Indiana Pacers: 4 areas they grew the most in 2019-20
The Indiana Pacers saw tremendous growth throughout the 2019-20 season. Let’s take a look at the places they grew the most.
In a season that started off somewhat rocky for the Indiana Pacers, the team has grown in many areas.
Indiana faced a multitude of injuries and also faced the challenge of roster turnover at the start of the year. Despite challenges, the Pacers managed to work their way into the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference before the NBA season was halted on account of COVID-19.
Along the way the Pacers managed to put together many moments of improvement, giving fans and the organization hope for what could possibly be a successful run to end the season.
Here are five areas of the 2020 season in which the Pacers grew to become one of the most intriguing Eastern Conference teams thus far.
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Domantas Sabonis All-Star selection
Domantas Sabonis’s All-Star selection this past year stands as one of the more revered moments of not just the past season but also in Pacers history.
Sabonis’s meteoric rise to stardom has ascended from the beginning of the year until now as he currently averages 18.5 points per game on 54 percent shooting from the field along with 12.4 rebounds.
He has recorded four triple-doubles including a win over the Denver Nuggets, a game in which he put up 22 points, pulled down 15 rebounds while doling out 10 assists.
While playing as one of the top scoring options for the Pacers this season, he has managed to secure the scoring load in the paint, converting on nearly 65 percent of shots. Furthermore, he has managed to make himself into half of a lethal scoring duo with Malcolm Brogdon. Brogdon has linked up with Sabonis on 84 successfully converted buckets this season.
Sabonis’s ability to make an impact on the floor doesn’t stop just at Brogdon. Sabonis and Turner have been a formidable presence on the offensive and defensive end of the floor. While it took some time early on in the season, the two have begun to mesh on both ends of the floor, providing Sabonis space to dominate down low while Turner has begun to find his footing in extended space from the paint.
As a bonus, a large part of Sabonis’s impact has been made in a season where the backcourt of Oladipo and Brogdon has missed a significant amount of playing time, leading Sabonis to shoulder more of the scoring load.