With the NBA season still hanging on the balance, the NBA Draft could also be in jeopardy of taking place this summer. As of right now the draft os going on as it would normally but things could take a different shape.

The draft starts with the Draft Lottery in which is the day we find out who will receive the #1 pick in the NBA Draft. It is based on an odds system of teams with the worst records ands determines the teams who get the first 14 picks. This is a mandatory step in the draft process. Without the lottery, we can not have a draft, and without the rest of the NBA season we can not find out what odds each of the worst teams will get to have the lottery.

What This Means?

The draft lottery is scheduled for May 19th, 2020 which is coming up very soon. As of right now the NBA Draft is scheduled for June 25th, 2020. Without the conclusion of the NBA season we do not know what the commissioner plans to due for these events. The teams, players, and players union has asked the commissioner and the board to push the draft back until at least August 1st, giving the time needed to further gather a plan for these rather quickly upcoming events. By pushing the draft back it will allow for a return to the NBA games to take place if at all possible during this COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. This will allow for things to run more smoothly and give the right amount of time to the general managers and teams to scout and figure out their moves for the 2020 NBA Draft.

The Pacers

As for the Indiana Pacers, there are a few ways we could take this draft. Due to the trade last year with the Milwaukee Bucks for point guard Malcolm Brogdon, the Pacers do not own a first round pick. I believe that this is not as bad as some people would think because of the production the Brogdon has given the Pacers this year. The Pacers do hold a second round pick which will most likely transcend into pick 49. Now this is where things get interesting. In the past the Pacers, in my opinion, have not made very good second round decisions such as trading our picks last year, or the pick of Alize Johnson who has not produced for the Pacers since being drafted.

In this years draft there are two roads that could be taken. The first being drafting a versatile wing that plays a 3 and D style fitting into coach McMillan’s grit and grind style of play. As of right now the Pacers do not play very big off the bench and need a little more production from the perimeter for a 3/4 spot that can play a decent amount of minutes. This role is being filled by players like Justin Holiday and Doug McDermott who aren’t playing too bad, actually producing better than in the past, but getting a bigger, younger player and working them into that role could be very beneficial to the Pacers future.

The other way to take this pick would be to build depth at the guard position due to the injury to Jeremy Lamb. Lamb was a vital role in the offense last year and was making his way to the bench unit as star Victor Oladipo was making his return to the lineup. Drafting a bigger guard/forward that can fulfill his role until he returns, which could be all of next season or most of it, could also be a beneficial move for the Pacers. A scoring shooter with good defense coming off the bench playing either the 2 or 3 spot is something the Pacers like to use for versatility in the unit coming off the bench. Therefore, we could see a pick like this from the Pacers in the second round this year.

As the All-Star break is arriving the Indiana Pacers sit in a pretty good position moving forward. Sitting in the 6th seed position in the playoff picture, the Pacers are well aware of the upcoming challenge of maintaining their spot in the playoffs.

A lot of changes are also coming the Pacers way as new adjustments will need to be worked out and the kinks of the system will need to be worked out. this will be based primarily within the second unit. The second unit has been a pretty well balanced attack this year but with Victor Oladipo returning to the starting line-up and receiving more minutes; the second unit is going to have a few changes in it. Here is where I will discuss the questions of the second unit and how it will progress moving forward after the All-Star break.

How does Jeremy Lamb fit in?

With Victor Oladipo returning from his injury, and now returning to the starting line-up, Jeremy Lamb will be coming off the bench for the remainder of the season. Lamb has been a quality starter this year but on previous teams has been a valuable six man, which is the role he will begin to play as the Pacers move forward. This will be a new adjustment for the second unit as Lamb will provide a quality scorer to this unit and will also add some size to the bench as well. Lamb has been a good addition to the Pacers and seeing as he has played minutes with the bench this year already throughout games, he will fit in just fine. As the second unit begins to play with Lamb he will become the lead option of the bench and with two point guards in Aaron Holiday and Tj McConnell both likely to be on the floor the motion and scoring of the offense will only improve from here. Lamb will also add to the defensive end with size and length, adding versatility on that end of the floor as well.

Small Ball or Big Ball?

With the addition of Jeremy Lamb to the bench it gives the Indiana Pacers some options on who to play and what lineups to play coming out of the All-Star break. The first option is small ball. With both Aaron Holiday and Tj McConnell playing good amounts of minutes it could turn into a run and gun pace of play for the second unit. This would keep both point guards on the floor with Lamb at the 3 spot, Justin Holiday or Doug McDermott at the 4 spot, and whatever center happens to be on the floor at the time whether it be Sabonis, Turner, or rookie Goga Bitadze. This will allow for the Pacers to push the ball with excellent three point shooting and a way to mix it up for teams on the defensive end. Where it might hurt is on the defensive side of the ball. Playing the two point guards at the same time hasn’t hurt the Pacers much this year on that end so it will likely continue to be that way moving forward. The other option is to play a bit bigger. This would allow for either of the point guards to play with Lamb at the 2, Justin Holiday and Doug McDermott to both be on the floor, and again whichever center is on the court at that time. This lineup still gives them and excellent three point lineup and will also create a bigger and more versatile defensive look on the other end. Either lineup will be playable and most likely be successful. It will depend on opponent lineups for the night. Which lineup will we see more often; that is soon to find out.

Coming off of the All-Star break this week the Pacers will look to pick up some wins and make a final playoff push down the stretch. The will likely finish between the 4-6 seed in the Eastern Conference depending on the chemistry coming off the break. Practices during this time will be huge for the whole team but especially the newly designed second unit and Victor Oladipo. As they continue to work towards playoff time; the Indiana Pacers could be a dangerous team here late in the season.

Yesterday in the NBA we saw movement that could shift the league with new contenders for a championship. The NBA trade deadline closed yesterday, February 6 at 3:00 p.m. ET. This means no more trades can be made this NBA season until after the NBA championship has been crowned.

The NBA saw a shift in talent from team to team as three blockbuster trades were announced. The first trade was D’Angelo Russell was trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Andrew Wiggins and multiple future picks. This has no effect to the Indiana Pacers as both teams reside in the Western Conference. Another trade with no significance was Andre Drummond to the Cleveland Cavaliers for John Henson, Brandon Knight and a pick. Neither of these teams are contenders in the Eastern Conference playoff race making this trade less significant.

The third trade was between the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Clippers who exchanged Marcus Morris and Maurice Harkless and some future picks which is significant for the Clippers: they are a Western Conference team. This could be relative to the Pacers in the future because of the picks New York received but will most likely not effect the standings this season.

The one trade that happened this deadline that could effect the Indiana Pacers now and in the near future was the four team trade between the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now much of this trade is not important to the Indiana Pacers with three of the four teams being in the Western Conference but the Atlanta Hawks did make a splash by acquiring Clint Capela from the Rockets. This will be a huge pickup for the Hawks as they have struggled to find a big man to pair up with All-Star point guard Trae Young. Capela is a force in the middle with a good offensive game, but will likely solidify the defensive end of the floor for the Hawks. The Hawks are a very young team and with the addition of Capela could start to move up the standings after the All-Star break even though their season has not been a great one so far. They are likely to not make a drastic jump into the bottom seed of the Eastern Conference playoff race this season; but coming in the next few years this very young core could begin to show some promise after all.

The Indiana Pacers did not make any moves this deadline and will more or less look to work previous All-Star Victor Oladipo back into the mix for the final streak of the season. With the Pacers sitting in the 5 seed playoff position you could say that this was the right move. Some would say otherwise as the Pacers are guard heavy with the bench consisting of TJ McConnell and Aaron Holiday. Likely, one of the two will have reduced minutes as Oladipo works his way back up into the starting rotation.

Should we have tried to make a trade with McConnell or Holiday?

With Oladipo gaining more minutes as the All-Star break approaches, the bench back court of McConnell and Holiday is certainly going to have to lose minutes as Guard Jeremy Lamb will come off the bench for the remainder of the season. McConnell is a more veteran guard that pushes the pace and is more of a pure point guard with his passing ability out shining his scoring. Holiday is a young and upcoming developing player that has surpassed expectations this year with his passing and shooting, especially from behind the 3-point arc.

Either McConnell or Holiday could have been a solid trade piece to gain more depth at the forward position for the Indiana Pacers this deadline. But with the youth of Holiday, his on-court development over the past year, and his pairing in the second unit with brother and Indiana Pacers forward Justin Holiday; he should stay. I believe that in the future Holiday will have a bigger impact and fits Coach McMillan’s system better than what McConnell does.

With that being said, for this trade deadline, I believe that keeping the both of them was the right option. As seeing them play together this year on the second unit it has worked well and I believe it can still work just as well for the rest of the season. The chemistry in the second unit has been good and will become even better as Jeremy Lamb should add a scoring boost as he begins to come off the bench in the near future. This also allows us to play a few different lineups in the future with our bench playing both point guards and Jeremy Lamb at the small forward for a small lineup, or interchanging the two guards based on who is hot that night in a bigger lineup. I believe that the versatility we will gain off the bench will be a great weapon moving on through the rest of the season for the Indiana Pacers.

On January 30, the Indiana Pacers were rejoiced with great news as 23 year old power forward/center Domantas Sabonis was selected to the all-star team as a reserve. Sabonis is averaging a double-double per game with 18.2 points and 12.7 rebounds while also dishing out 4.5 assists per game. He is third in the league in double-doubles this season with 37 behind only Andre Drummond and last years MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Sabonis was overjoyed with the news but remains professional when being asked how he felt, “That was never my mindset.” Sabonis said on not losing ny motivation now that he is an NBA All-Star, “I always want to do more. Always want to get better.”

For his teammates and coaches, they knew Sabonis could grow into this All-Star caliber player as him and Oladipo have grown together since the trade to Indiana from Oklahoma City a few years ago. “I think I’m more excited than he is,” Oladipo said after practice on Friday as he knows what it feels like to participate in an All-Star game as well. As for Coach McMillan, he knew Sabonis was going to be an All-Star this season, “I talked to some coaches, and for them it was a no-brainer,” on him being selected as a reserve. McMillan said in an interview, “I think he deserves it…. his numbers have been good all season long, but the team has done a good job of contributing to him making this All-Star team.” As McMillan prides his system on good team basketball and allowing for everyone to shine, but this season has been one for Sabonis to remember. The All-Star game will take place in Chicago at the end of the weekend on February 16.

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nba/pacers/2020/01/31/domantas-sabonis-selection-pacers-traded-paul-george-two-all-stars/4564205002/

https://secure.nba.com/pacers/video/sabonis-pacers-react-all-star-selection