The Indiana Pacers just finished up their preseason slate, picking up a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night. They won the game by a score of 109-104.
With the win, the Pacers ended the preseason with a 2-2 record, and in addition to the .500 win total, they got a good look at all of the guys on their roster.
Tyrese Haliburton appeared in the latter two of the Pacers’ four games, both of which the Pacers won, and Myles Turner has looked solid in the time he played, too.
But while the two stars of the show impressed, the more important thing for the Pacers was to take a look at the other guys on the roster.
Let’s take a look at two studs and one dud from Indiana’s win over the Cavaliers.
Stud – Andrew Nembhard
This game was an important one for Andrew Nembhard, as it was his first taste of NBA preseason action. He had been sidelined for the first three games after getting a kidney stone removed.
Nembhard came off the bench for the Pacers against the Cavaliers, playing 23:22. He put up 13 points, one rebound, two assists, and two steals while shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 1-of-2 from beyond the arc.
The second-year guard earned most of his minutes toward the end of the contest, running the offense with Indiana’s youngsters and deep bench guys.
He was fairly effective in this role, and that’s a very good thing, as the Pacers will be looking to him and TJ McConnell to run their offense when Haliburton isn’t in the game.
Dud – Aaron Nesmith
Before talking about Aaron Nesmith, it’s important to note that this was simply an all-around solid game for the Indiana Pacers. In all honesty, nobody on the Pacers had a significantly poor game.
Indiana got the win, everyone shot fairly efficiently, and the numbers looked good across the board. But if one player has to be the dud, Nesmith is the closest guy to it.
Nesmith has been having a great preseason stint so far. His overall efficiency, aggressiveness, driving to the rim, and solid defense have stood out in most contests.
However, against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Nesmith just didn’t do much in his 13:10 off the bench. He put up zero points, two rebounds, and one assist while shooting 0-of-1 from the field.
He wasn’t necessarily bad, but his impact wasn’t felt quite as much as it was in past games, so he’s going to be the dud from this game by default.
With how much competition Nesmith will face on the wing on this Indiana team, he’ll have to bring it night in and night out if he wants to earn consistent playing time.
But in this game, Nesmith was sort of just another body out on the floor. He’ll likely be looking to do a bit more next time out.
Stud – Obi Toppin
When the Indiana Pacers traded for Obi Toppin earlier in the offseason, it seems likely that they had visions of his high-flying antics pairing beautifully next to their core.
Well, that’s exactly what he delivered in their final preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, showing off his ability to become a human highlight reel at a moment’s notice.
The highlight of this game was a transition dunk off a beautiful bounce pass feed from Bennedict Mathurin. Toppin threw down a nasty between-the-legs jam to get the crowd amped up.
But his stud-worthy night was about more than a single highlight. Toppini paired his super cool dunk with a solid statline that should have fans excited.
In his 26:13 of action as a member of Indiana’s starting lineup, a place he’s taken over this preseason, Toppin put up 17 points, nine rebounds, and one assist while shooting 6-of-9 from the floor and 1-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Toppin’s ability to catch lobs will be one of the main reasons he sees significant playing time, but his shooting and rebounding could be key to his success, too.
While rookie Jarace Walker could challenge him for the starting power forward spot, right now, it seems like Toppin will be a great fit in Indiana’s starting five.