Every TrueHoop reader knows that the Pacers are the talk of the league. With an affordable roster, they just keep going mega-deep into the playoffs—which means as systems go, theirs is special.
Behind the scenes in the NBA, the Pacers talk was once about comeback wins and shotmaking. Now, as training camps open, it’s about pace and ball movement–especially how the Pacers guard opposing ball-handlers so incredibly far up the court. Sometimes they even had big men do it!
I can assure you, from people on the court in NBA franchises, that all kinds of teams will be following suit this season. As we speak, NBA teams are working on what once seemed like an NBA gimmick: full-court defense.
My news is that the way the Pacers extended their defense is the tip of the iceberg. Indiana rarely kept multiple defenders in the backcourt after the inbounds pass. Mostly, they deployed a single defender up the floor to hassle an opposing star. The bet was that it was a good trade for Andrew Nembhard or Aaron Nesmith to put in some extra effort—which they had trained for—to force Jalen Brunson or Donovan Mitchell into getting so tired they’d be diminished and not quite themselves by game’s end.
Remember when Jalen Brunson fell down repeatedly near the end of the Eastern Conference finals in Game 1, giving the Pacers the ball and ultimately the win? That’s why Indy hounded him all game.
Indiana’s approach is not generally about getting turnovers, except when T.J. McConnell is, well, McConnelling. How does a small man who isn’t much of a shooter last for a decade in the NBA? This is how. He’s the King of Ambushes (while the Pelicans’ Jose Alvarado is the prince). They rely on covert ops, hiding in plain sight behind a player.
Normal NBA teams want to play fast, which means they drill a quick inbounds pass. Against most teams, that works just fine, even without really looking. This season, I expect more teams to make that harder, forcing outlet passers to take a moment to be on the lookout for a “McConnell.” That delay is only a sliver of time, but as it’ll allow defenders to click into place down the court, it’ll cost plenty of fast teams good scoring opportunities.
But here’s what has been going through my head, during a summer of learning about more and more teams planning to defend like the Pacers: if you’re willing to tire out your players by having them fly all over the court on defense, why stop with the Pacers’ simplistic version of full-court defense?
There are a thousand more things to do–and what the Pacers did won’t work so well once everyone is doing it, and teams expect it.
“Mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy,” says Sun Tzu, and boy do I ever agree.
The point is: I believe in mixing up the defense.
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