Young players emerge as Indiana Pacers hit win streak
Young players are dominating the news for the suddenly-hot Pacers.
INDIANAPOLIS – A rare in-season practice was possible for the Pacers on Tuesday. In the midst of a short homestand, and with wins becoming the norm after a 13-game losing streak, the blue and gold had a session in the St. Vincent Center after beating the Boston Celtics on Monday.
It was their first formal practice in Indianapolis since December 17, the end of the NBA Cup break – nearly a month. Every team has their shootarounds, walkthroughs, and film work, but a true practice mid-season isn't common. Yet the Pacers got one in.
The theme? The J's – Jarace Walker, Johnny Furphy, and Jay Huff. With more time, I'm sure Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and James Wiseman would have come up. In the midst of wins, though, the J-led first name group have all been major topics for the 9-31 Pacers.
For Huff, it has been a combination of solid play and dunking... But mostly dunking backwards, sideways, upside down, you name it. Huff explained the reasoning for his unique dunking style when I asked him at media day, but now it's his teammates answering for his wild rim-rocking ways.
Tony East
"I can't relate to reverse dunks. I have four dunks in my life," head coach Rick Carlisle joked. He couldn't remember any of the four specifically.
Some Pacers players who can presently dunk were also asked to reflect on Huff's one-of-one dunking. "Definitely an exciting guy to watch," Walker said, noting that the arm-curling dunk against the Cleveland Cavaliers was his favorite, but he could never emulate anything like that himself.
"I like my shoulders," Walker added. Furphy, one of the team's better highlight producers, agreed. "I couldn't physically do that with my shoulder and arm. So that's why everyone's so shocked when he does things like that, because it's just so unique," he explained of Huff's backwards dunk against Boston.
I followed up with Furphy and asked if he's attempted one of Huff's goofy dunks. "I've tried, but I can't. It is so, so unique," he shared. Huff leads the team with 33 dunks this season – only Isaiah Jackson (20) and Furphy (10) join him in double figures.
Furphy, the second J of the day, is athletic himself. But the focus for him of late has been two things in one – his strong blend with the opening five and his new role playing center on occasion. The second-year forward has started in eight of the Pacers last nine games and has logged at least 14:26 of action in eight of the nine, too.
So, he's playing a lot and holding a key role. And these minutes aren't being given, Furphy is earning them with effective play. The stats don't scream starter (6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game in those nine outings), but Furphy's defense, shooting, and work on the glass have made him an effective fifth starter so far.
59.5% of his field goal attempts have dropped in that stretch, including 37.5% of his outside shots. Furphy is routinely asked to handle challenging matchups on the defensive end and is emerging as one of the team's best non-centers on the glass.
The dirty work, basically. "This year, not having a lot of reps playing with the guys I'm playing with now, it's going to take time to adjust and kind of get confidence and trust from my teammates and that sort of thing," Furphy said of starting. "So I think the more we play together and stuff, the easier it's going to be."
His trust within that unit is clearly growing, though Furphy described that as an ongoing process. The Pacers are 3-5 with Furphy starting, and it's likely to be an opening look that Carlisle will turn to even as the team keeps tinkering with five-man combinations.
The other fresh Furphy situation? Playing center. In multiple games, he's been asked to be the five man next to Siakam, and the two have traded back and forth who is guarding the opposing team's center in those alignments. I asked Furphy if he'd ever played the position before. "No. It's a new thing for sure," he said. "But I'm willing to do whatever."
So far, so good. The biggest differences in that role for the Australian forward are how he is asked to defend ball screens and what his mentality needs to be. To date, the Pacers have a positive net rating with both Siakam and Furphy on the floor without a center. That's worth keeping an eye on.
Elsewhere, Walker is putting together another stretch of great outings. He turned a corner somewhat in late November but quickly fell back to Earth.
Since Christmas, Walker looks noticeably better both in his poise and his stats. Making more shots will make any player appear more effective, but Walker has cut down on the number of disastrous mistakes he is making in games and upped his alert level on defense. Those two things would have been crucial even without shot-making improvements.
In the 10 games since Christmas, Walker is averaging 8.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 49.2% from the field and 40% from deep. That's the exact type of player the Houston product can be, and he's showing it for an extended stretch right now.
Carlisle keeps praising Walker's play, unprompted, after games. Walker called that "Definitely fire," when asked. What is guiding his big run? Shot making, yes, but also a dedication to studying film. "The film never lies. So just watching my minutes every game, just seeing what I could bring to the team. Seeing what I could do differently, seeing how I can help the squad has definitely been important," Walker explained. "So just being able to visualize it and then just see what I could do differently, what I can improve upon."
The third-year forward feels as if he has been more consistent recently. Walker explained that he's been able to trust his instincts more of late, and his instincts have naturally improved with more reps. That is the endless challenge for developing players – applying new skills and learned traits requires thinking and studying, but playing quickly and instinctually requires not thinking, or at least not for much time. It's one of the hardest parts of natural development, and Walker is finding a quality balance between thought and action now.
He's playing with more force, too, a phrase Carlisle and Pacers leadership have used often when talking about the next steps of Walker's improvement. "In terms of force, I would say just always boxing out, always busting over screens, just always being in contact with my guy and just being physical," Walker said of that part of his game. "Just being a physical presence out there. Helps make a difference and make my presence known."
Winning three in a row is at least some proof of concept for the Pacers after a 13-game losing streak. But more importantly, they've gotten good play from younger talents in that stretch. That should make them happier than the results.
Elsewhere, in the G League
Yes, that very blurry screenshot shows all three of Kam Jones, Taelon Peter, and Ethan Thompson on the court, at the same time, for the Noblesville Boom.
It was Thompson's first G League game since signing with the Pacers. All three players were up in Chicago Sunday as the Boom played a road game that fit snugly into the Pacers calendar. Any chance to evaluate the trio, who all have multi-year deals with the Pacers, is important.
Thompson, who was a borderline-dominant scorer at the G League level before signing his two-way deal, showed exactly that. He hit nine three-point shots against the Bulls on his way to a game-high 36 points. The rookie chipped in six rebounds, too, and was overall just as effective as a two-way contract player is often expected to be, especially one with years of pro experience. He should look like one of the best players on the court and did.
Thompson had 22 of his points in the second half. That's also the half during which Jones got going. The rookie guard had a tough first half – finishing the two quarters with three points, two assists, and a turnover. His points all came on a three-point jump shot just before halftime.
But in the remaining frames, Jones was far better. Windy City didn't give him much space to take, but he still wiggled his way into roughly equivalent shots in each half. During the second half, they went in – Jones shot 6/8 in that half and finished the outing with 15 points, five assists, and two turnovers.
"He's been able to play in some games and had some good stretches. Right now, he's just got to stay ready. And staying ready means that he's got to get in all these pickup games with the low minute guys. He's got to do work on his own to stay tuned up," Carlisle said of Jones. "We'll see what the G League schedule looks like, if there's some opportunities for him to get some G League games, that's certainly a possibility too. But the kid is a four-year player from a great program. There's a lot of wisdom. And as we've seen, he's kept himself ready. As I mentioned, he's had some very good stretches."
Peter was the quietest of the trio, finishing with nine points (3/7) and five rebounds. He made half of his six three-point looks, though, and keeps showing that his collegiate shooting wasn't a fluke. Peter is shooting 40.9% on over nine three-point attempts per game in 10 G League appearances.
The Boom pulled off a 128-120 comeback win behind their three Pacers players. Pacers camp signee Jalen Slawson had 27 points, and newly-acquired Boom player and recent Pacer Cody Martin added nine.
Also of note for the Pacers, here is the number of remaining games that their two-way contract players can be active for in the NBA this season –
Ethan Thompson: 19
Taelon Peter: 19
Quenton Jackson: 29
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