Domantas Sabonis | Pace and Space

Domantas Sabonis: Killer at the Rim

January 26, 2021 - by Fox Doucette

The Indiana Pacers continue to chug along in the NBA’s weird COVID-ridden 2020-21 campaign, standing 10-7 after a Monday night win against the Toronto Raptors put them just a game and a half back of the first-place Philadelphia 76ers and half a game behind the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks for second in the Eastern Conference. Oddly, the more things change in the NBA, the more they stay the same; Atlanta, at 8-8, is the only Southeast Division team within sniffing range of a winning record. But that’s a story for another day (specifically Thursday); stay tuned. With Victor Oladipo …

Pacers Tuesday

The Indiana Pacers’ Amazing 2-Point Efficiency

December 30, 2020 - by Fox Doucette - 1 Comment

The Indiana Pacers finally fell out of the ranks of the NBA’s unbeatens Tuesday night when the Boston Celtics avenged a last-second loss in Beantown by mounting an impressive 33-17 fourth quarter to sneak a 116-111 win out of Bankers Life Fieldhouse. And while the Pacers have struggled to find the touch from beyond the arc (their 30.3 percent shooting from long range is third-worst in the league and has led to a gun-shy .331 3PAR that is less about offensive design and more about a lack of confidence in their shot), they have picked up three wins thanks mainly …

Pacers Tuesday

The 19-9 Indiana Pacers Are Passing the Good Teams Test

December 18, 2019 - by Fox Doucette

For the observant, Pacers “Tuesday” is once again running on Wednesday this week. The difference is that this week, it’s because how this column was going to turn out was in the balance right up until Domantas Sabonis made a free throw to put the Pacers up 3, good defense forced a bad shot on the ensuing possession, and Indiana beat the freaking Los Angeles Lakers 105-102 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, sending LeBron James and his jolly band of mercenaries back to Tinseltown with their delusional Twitter following brim-full of excuses as they learn for the first time that you …

Pacers Tuesday

Domantas Sabonis: The Best Contract Extension in the NBA

October 22, 2019 - by Fox Doucette

The Indiana Pacers, after some saber rattling and a slew of trade rumors, signed Domantas Sabonis to a four-year contract extension Monday that, according to various reports, is good for something in the $75-80 million range with incentives. The Indianapolis Star reported $74.9 million, as did Shams Charania, so that’s the figure I’m going to go with for this piece. At that salary, and given Sabonis’ .197 WS/48 last year (the same as Karl-Anthony Towns and Kyrie Irving), that gives him a Wiggins Factor of 203.55, which is spectacular for a guy making star money—anything below 300 is good, 250 …

Pacers Tuesday

The Star Turn of Domantas Sabonis

November 6, 2018 - by Fox Doucette - 1 Comment

The Indiana Pacers are a little too prone to putting their money in the wrong place in trying to find an explanation for their breakout into the NBA’s upper echelon since Paul George left. First it was a four-year extension for Nate McMillan, the second-worst case in the league (behind Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota) of a team that should’ve made a coaching change instead rewarding the guy who took them to the playoffs. Indiana going 48-34 is why they didn’t blow up the sideline and hire Mike Budenholzer (go ahead, imagine a team that’s been as good from beyond the …

Pacers Tuesday

Domantas Sabonis is a true Rising Star

February 20, 2018 - by Fox Doucette

In this space, I have often gone after Myles Turner, suggesting that his ceiling is a lot lower than Pacers fans hoped it would be when Turner came into the league and effectively became a poor man’s Hassan Whiteside with his shotblocking. Well, move over, Myles, because Domantas Sabonis is about to take your spot, and the Pacers are better off for it. Consider this fun fact courtesy of Fanrag’s Andy Bailey… In the 910 minutes Victor Oladipo & Myles Turner have shared the floor, Indiana's outscoring opponents by 5.5 PTS per 100 poss. In the 812 minutes Oladipo & …

Pacers Tuesday

Should Myles Turner Be Indiana’s Sixth Man?

January 30, 2018 - by Fox Doucette

Over the course of this season, we’ve learned some things about Myles Turner, and they’re not necessarily the lessons we’d hoped to learn watching him navigate his first two seasons in the league. In particular, the belief that his ceiling was “rich man’s Hassan Whiteside” may have been a bit overly optimistic. Turner, unlike Whiteside, is a terrible rebounder, and he’s so afraid of contact that you’d think he was shooting 30 percent from the free throw line and not 77.8 for his career. Instead, his ceiling is more “Roy Hibbert with a jump shot.” The Pacers are 9-7 when …