The Indiana Pacers will be making a major change in terms of their style of play next season as they have decided to insert Sixth Man of the Year candidate Domantas Sabonis into the starting lineup to pair with Myles Turner.
This is something that has been rarely done in the NBA since the game has evolved into a fast-paced style of play. However, Sabonis believes that him sharing the court with Turner will work.
Sabonis on his pairing with Turner: "We know it can work. I think we were good fit last season. We just need more time. Not only few minutes per game, but whole season or at least half of it. There gonna be better & worse games, but we need trust & everything will be fine."
— Donatas Urbonas (@Urbodo) August 7, 2019
Sabonis will likely be the Pacers' starting center, even though Turner is a better rim protector, and it's primarily because of the latter's ability to knock down 3-pointers. Turner hit 38 percent of his shots from beyond the arc last season, and that will definitely help Indy space the floor.
Defensively, Sabonis and Turner can reject and alter a lot of shots inside the painted area. The two combined for at least three blocked shots last season, which will make them a problem for a couple of teams.
The only problem that this strategy could face is the fact that the Pacers might find it hard to keep up with a team that will field small-ball lineups. Sure, Sabonis and Turner can dominate the rebounding department (combined 22 rebounds per game last season), but they might struggle in transition, which could allow opponents to have plenty of fastbreak points.
If this works for the Pacers, they can be a really good two-way team next season. They have Victor Oladipo carrying the majority of the offensive load, then they have their twin towers, who can do a really good job of protecting the rim.
This might just be what they need to finally make a deep run into the playoffs.
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