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Pacers Mailbag: Basketball, They Spoke w/ Tony East
🕑 Added 2023-12-29 13:15:01 +0000 UTCAnswering questions about the basketball played by the Indiana Pacers
By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper
As promised, for this month's edition of the patron-only mailbag, I was joined by a guest: Pacers beat writer and podcaster, Tony East. Before diving into the Pacers of it all, Tony also agreed to join me for, let's say, an "ice breaker."
In case you just want to listen for your specific question or watch for the special surprise at the beginning, here are the relevant timestamps:
0:00 - Introductions
0:58 - Ice breaker
8:48 - Temperature check on Buddy Hield
17:19 - Areas of improvement since the start of the season
23:00 - Obi Toppin's place in the rotation
28:51 - Does Bennedict Mathurin still project as a viable second option next to Tyrese Haliburton?
36:05 - Turnovers contributing to the recent rough stretch of play
42:54 - Adjustments to keep the team above .500 during January
51:47 - Can Isaiah Jackson play power forward?
57:15 - Is the next logical step for the Pacers upgrading the four-spot with a trade or Jarace Walker?
1:02:30 - Are there any rotation decisions that have confused us this season? (i.e. aka "The Jarace Discussion")
1:10:14 - How impactful is it for Andrew Nembhard to start games initiating the offense?
1:15:36 - What have we changed our minds about since the start of the season?
1:27:33 - Do the Pacers need to re-evaluate expectations for the season? Also, what are the chances that Walker starts by the end of the season?
1:32:08 - Are there any numbers that support whether the Pacers are shooting poorly on "wide open" threes when Haliburton passes out of blitzes/traps
1:41:00 - What players on the roster are most likely to still be on the team in three years?
1:50:00 - Thank you and Goodbye!
Comments
Caitlin Cooper
Glad you enjoyed it
Jord
pacers coverage dream team right here, great ep!
Rafa
Following the Pacers as secondary team this year and this was the most interesting pod I’ve heard. I actually disagreed with you and Tony more then normal but still found the opinions well thought out. I appreciate that your opinions stand on their own and did not come across as colored to support a larger narratives I’ll be watching Nemhard. I didn’t watch him at all last year and he hasn’t played a lot this year. So far I am questioning him as an on ball play maker. I feel most of the fan base sees him as a better play maker/player then TJ and your praise is something that makes me question my early assessment
Caitlin Cooper
No worries. These always end up going longer than I intend for them to be.
maninthebooth
I wrote my comment part way through the podcast which I have now viewed. Very informative. Thanks for the reply and for the great podcast.
Caitlin Cooper
I have to agree.
Caitlin Cooper
My answer would be that I think all of this is a bit TBD at the moment. None of these lineups have played much together. It's possible that Toppin will jell with the bench. It would be great if he does. Right now, though, he hasn't been involved much. We'll see. That might change. Also, my guess is that part of the motivating factor for moving Toppin to the bench is so that they would have more of a four to play with that group now that Nesmith has shifted to playing a larger chunk of his action at the three.
Tony East
I, for one, think this is an excellent podcast.
maninthebooth
This is my take from what you two said about Obi. He’s much better with Ty than on the second unit but can’t defend good offensive 4’s. So why not start Obi or Stix depending on who the opposing 4 is?
Caitlin Cooper
Hope you enjoy!
Caitlin Cooper
Really appreciate him for joining me and being so generous with his time.
Caitlin Cooper
Good question. I disagree with the point about being biased against rookies. Andrew Nembhard started 63 games last season as a second-round pick -- mainly because of his defensive readiness. If the Pacers thought that Jarace could be part of the solution right now, I think he would be part of the rotation. As for the point about practice, it would likely be more about evaluating team-defensive concepts and his overall defensive principles, in my opinion. In the event he was struggling 1-on-1 against the team's current options at the four, however, that would probably just reinforce why he isn't currently playing, right? Give him time. I still believe in the tools.
Matthew Hogg
Love that you and Tony podding is becoming a more regular occurrence.
Mike Brooks
Loved listening to this on my morning run! Great stuff… had me looking up efficient stats on Toppin and Jackson when I got back home. 2 questions on your point about Jarace - 1) Seems impossible to simulate in practice a big wing. Only guy who plays like that creating contact is Ben at 6’5. Was always an issue when we were prepping for other teams when I played. You can’t simulate unless you have a similar guy. You’d have to bring in Bosh or Weber haha in a few practices to test Jarace. He just plays the spread and high pick/ roll in practice and probably guards Jackson or Toppin. 2) do you trust this staff to eval rookies fairly for those practices we don’t see? Carlisle has a deep history and seems like bias against rookies.
Nicholas
The dynamic duo
