The Indiana Pacers still face a lot of questions going into the following campaign, even as the 2021 NBA Free Agency starts to slow down. One of which is the team’s glaring dilemma in the frontcourt, where its talented, yet equivocal pairing of Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis has persisted longer than people initially expected.
What was originally an experimental solution to blend the two promising big men’s talents eventually found itself into an embossed facet of Pacers basketball in the past three years. However, as typical with trial runs, the pairing itself has seen a lot of ups and downs—from nabbing homecourt advantage in the 2020 postseason to missing it outright in the previous campaign.
After missing the playoffs last season, many expected Indiana to drop the hammer on the Turbonis frontcourt, but to no avail, at least as of speaking. Rumors will continue to swirl, but given all the subtle indications from the coaching staff and the front office, it seems that the big man pairing will be here to stay next season.
Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle is reportedly open to a bold move to mend the Turner-Sabonis conundrum
New head coach Rick Carlisle, who’s back with the Indiana Pacers for his third stint, reportedly expressed openness to the idea of moving Myles Turner to the second unit (subscription required). While he initially said in his early press conference that staggering him and Domantas Sabonis on the court, a common Pacers motif in recent years, is the ideal route, it seems that the veteran tactician isn’t afraid to make a boisterous change if needed.
Personally, I am heavily against having Turner come off the bench. It simply doesn’t make a lot of sense to have the team’s absolute defensive anchor not set the tone at the beginning of games. Also, the three-and-D center doesn’t necessarily have the scoring chops to lift the team out of holes if the starting lineup allows the opposition to bleed points.
This is where the dilemma erupts. Aside from the conventional Turbonis-led starting five, there’s not much leeway for the coaching staff to make a change. After all, Sabonis’ phenomenal offensive profile is too good for second unit duty, even if the bench unit thrives with him as the scoring and playmaking catalyst. Alas, you don’t just bench an All-Star player and risk devaluing him.
Thus, while difficult to digest, moving Turner to the bench is more viable than, say, having Sabonis not start games if the coaching staff is determined to flip the script on the starting lineup. If so, what should the foremost unit look like?
What should the Indiana Pacers’ starting five look like if Turner comes off the bench?
Fortunately, if Carlisle pushes the green light on moving Turner to the second unit on a 26-30 minutes per game role, he will have a lot of options, especially with the Pacers boasting versatile frontcourt pieces who can allow the team and the coaching staff to be more fluid on offense without sacrificing a ton on defense in Justin Holiday, Oshae Brissett and Torrey Craig.
First, starting Holiday, the team’s most experienced player, will give the team the best shot at instant chemistry. After all, the veteran swingman started the bulk of games at small forward last season when TJ Warren was sidelined with an injury. Starting him with Warren as the nominal power forward would give the team a lot of spacing and quickness.
However, while his defensive instincts are great, he is more suited as a natural counter against guards and smaller wings. He doesn’t have the physical frame to defend tweeners, which is far from enough to mask Sabonis’ defensive shortcomings. Also, his quick three-point trigger fits the bench better, especially with Doug McDermott having left Indiana.
Another option is moving Brissett to the starting five, which is easily an exciting possibility. With it, not only can the Blue and Gold secure fit, but also give the third-year forward the opportunity to grow and build on his impressive play last season where he showcased his great upside as a two-way player with his solid three-point stroke, impeccable defensive instincts and athleticism.
Among all options, this could very well be Rick Carlisle’s favorite. Brissett offers a lot of what the veteran coach resorted to in Dallas for his forward rotations, when he leaned heavily on Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber, two versatile defenders who can guard the perimeter and help defend the rim, to complement Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis on the starting unit.
Lastly, starting Craig is also a possibility worth exploring. The Indiana Pacers’ newest addition is a tough cookie, exuding physicality on defense and rebounding from the tweener role while thriving either as an individual or help defender. However, moving him to starting duty may be too much for a player who is marginal on offense and more suited for a supplementary role.
While moving Turner to bench duty is far from ideal, the elephant in the room still persists: the Indiana Pacers need to change the gears. Nevertheless, if the coaching staff eventually decides to tread in a bold direction and bank on tweaking the lineup for a change, they will have a lot of options to choose from.