Boom Baby is a weekly article headlining the best things of the Indiana Pacers from the previous week. Check back each Monday to see what is highlighted and what might make you shout “Boom Baby!”
Was it just me, or did you think the injury report would shrink, not expand, in the last seven days, too? Well, either way, there was some entertaining basketball over the last week and some highlights to focus on! Here are my favorite things from the last week in Pacers’ basketball.
Pascal Siakam doing Pascal Siakam things
We knew Siakam was brilliant, but he has taken his play to a whole new level this season. Faced with incredible adversity, he chose to dig deep, focus in, and play his best basketball. And he has. Leading the team in points, rebounds, and assists per game, Siakam is the All-Star the Pacers traded for and paid him to be.
Respect his game.
Andrew Nembhard is back
I think Caitlin Cooper said it best when Andrew Nembhard was listed as questionable on the injury report on Friday – “like water in the desert.” Nembhard has come back and played with effort and skill – even in two more losses. He has scored 36 points over his two games back from injury and has been another glimmer of hope for a team that needs every glimmer it can find.
A flicker of continuity
On Saturday night against the Denver Nuggets, Siakam, Aaron Nesmith, and Nembhard all played in the same game. The trio stepped up and scored a combined 61 points. This is proof the team isn’t tanking – they are truly just decimated. The skill is still there.
Jay Huff’s Wednesday night heater
Okay, it was a mini-heater. Not a blow torch, but maybe like a little space heater? Over the course of 3 minutes and 26 seconds, Jay Huff drained two three-pointers and made two free throws. This was en route to 16 points on Wednesday night, shooting 4-for-9 from three-point land. Is there a true stretch big in there somewhere?
Aaron Nesmith is the most valuable player in the league
No, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t need to worry about Nesmith coming for his trophy. Rather, in financial terms, Nesmith – currently playing on a three-year $33 million deal (that’s $11 million a season, folks) – is the most bang-for-buck player in the league right now. Stepping up into the Pacers No. 2 slot many nights and expanding his game, the Vanderbilt alum has more than earned his extension – one that doesn’t kick in until he plays for $11 million again next year. What a steal.
Bonus: The culture
A video went viral of Siakam dapping himself up in the tunnel before games and it was noted that he did so because he would always dap up Tyrese Haliburton before they ran out. The record may be in the trash, but this team is still top-tier.