The Indiana Pacers got their first win of the preseason against the Atlanta Hawks behind a dominant 43-15 second quarter as Tyrese Haliburton played in his first exhibition game of the season.
In a true show of their depth, the first 10 players to get on the court for the Pacers all scored between 7 and 15 points. Haliburton led the way with 15 points and 8 assists in 23 minutes and his impact was clear with how well the offense flowed with quick ball movement throughout his minutes as the Pacers racked up 22 assists on their 26 made shots in the first half.
While doing his usual constant pushing of the pace, Haliburton hit Obi Toppin on multiple leak outs for easy baskets in what is sure to be a common occurrence all year, sprayed the ball around to open 3-point shooters for multiple assists, and racked up numerous hockey assists that don’t show up in the box score. He looked like he was in midseason form.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 9 points (4 of 6) in his 22 minutes but most importantly had four assists and continued his trend of moving the ball significantly better than he did as a rookie. This pass out to an open Buddy Hield in the opposite corner was his best of the night though the flashiest was easily a fastbreak lob to Toppin.
You can see the effort is being put in on the defensive end of the floor but like much of the Pacers team Mathurin is struggling to defend without fouling. He racked up a quick 4 fouls during his time on the floor—though that was nothing compared to Myles Turner fouling out in just 16 minutes.
While Turner struggled with the whistle, he didn’t elsewhere as he scored 13 points (4 of 5) and added 3 blocks and a steal to his efficient, short night of work. He was often the beneficiary of teams collapsing in on a Toppin roll which allowed Turner to space to the corner for open looks. Jalen Smith stepped in as the backup center in this one and it feels like he’s the most likely to grab hold of those minutes in the regular season as things currently stand. Stix played very well in his 20 minutes with 9 points (4 of 6), 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He continues to play with a lot of force inside, rebound well, and makes himself available with well-timed cuts in front of his man. Carlisle brought up his improved physical play, evolving feel for the game, and his added strength as areas of improvement from last year. He made his one 3-point attempt after some fun passing from Haliburton and Hield.
The biggest new additions to the Pacers looked like complimentary pieces to Haliburton in great ways with Bruce Brown (8 points and 4 assists) serving as a capable secondary playmaker and getting his first pair of triples to fall during preseason play while Toppin’s defense looked much better in this one including a couple steals and a block on a 3-point attempt that led to an easy transition basket for Mathurin and his ability to beat the opposing team back on possession changes is an ideal match for how Haliburton likes to play. Toppin’s roll-gravity was on full display opening up shots for others—analyzed by the great Caitlin Cooper on her Patreon.
While Carlisle isn’t calling the race for the starting unit closed, it was a good sign for this group especially offensively to dominate a Hawks team that was without Trae Young and Dejounte Murray.
“I have a strong belief in that group offensively,” Carlisle said. “Defensively, you know the fouls are something that we’ve got to get better with.”
The depth for this team is really going to get interesting when talking about the second unit. The first five off the bench were TJ McConnell, Buddy Hield, Ben Sheppard, Aaron Nesmith, and Jalen Smith. All five of these guys deserve to play with their superb performances through preseason but Andrew Nembhard will take one of these players out of the lineup and Jarace Walker, the talented 8th overall pick, is looming as well. It’ll be a tough decision for Carlisle to make.
Sheppard is the surprise to really cement himself as he hit another three 3-pointers with his third igniting the entire Pacers bench to get up and celebrate. Carlisle called him “a pain in the ass to guard” as his penchant for cursing during interviews increases by the day. He may be the odd man out of the rotation or it could be McConnell if the Pacers value putting the ball in Nembhard’s hands as much as possible as the leader of the second unit. Nesmith certainly isn’t going anywhere as he continues to look like he improved his offensive game with another 15 points (6 of 10).
Walker got his first minutes of the game in the third quarter in some valuable time with the starters. They immediately gave him a chance to make plays in the short roll off of Haliburton being doubled. He made the proper read and found the open man. It wasn’t his best game and he settled for too many floaters but it was good to see him get some valuable experience with the starters.
The Pacers have one final preseason game coming against the Cavaliers on Friday and then the real fun begins with the regular season.
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