1. 3-Point Shooting
The league is in the middle of the 3-point revolution.
The Indiana Pacers…..not so much.
The Pacers sit 29th in 3-point attempts per game, smack dab between the San Antonio Spurs, with Coach Pop who hates the long-ball more than about anything, and the G League Golden State Warrior. With the quality shooters Indiana rosters, they should be able to get up at least a handful more attempts per game.
Sitting 4th in the league percentage-wise, the blue and gold have shown their problem isn’t due to the inability to hit shots. There are currently four Pacers shooting over 37 percent from deep including Doug McDermott who currently sits 5th in the league.
The lack of attempts comes down to Coach Nate McMillan’s offensive philosophy. His scheme involves constant movement and a well-rounded attack, but is one of the few still left that doesn’t give more emphasis to shots from deep. Changing that mid-season would be difficult.
One way to grab a couple extra looks could be stolen from Steph Curry‘s book. He made the transition three an viable play in the modern NBA. If the Pacers looked to pull-up in transition a little more, especially with McDermott on the floor, they could crawl up the leader boards by the end of the season.