By giving the Indiana Pacers starters an early benching in their loss to the Charlotte Hornets the night before, coach Rick Carlisle‘s message was certainly sent across, with the opening group leading the Blue and Gold to a wire-to-wire victory over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans to improve to 7-11 on the season.
The Pacers never trailed in the game right from the opening tip, leading by as much as 32 before the team pulled the plug on the starters and inserted the reserves late in the third frame. After being outplayed in every sense of the word against the Hornets, the starters collaborated for 69 points, badly outscoring the Pelicans’ first unit which only mustered 46 markers combined.
Carlisle’s emphasis on ball movement after putrid offensive showings in the past three games finally materialized, with the Blue and Gold racking up 28 assists, their highest tally since their win against the San Antonio Spurs in the opening game of November. Overall, the Pacers shot 46.2 percent from the field against the Pelicans’ 39.8 percent, marking only the second time in four games that the team cracked league average in that area.
Domantas Sabonis returned to form at home, leading Indiana with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. Justin Holiday added 17 while Malcolm Brogdon chipped in 16 of his sown in a winning cause. On the other hand, Jonas Valanciunas was a lone wolf for New Orleans, finishing with a team-high 19 points.
As the Indiana Pacers gear up for a brief road game in Chicago, here are the player grades from their bounce back win at the Fieldhouse over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Domantas Sabonis returned to All-Star form for the Indiana Pacers against NOLA
It’s no rocket science: the Pacers are at their best when Domantas Sabonis is in his usual All-Star form.
While the two-time All-Star’s numbers have dipped a tad to begin the season, he’s still Indiana’s most potent and best all-around player, especially offensively. However, a noticeable pattern has been the offense’s tendency to shy away from having him as a catalyst, with Domas just third in the team in usage.
Against New Orleans, however, Sabonis had no semblance of simply settling, finishing the game with a game-high 20 points, including 10 rebounds and six assists, on six of 11 shooting from the field. Domas also had it going from rainbow country, knocking down two of this three tries from downtown. Better yet, he registered all these in just 21 minutes.
I’ve seen many fans bark on how Sabonis is not being maximized in the team’s offense, particularly in their recent games, and I couldn’t agree more. However, a part of it is also under his control, since he hasn’t been as assertive this season. Sustaining this play, nothing less and a little bit more, could ultimately be the impetus that either drives the Indiana Pacers to a better record, or tethers them to where they are currently at.
Domantas Sabonis: A+
Player grades for the Indiana Pacers starters against the Pelicans
Myles Turner: A-
After scoring a combined 13 points in the last three games, Myles Turner turned in a modest, yet efficient night on offense for the Pacers, finishing with a near double-double to the tune of 11 points and nine rebounds. He was once again solid on the defensive end, recording a couple of blocks, and finishing the contest a game-high +32.
Malcolm Brogdon: A
Brogdon attempted a season-low eight shots from the field, but managed to sink a season-high four three-pointers. He also managed to protect the ball better, committing just one turnover against four assists.
Caris LeVert: B-
LeVert finished the game with a season-low five points, hitting just two out of seven field goal attempts in 16 minutes, but still impacted the game with three dimes while playing good defense, though his offense is clearly a work in progress still.
Justin Holiday: A
Every time Justin Holiday drains four threes, the Pacers are likely in a good position to win. He did just that, as Indiana easily prevailed to claim their seventh win of the season.
Player grades for the Indiana Pacers bench against the Pelicans
Chris Duarte: B
Chris Duarte is still easing his way back after a brief sabbatical, ending the game with just eight markers while shooting just four of 10 from the field and failing to hit a triple. There’ nothing to worry about at this juncture, but you can only wonder if his first game off the bench this season may end up being the first of many given how the Pacers performed.
TJ McConnell: A-
TJMC was back to his usual energizer mode against the Pels, filling up the box score with six points, three rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks in only 19 minutes. What more can you ask for?
Torrey Craig: A-
Again, Torrey Craig’s defense and rebounding continue to be top-notch for Indiana this season. If he can sink his threes at a better rate (slightly below 29 percent), I’d actually be comfortable with him getting more minutes than what he’s been getting so far.
Kelan Martin: B
Kelan suddenly becoming an aggressive scorer is not something within my preseason foresight, but I’d say he must shoot with more caution next time. Keep up the D, though.
Goga Bitadze: B
Goga continues to struggle offensively, especially with his three-point shot, but his defense (three block against NOLA in just 15 minutes!) has been incredible this season. If you ask me, he’s a keeper.
Rest of the Bench: INC
The third stringers didn’t play well, but it’s certainly hard to extract more out of them after playing the bulk of the second half against the Hornets and the Pacers nursing a massive lead. Some complacency in this context is borderline acceptable.