Why the Pacers should extend Myles Turner and other fan questions

From @Brendon_Bowlds

"How much of playing 4 guards is dictated by playstyle rather than talent? I remember last year we’d play Goga at the 4 some. This year it’s all guards, all the time."

Last season, the Pacers simply didn’t have the abundance of guard options that this year’s team has. When the team was trying to be competitive early in the season, experienced guard talent on that team was limited to Malcolm Brogdon, Caris Levert, and TJ McConnell. Chris Duarte was having an excellent rookie season, but even then, there still weren’t enough guards to play small enough to create a significant advantage.

This season’s roster is completely different. Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Aaron Nesmith, Chris Duarte, TJ McConnell, Bennedict Mathurin, and Andrew Nembhard have all turned out to be good enough to demand playing time. Meanwhile, the team lacks any forward-sized players, except Oshae Brissett, and the centers outside of Myles Turner have shown major inconsistencies.

I think the guard-heavy lineups are a necessity for the way that this roster is constructed and the way Rick Carlisle likes to play offense. Guards typically spend more time making quick reads in offenses throughout their basketball education, and Carlisle’s offense is predicated on spontaneous actions from players who can read defenses well.

When Rick decided to go with guard-heavy lineups, he sacrificed rebounding and defense against large 4s in order to create unique offensive advantages. It’s worked so far. Since Aaron Nesmith started over Jalen Smith in the game against the Miami Heat on December 12th, the Pacers are 9-5. I think this has everything to do with Aaron Nesmith fitting what Carlisle wants at the 4 in his offense better than Jalen Smith, who has played much better as a backup 5 on this team.

In answer to this question, I don’t think that Carlisle’s desired playstyle has changed from one year to the next. Instead, I think that this year he has a roster that allows him to play a bit closer to the way he always wanted. It also helps that most of the young talents who need minutes to develop are guards.