What the Indiana Pacers learned in Ivica Zubac debut vs Phoenix Suns
The Pacers new center finally debuted and showed many of the skills that made him a trade target.
INDIANAPOLIS – Before Thursday night, Ivica Zubac had only played for LA-based NBA teams. His career started with the Los Angeles Lakers, then Zubac and Michael Beasley were traded to the LA Clippers in exchange for Mike Muscala. For the next seven years, Zubac was a Clipper.
That changed as the Indiana Pacers hosted the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night. Zubac was traded to the Pacers in February and was making his debut for the franchise after recovering from an ankle injury earlier this season. And as fate would have it, a central figure in Zubac's transactional journey was at the game: Muscala himself. He's an assistant coach for the Suns under head coach Jordan Ott.
This time, Zubac was traded for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, and two first-round draft picks. None of that package was courtside, but the level of investment the Pacers put in Zubac made his debut a highly-anticipated event. He just had to recover first.
"Just getting my ankle 100%," Zubac said of what he needed to do to play. "Wanted to get that right before I got on the court. Once we got that right and my conditioning right, once we got that out of the way, that was it."
Tony East
Zubac explained that with the Clippers, he felt confident enough in his health to play in games even after his ankle injury. But he knew that he wasn't going to be 100% until the offseason. The trade changed his thinking. He and the Pacers wanted a full recovery before game action. Thursday night, that was finally possible.
Head coach Rick Carlisle wanted Zubac to "Go hard" and do what he does in his first game for the blue and gold. Prior to Thursday, the focus for the veteran big man was controlled workouts during his ramp up. Now, he had to apply his practiced skills. "Simplicity and execution. Just gotta get a start, got to get out there," Carlisle said.
The 29-year old went through his individual pregame warmup just over an hour before tip off. 45 minutes later, he was on the court with his teammates for the first time. During his first trip through the layup lines, he threw down a powerful dunk – get used to that power, it showed up in the game.
A few minutes later, the team spread out to work on their in-game shots. Zubac went to the post and called for a teammate to defend him. New two-way signee Jalen Slawson took on the role and stood on Zubac's left hip while he took a few practice shots.
Zubac was announced as a starter, and he was the third player introduced. He received the biggest cheer of anyone before Pacers-Suns, then moments later jogged out to midcourt to prepare for the opening tip. He had a short pregame handshake with his teammates – the longest of which by far was Kobe Brown, the player he was traded with. Zubac won the opening tip and the game was underway.
His early minutes featured a lot of as-advertised stuff. He guarded the screener in several picks and rolls, grabbed a contested rebound after a missed free throw, and set some bruising screens. "A couple times, he hit guys on screens and they were crushing blows," Carlisle said. "And he's so big, it's like he can barely feel it."
Then, his first offensive involvement. Holding the ball on the left block, maybe a bit further out than that, Zubac drew a double team. The Pacers recognized the opening and Ethan Thompson cut into the lane. Zubac hit him for a bucket.
Almost exactly two minutes later, Thompson and Zubac executed a pick-and-roll on the right side of the floor. Two defenders stuck with Thompson as he approached the cup, so Zubac was open for a lob. He threw down a dunk for his first points as a Pacer.
Along the way, the Croatian center mixed in a few other important plays. A nice pass to Jarace Walker here, a difficult dart to Slawson there. He hit a floater, was combative on the glass, flipped in a hook shot, and used his power to score in the post even with multiple defenders around him.
Despite playing with just one other Pacers starter, Zubac was effective and finished with eight points, six rebounds, and two assists. He played for 16 minutes in the first half, then his night was done.
"Very good," Carlisle said. "The numbers translate to a double-double. He was a big factor on the inside."
Added Ben Sheppard: "His presence and what he does on the floor is just exciting to see. He's obviously been working his way back. Just the gravity he creates on the court, his hustle, rebounding, offensive capabilities. It's just exciting to see."
Carlisle noted that the Pacers have been working on identifying Zubac being open or of use when he is heading toward the rim or already at the basket. That's something the team will continue to improve on with game reps, especially when the likes of Pascal Siakam, Aaron Nesmith, T.J. McConnell, and Obi Toppin are available. In the meantime, Zubac's debut was successful in that he showed exactly how he can elevate the team despite not having played for a month and having zero reps with the rest of the roster.
What happened in the game?
Ah, right, the rest of Pacers-Suns. The Pacers played a competitive first 34 minutes, trailing 86-84 with two minutes left in the third quarter. Zubac and Andrew Nembhard only played in the first half, yet they were terrific – Nembhard had 23 points on seven shot attempts in his 17 first-half minutes.
The available reserves deserve credit for keeping the game close for as long as they did. Kobe Brown was in foul trouble, Slawson was playing his first home game for the franchise, and the team's point guard depth was depleted. But they hung in and kept the score close.
Then, Devin Booker and Jalen Green did their thing. Booker scored eight points and assisted on two more in just the final two minutes of the third quarter, extending Phoenix's lead from two to eight. Green scored 17 points in the fourth quarter. They combined for 79 in total – 43 for Booker, 36 for Green.
Despite facing two guards on scoring heaters and being down several key players, the Pacers were within nine with about four minutes left. The Suns slammed the door shut, though, and won 123-108. It was the Pacers 11th-straight loss. "Our second and third unit guys forced them to keep their starters in at the end. That's all positive stuff," Carlisle said.
Jalen Slawson's career night
Buried in an eventful debut and a Booker masterclass was a very solid game from Slawson. He was playing in just his second game for the Pacers and finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
Go check his career high for each of those three stats. You will find out that all three came in the same game – his 14th even in the NBA. Slawson was quite productive.
"Slawson did a terrific job. He was physical. Played with force. Rebounded the ball," Carlisle said postgame.
He earned all of his 31:44 of playing time, which obviously contributed to his career outing. But he had to play well to stay on the floor, and he did exactly that.
The second-year wing is grateful for his current opportunity and said it felt good to be so productive. He's felt the effort his coaches and teammates have put into making him a better player.
"Everybody tonight was telling me 'good job, keep going'," Slawson said. He wants to keep that effort going every night. "Everybody believes in me, they're telling me to keep shooting and be confident."
The 26-year old has improved quite a bit this season and has shown it with the Noblesville Boom. He'll look to keep ascending when given chances with the Pacers down the stretch.
Thank you for reading. There will be many more Zubac-related stories to be told in the final 16 games. Subscribe below to have them sent to your email inbox.
Comments ()