Pacers guard Edmond Sumner has dealt with knee soreness since his final year in college, so the extended layoff has improved his health, Michael McCleary of the Indianapolis Star reports. “This is probably the best I’ve felt, especially (with my) knee,” said Sumner, who missed some early-season action with a broken hand. “The training staff say this is the best they’ve been treating my knee.” Sumner could see his role increase in Orlando if Victor Oladipo stands by his original decision to opt out of the league restart.
We have more from the Pacers:
- The chemistry between big men Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner had improved just before the stoppage in play. Coach Nate McMillan is hopeful that they’ll quickly recapture that form in Orlando, Mark Monteith of the team’s website writes. “Those guys had adapted to what teams were doing,” McMillan said. “I started to get a feel for how to use the two bigs and the rotations to split them.”
- Guard T.J. McConnell liked what he saw from the team during its first practice in Orlando on Sunday, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. “The pace was so good and guys were playing off each other,” McConnell said. “So it was like we never left. Now we just need to build off it.”
- Oladipo is having second thoughts about sitting out in Orlando after participating fully in practices. Get the details here.
TJ OConnell… among Pacer guards, #1 in ast/tov, #2 in PER, #3 in BPM, #5 in salary, #5 in minutes (would be #6 but for Olidipo’s injury).
“The pace was so good and guys were playing off each other”
Perfect quote for him. Play the guy. Brogdon is #1 more often but is listed as “week to week”… he can be the 2G if okay, and the Pacers would be better! It should not be a problem to make a change at this point, especially since the added player could only increase teamwork and Dipo is also iffy.
I see OConnell is only #4 in on/off, but he had to play 2G 40% of the time, which he’s not really cut out for… it was more often than Brogdon did, by whatever measure Bas.Ref. uses.
I presume Brogdon is healthy by now but is not the ironman OConnell is, for maintaining team consistency.
Me rambling on, but Indy seems more likely to step up than down, a surprise to me, as I just got done saying that about Philly!
That was one of the better BB articles I’ve seen linked to; Gotta repeat more of it. Relevant rigorous stats to serve important points, namely that the Sabonis/Turner pairing may be a gaining winner. Energetic activity from the center is usually a game-changer.
“Pacers.com writer @MarkMontieth 7-13-20…
“The primary task for the Pacers within their Orlando bubble is to regain the harmony they were humming when the season was suspended. Perhaps you remember: eight victories, including five on the road, in their previous 11 games.
“For that to happen, Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner likely will have to recapture and resume their chemistry, particularly in light of the expected absence of Victor Oladipo.
“Splitting Sabonis and Turner means getting Sabonis out of the game early to allow Turner to play some at center instead of power forward offensively, and then bringing Sabonis back with the second unit where his passing and rebounding skills mesh with a smaller lineup.
“During that 11-game stretch… Sabonis and Turner combined to average 31-20-6, and 3.5 blocks. Better yet [at the end]… which consisted of wins at Chicago and Dallas and a homecourt loss to Boston in which a frantic comeback fell just short — Sabonis and Turner combined to average 40-22-7, and 3.7 blocks. Sabonis gets nearly all the credit for the assists and Turner gets nearly all the credit for the blocks, but they were each contributing a healthy number of points and rebounds.”
rambling on, but Indy seems more likely to step up than down, a surprise to me, as I just got done saying that about Philly!
That was one of the better BB articles I’ve seen linked to; Gotta repeat more of it. Relevant rigorous stats to serve important points, namely that the Sabonis/Turner pairing may be a gaining winner. Energetic activity from the center is usually a game-changer.
“Pacers.com writer @MarkMontieth 7-13-20…
“The primary task for the Pacers within their Orlando bubble is to regain the harmony they were humming when the season was suspended. Perhaps you remember: eight victories, including five on the road, in their previous 11 games.
“For that to happen, Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner likely will have to recapture and resume their chemistry, particularly in light of the expected absence of Victor Oladipo.
“Splitting Sabonis and Turner means getting Sabonis out of the game early to allow Turner to play some at center instead of power forward offensively, and then bringing Sabonis back with the second unit where his passing and rebounding skills mesh with a smaller lineup.
“During that 11-game stretch… Sabonis and Turner combined to average 31-20-6, and 3.5 blocks. Better yet [at the end]… which consisted of wins at Chicago and Dallas and a homecourt loss to Boston in which a frantic comeback fell just short — Sabonis and Turner combined to average 40-22-7, and 3.7 blocks. Sabonis gets nearly all the credit for the assists and Turner gets nearly all the credit for the blocks, but they were each contributing a healthy number of points and rebounds.”
Stretched that single post into a double post… somebody scored an error