Whether it ends up being the right call or not remains to be seen. But early on, the Indiana Pacers' decision to run a center-by-committee in hopes of replacing Myles Turner is not looking great.
After Turner joined the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency, Indiana had a massive void they needed to fill. The only problem is, Turner was almost the perfect center in the Pacers' system. He could stretch the floor, protect the rim, and run the length of the court. The Texas native provided value on both sides of the ball and played a big role in the team's recent success. Replacing him was never going to be easy, especially in just one offseason.
So what did the Pacers do?
They decided that, instead of anointing one player as Turner's replacement, they opted to cut his impact into pieces and give one slice of the pie to multiple players. Isaiah Jackson would essentially replace his defensive value, Jay Huff would replace his spacing and ability to run the floor, and Tony Bradley would "replace" his rebounding. (Per 36-minute stats don't always tell the full story, but it should be noted that Bradley's rebounds per 36 minutes are 10.6 per game, whereas Turner's are 8.2 per game. So he may actually be an improvement).
There were reasons to think this could work, given how much experimentation Indiana will be doing this season anyway. However, things have not looked great overall, and Zach Kram of ESPN just indirectly revealed why.
Pacers' center situation is not working out as expected
There is one big problem with committees at any position in the NBA: teams are not getting their full value all at once.
In theory, if you have a designated three-point guy, then you're not getting that value when he's on the court. And when he is on the court, your three-point attempt skyrocket, but maybe your defense isn't as good because your defense guy is on the bench.
That's exactly what's happening in Indiana right now.
The Pacers' starter is Jackson, and that's looking like the right decision. He is incredibly athletic, provides good defensive value and rim protection, and he has been with the team the longest. It also helps that head coach Rick Carlisle is a big fan of his as well. However, he does not provide much value as a scorer outside of the paint. This is where Huff comes in. At least in theory.
Since Jackson and Huff are not expected to share the court often, it is crucial that they each play their role to a tee in order to maximze their and the Pacers' full potential. So far, this hasn't worked out as they had hopes, though.
Huff's start to his Pacers tenure has not been great, particularly because he hasn't found his shot yet. In his first seven games with the team, the North Carolina native is shooting 17.6% on 2.4 three-point field goal attempts per game. He does at least lead the team in blocks per game with 1.4, but as Kram wrote, his offense has not translated to Indiana just yet, meaning the team is not getting its full value out of the center-by-committee.
"The best of the bunch is backup center Huff, whose offense hasn't yet made the trip from Memphis to Indiana -- he's shooting just 3-for-17 (18%) on 3s after nailing 41% last season -- but is a capable interior defender. Huff is averaging 3.7 blocks per 36 minutes, while no other Pacer has more than 1.1 blocks per 36 with two-time blocks champion Myles Turner gone," Kram wrote.
The season is still young, and everything can work itself out by the end of the campaign. But until then, the Pacers' center-by-committee is leaving a lot to be desired, and it's not looking like the best way for them to replace their former big man.