8 points, 9 seconds
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Spreading the wealth is what the Pacers do best

By Colton Bennett

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - OCTOBER 15: T.J. McConnell #9 of the Indiana Pacers smiles during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves during a pre-season game on October 15, 2019 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - OCTOBER 15: T.J. McConnell #9 of the Indiana Pacers smiles during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves during a pre-season game on October 15, 2019 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Wednesday night gave the outline for how the Pacers can be successful against the league’s best teams. Luckily, their abundance of options could make it easy to apply moving forward.

The Indiana Pacers grabbed their first win of the season against the NBA’s upper echelon Wednesday night. Sporting their new city uniforms for the first time, the men in blue and white turned the corner in the middle of the second quarter and cruised to a 121-102 victory. The Jazz were able to cut into the lead several times, but each instance resulted with the Pacers responding with a run of their own.

Starting the season with a relatively easy schedule, the Pacers actually lost their first two match-ups against the league’s elite teams, back-to-back to the Houston Rockets then Milwaukee Bucks. A key difference Wednesday was health. Jeremy Lamb missed both games and Malcolm Brogdon‘s early injury against the Rockets forced him to miss the next three contests.

The (mostly) healthy Pacers’ squad against the Jazz showed that they can be a force and dominate both ends of the court. This started with putting up the second highest point total of the season on a good defensive team featuring the reigning defensive player of the year. To make sure the game was put away early, the Pacers also held Utah to their third lowest scoring first half of the season.

This did not occur because of a singular game changing performance either. Every player in the rotation played their part. By the time the clock hit zero, every Indiana starter was at least plus-13 while on the floor.

All success for this Indiana team will be through collective effort. Nobody currently averages 20 points per game, but there are four players averaging more than 15 per contest. This is important because Wednesday marked the sixth time already this season that four different players scored 15 or more in a game and the third time at least three scored 20 or more.

For a team still missing their best player, there isn’t anything you could ask for. Adding Victor Oladipo‘s 21.7 points, 4.6 assist, and elite defense could push this team into the top tier of the East along side Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Boston.

The current state of the league believes that a gruesome twosome is the best avenue to a title, but what’s to say a team with five guys that could go off for 25 on any given night can’t be the answer. The Los Angeles Clippers used a similar layout last season and took two games from a healthy Golden States Warriors team. Those Clippers also didn’t have a player of Victor Oladipo’s caliber.

Star power has always ruled across the landscape, but there are instances of surprise champions built around spreading the wealth. This typically requires the team to be either good or great in both offensive and defensive rating.

Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic had spent the last two seasons as part of the Pacers collective, but left for greener pastures out west this summer. The opportunity gave him the opportunity at career highs in points, rebounds, assists, and 3-point percentage plus a potential shot to contend in the West. Bogey tallied 30 in his return, but only one more of his teammates hit that 15 point mark.

“We want to crush [Bogdanovic], just smash him,” Pacers assistant Dan Burke said with a smile at halftime. “Then we can shake hands with him after.”

Burke is the highly regarded assistant in charge of the defense. And though team may not have “crushed” their former court mate, the final results were where he envisioned. Holding a top team right around 100 can be lauded in today’s league.

The Pacers’ next measuring stick game comes Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers are one of the few championship teams not built around a Big Two, but they have one of the best starting fives in the association with a limited bench.

Philly’s star studded roster is the antithesis of the Pacers’. They have “underachieved” to a 12-6 start while many see the Pacers 11-6 start as surprising. Overlooking the 14th place Atlanta Hawks would be silly, but a game against one of the East’s juggernauts will better show the possible ceiling of the Pacers’ team ball.

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