup breakdowns in the future as we march towards the preseason.