The Indiana Pacers have no questions in their offense. Any team led by Tyrese Haliburton will likely score at will, especially in the full court. Add in the overall ability of Pascal Siakam, the post game of Ivica Zubac, and the creation of Andrew Nembhard and the Pacers can answer any question opposing defenses would ask of them.
However, they do not have the same strength on defense. While the roster carries a lot of strong individual defenders, it lacks in the specialist department.
And if there's the playoffs have proven over the past few years, you need your specialists.
Indiana does have multiple good defenders who can switch all over – seriously, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Jarace Walker are all capable of switching one through five, at least in theory – they lack a true star stopper.
This is one of the most important archetypes across the NBA. Each of the last few title-winning teams has had this. The New York Knicks had OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, along with capable bench options. The OKC Thunder had Lu Dort and Alex Caruso. The Boston Celtics employed two of the best guard stoppers the league has in Derrick White and Jrue Holiday.
Go back through history, and every team over the past however many decades has had a role player option that can take on the challenge of guarding the opposing team's best player.
The Pacers have good defenders. They don't have that.
On-roster options for shutdown stoppers
Aaron Nesmith is the Pacers' de facto option in this role. He's not particularly great at it, but he does well enough. As the embodiment of a three-and-D player, Nesmith succeeds at both those roles, but like many of his ilk, his capability masks his lack of expertise.
Nesmith can do those things. But he is excellent at neither. To be considered a specialist, that talent needs to be hard-coded into your identity.
If that is the requirement we're looking for, then maybe the answer is Ben Sheppard. He and draftmate Jarace Walker have disappointed after what looked like a promising start to their careers. While Walker may just be better used as a trade candidate, Sheppard has shown glimpses of high-quality defense on guards and wings.
The Belmont product will be looking for his payday, and becoming that option would be a fast way to get there. To this point, the question with Sheppard has been if he can be a good enough offensive player to make use of his defensive chops.
However, the likeliest option is that the Pacers will need to find that player somewhere else, either through shopping the bargain bin, or by making a trade.
Making a move
Frank Ntilikina is the face of this article for a reason. The French guard had an impressive FIBA showing for a stacked team and could follow suit of other players like Guershon Yabusele who have used international play to build a market.
There's obviously also other trash heap options, most excitingly someone like Ben Simmons, who would be an excellent on-court fit while also bringing a circus with him.
However, the larger issue is that the Pacers don't have a ton of money, and they don't have a ton of trade assets. Getting a player that valuable with nothing to give up beyond a few seconds, an expiring deal, or simply a minimum contract for free agents is nearly impossible.
Without a real defensive stalwart, however, the Pacers' title hopes may already be far-fetched.
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