The Indiana Pacers finally notched their first win of the new season after they defeated the Miami Heat, 102-91. Indiana suffered back-to-back crushing road defeats to the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards to begin the campaign. They certainly could have easily gone 3-0 to start the season, had the breaks of the game gone their way against Charlotte and Washington. But nonetheless, this recently-concluded win over a top Eastern Conference team like Miami should give them a major confidence boost moving forward.
Despite being 1-2, there are a lot of positives to draw from Indiana's start to the 2021-22 campaign. Here are three takeaways from the Pacers' first three games of the season.
Indiana Pacers takeaways
1. Rick Carlisle effect
The Indiana Pacers are already feeling the Rick Carlisle effect three games into his second stint with the franchise. Sure, it's only a 3-game sample size so far, but it's evident that the Pacers will shoot more threes this 2021-22 season compared to the last.
Indiana averaged 34 three-pointers a game and ranked in the bottom ten in terms of 3-point attempts frequency last season under former head coach Nate Bjorkgren. Through three games this season, the Pacers are shooting 40 threes a night, including 47 in the opener against Charlotte. It seems like Carlisle's fingerprints are already embedded on this offense. With the offensive firepower they have, look out for a more trigger-happy Pacers squad this season.
2. Chris Duarte playing a huge role
Three games into his professional career and Chris Duarte is already getting so much burn. We all knew that Duarte would be NBA-ready from the get-go. But even drawing the start on opening night and exploding with 27 points and six 3-pointers came as a massive surprise.
The 24-year old rookie has logged 40 minutes in back-to-back outings following Indiana's win over Miami. And it's not as if he's just out there. Duarte is actually playing a substantial role in the Pacers' offense. After his impressive NBA debut in a heartbreaking loss to the Hornets, Duarte followed that up with a solid 15-point outing versus the Wizards. Despite having a rough 6-of-21 shooting night against the Heat, Duarte still led the Pacers in scoring with 19 points and two 3-pointers while going 5-of-5 from the freethrow line.
It's worth wondering whether Duarte will continue to start or even log this much playing time when the Pacers are at full strength with Caris LeVert and TJ Warren. But with Rick Carlisle's love for shooters, the Puerto Rican will probably still stick as a major rotation piece for Indiana.
3. Domantas Sabonis is the star, but Malcolm Brogdon is just as important
There's no doubt that Indiana's success hinges a lot on Domantas Sabonis' brilliance on a nightly basis. But his main partner-in-crime Malcolm Brogdon is lowkey just as important to the Pacers hopes of making a return to the playoffs this season. The soon-to-be 29 year old is going to be the glue guy that will run the show and keep things in place for Rick Carlisle.
Brogdon scored 28 points each, while averaging 6.0 rebounds and 9.5 assists on 47 percent shooting in their two losses to open the season. Against Miami, the 2016-17 Rookie of the Year struggled mightily from the field, shooting just 5-of-19 and going 0-of-7 from long range. Despite his shooting woes, Brogdon still contributed in a huge way, ending up with 18 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks, while going 8-of-8 from the line in 41 minutes. Brogdon's ability to find a way to still provide an impact even if his shot is not falling should help win a lot of games for Indiana this season.
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