Due to numerous injuries to key players this season, head coach Frank Vogel has been forced to shuffle the deck more times than a Vegas blackjack dealer. In fact, the Blue-and-Gold have now trotted out eight different starting lineups through just 25 games—a far cry from the continuity and durability of last year’s group, which only featured three starting lineups the entire season.
But with the return of veterans David West and C.J. Watson from injuries, Vogel seems to have unearthed a starting five that is clicking better than any other Pacers group this season.
With C.J. Watson and Rodney Stuckey at the guards, Solomon Hill and West at the forwards, and Roy Hibbert at center, the Blue-and-Gold so thoroughly drubbed the Lakers on Monday night that some on the Twitter-sphere wondered whether a mercy rule exists in the NBA.
The cohesion among the group was apparent from the start, as the Pacers were credited with assists on five of their first six field goals, as they sprinted past the Lakers for a 24-4 lead.
“You know, when (Watson is) in there, he pushes the ball just like I do,” Stuckey explained after practice. “We’re looking for each other, we play well off each other. It’s been helping our first unit.”
The group has played well even beyond just the Lakers game. There are only four Pacers lineups that have been on the floor together for 50 minutes or more this season —an indictor of the extent to which the injury bug has hit the team — but among those four lineups, this most recent iteration of starters has been the most efficient by a landslide.
The offensive rating of the group (a metric that calculates points scored per 100 possessions) is 102.4, which would rank in the bottom half of the league in terms of offensive efficiency. But the defensive rating of the group (points allowed per 100 possessions) is 92.9 – an elite number. For context, as a team, the Golden State Warriors — owners of a league-best 21-2 record — lead the NBA in defensive efficiency with 95.2.
Yes, Small Sample Size Theater, I know; but with the injuries that have forced the lineup to remain in flux, these samples are what we have to work with.
Another promising statistic to arise from this group of five is how they rank in comparison to other five-man units around the league. Using the same filter as before — lineups that have been on the floor for 50 or more minutes — the Pacers’ newest starting lineup ranks 17th out of 89 groups in terms of defensive efficiency, according to NBA.com/stats.
“I don’t know if it’s anything specific,” Vogel said. “C.J. Watson is playing at a high level and is getting his legs under him, David West is getting his legs under him. We felt like it would take about ten games before they start to really become themselves, and I think that was their tenth game.”
Of course, with George Hill participating in full practices for the first time this season, the ninth lineup of the year is sure to come in the next few weeks as the Pacers will be forced to once again reintegrate one of their healing stars.
But for now at least, Vogel seems to have found a group capable of playing the hard-nosed defense that he has become known for.