Indiana Pacers guard Caris LeVert is dealing with an injury at the start of training camp and his availability for the start of the season is in question. While this is a major blow to the Pacers – and the third injury scare of the offseason – it does provide a chance for other guys to step up.
That ‘next man up’ mentality has been a close friend of the Pacers over the years and the frustration is certainly building following another injury made headlines. T.J. Warren and Edmond Sumner are both sidelined for the time being and now another starter is set to miss the start of the regular season.
How can the Indiana Pacers replace Caris LeVert in the starting lineup?
Rookie Chris Duarte was already looking to be in line for a much larger role than originally expected after Warren and Sumner went down and that won’t change with LeVert’s absence. He seems to be a real candidate to start for the Pacers until they are back at full strength, which may be a while.
Duarte adds defense to the wing and is no slouch as a scorer either. Throwing him into the fire to fill in for the injured starters will let him see meaningful action and give the Pacers a two-way impact player to potentially build around.
Still, Duarte cannot fill both of those holes on his own. As exciting as his arrival may be, the Pacers need another bench player to step up in the early part of the season. What could they do to round out their starting five if Warren and LeVert both miss the start of the season?
Veteran newcomer Torrey Craig was brought in for his defensive prowess and will be in consideration on the wing. Craig spent last season with Milwaukee and Phoenix, providing defense to the NBA champions and the runner-ups.
Another veteran, Justin Holiday should also be competing for that starting job as he enters his third season with the team. Holiday has converted 39.2 percent of his three-point attempts with the Pacers on his way to 9.4 points per game.
Both Holiday and Craig can hold their own on the defensive end and Holiday is more proven on the other end. Spreading the floor with Holiday setting up as a perimeter shooter is a solid emergency plan given the current injury situation.
Of course, Indiana could also look into playing younger guys to bring more energy to the floor. Oshae Brissett was phenomenal in his brief time last season and should be a key piece off the bench this season. Adding his defensive talent and length to the starting five while shuffling some other pieces around would be my favorite possible outcome.
Starting Brogdon, Duarte, Brissett, Sabonis, and Turner would give the Pacers a very balanced but unproven lineup. It’d make for an interesting fit but that defense would be something special.
Even if they get desperate for scoring potential in the starting lineup, the Pacers can turn to another veteran. Jeremy Lamb is somehow still on the roster after a long offseason of trade speculation and an injury-plagued tenure in Indiana. If he stays in Indy, he could be a decent starting option for a bit until things are back to normal.
Lamb is not the best option here as he lacks any sort of defensive ability as we saw last year but he can score in spurts. Even in a down year last season, Lamb had his moments as a streaky scorer both as a starter and off the bench.
No matter what the coaching staff decides to do, depth has always been the saving grace for the Pacers. They have enough pieces to survive for a few weeks without their starting five but any extended absences will be hard to overcome.