Indiana Pacers: Why the passing game of Domantas Sabonis is so important

For the Indiana Pacers and the entire NBA, 10 years ago things were very different.

The league took fewer 3-pointers. The pace of the game was far slower. Only a select few players took a high volume of shots from deep. Centers established their offense at the rim and in the paint.

Big men leaning into being key facilitators for their respective teams is certainly one of the things that has changed optically and strategically in the NBA over the years.

In the 2009-10 season, David Lee led centers in assists with 3.6. This year, Nikola Jokic leads centers with 6.9.

Following Jokic at two is Bam Adebayo at 5.1, Domantas Sabonis at third with 5.0 and Karl-Anthony Towns coming in at fourth with 4.4

All three of these players are frequently used as the focal point of their offense.

Towns attempts the most shots per game of anyone on the Timberwolves. Adebayo is second in touches behind just Jimmy Butler on the Heat. Jokic leads even Denver’s point guard, Jamal Murray in total touches (and Jokic leads the entire NBA in touches at 97.6 per game).

Sabonis not only leads his team in touches, but comes in at sixth in the league behind Jokic, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Ben Simmons, and Devonte’ Graham.

One thing that sticks out when it comes to Sabonis’s touches — the time per touch. Sabonis averages a duration of 1.83 seconds per touch, whereas Jokic averages 2.38 seconds and all other players in the top six average four or more seconds per touch, signifying quick decision making.

Beyond touches, Sabonis inserts himself as a key cog in the Pacers offense with the number of passes he makes. He leads the team in passes made per game and clocks in at third in the NBA in passes made behind Nikola Jokic (75.3) and Ben Simmons (72.3) with 67.7 passes per game.

That’s about .074 assists per pass whereas Simmons clocks about .113 assists per pass and Jokic about .092 per game.

In terms of assist points created, Sabonis (12.6) sits below his teammates Malcolm Brogdon (17.8) T.J. McConnell (13.1).

So, if Sabonis isn’t creating a ton of points with his passes directly, why is he getting so many touches, and are these passes bad passes?

The direct intention of a pass is not always to produce a scoring opportunity. A pass may be made to set off a chain reaction of events that has secondary or tertiary scoring opportunities.

His passing has developed more and more throughout the year, and has really stuck out as a positive part of the Pacers offense this year.

Let’s look at some specific instances where he proves his worth with his passing.

Domantas Sabonis has incredible gravity in the paint that allows for perimeter opportunities

The primary role of Myles Turner taking more 3-pointers this year is to stretch the floor and provide the necessary spacing for Sabonis to get to work in the paint. The vision Sabonis has and his willingness to pass out of the post allows this to work as a two-way street.

Without a good look at the rim here, Sabonis looks for other options. Turner is available for a wide open 3-point attempt.

Sabonis has gravity in the paint and these opportunities where he pulls in multiple defenders will only increase as the scouting reports on his improved play get thicker.

Combined with quick Pacers guards, he allows for give-and-go opportunities that utilize his large frame to create space

Sabonis is big. His frame is intimidating, and when he can set a solid screen, it completely pulls undersized defenders out of the play.

When you combine this with a give-and-go handoff like in the play below, this allows guards like Malcolm Brogdon to shake their defender without having to dive into their bucket of handles to do so, conserving energy.

Domantas Sabonis dribble hand-offs are a thing of beauty for the Pacers

Sabonis takes up so much space just by standing still. Caitlin Cooper wrote a great article a few months back about how Sabonis dominates by standing still, setting really great screens for his teammates.

He does the same thing in dribble hand-off situations with Doug McDermott repeatedly:

McDermott misses this shot due to a very strong Okogie closeout, but the idea is there. Wrap back around Sabonis tightly and your opponent is going to have to fight over his positioning, which, given his size, isn’t easy.

McDermott and Sabonis have a net rating of 5.2 when they see the floor together, the second-best paring for each player.

Domantas Sabonis combines vision, quick thinking, and a high vantage point to set teammates up

Sabonis gets an OK look here. No can could discredit him for taking this elbow jumper with the defender recovering from overcommitting to McConnell. The defender gets back quickly, though, and in a seamless motion Sabonis pulls up like he’s going to shoot, eyes McDermott who took the backdoor while Josh Okogie was ball watching and caught sleeping, and dumps it off to him for an easy two points.

It’s a fascinating thing when a player takes advantage of their size in ways that don’t necessarily mean they are bullying their way inside or getting physical. Ben Simmons is masterful at this, using his height to sit on a metaphorical perch when running the offense, allowing him to see plays open up in ways that traditionally sized point guards can’t.

While Sabonis won’t be running the offense in ways that parallel Simmons and the 76ers, he does get several assists by utilizing his physical advantages and surveying the field.

Domantas Sabonis’s passing is an extremely important part of the Pacers offense

Domantas Sabonis has taken major steps forward this year. He established himself as the centerpiece of the Indiana Pacers offense early on this season and as a result, teams started overcommitting to him to stop his scoring.

As that continued to happen, Sabonis evolved his game in front of us and added an element to his game that takes him from good to great — the selfless art of setting up his teammates.

After averaging 4.0 assists per game in November and 4.4 in December, Sabonis has averaged 5.8 assists per game in every month since.