Scott Agnes
Appearances
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
For sure, because there was a lot going on, even going back to really training camp and then leading into the first game of the season where, in his first five-minute stint, James Wiseman, who may have been your backup center this season from third string, ruptures his Achilles. And then 10 days later, your true backup center in Isaiah Jackson suffers an Achilles.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
I don't think this team has had more than one Achilles that I know of in the last 15 years, and to have two... in the first 10 days of the season, that is complete shock right there. Then it's almost like a trickle-down effect or like it becomes contagious. I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
But their top three wing defenders, and they're not a great defensive team as it is, their top three wing defenders suffer injuries, and so now they have a big setback there. Compound that with their start of the schedule, which was road heavy for the most part. Right now is the true barometer, Andrew. Right now we're really going to have a feel for this team after the next three weeks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
They're on a road trip right now before Christmas, go back out on the road, come home for a couple playoff teams. So we'll know exactly where this team is and how they are doing probably by about January 8th or 10th.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
No, I do expect him to be a backup center because they didn't have that. They only had Miles Turner, which some would even argue he's not even a traditional center, right? He's playing more away from the basket. He's not a great rebounder. He's become a better rebounder, and that's probably the biggest flaw if you simplify it, is this team is not a good rebounding team. Secondly, though...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
It's probably defense, and that's what it's been probably for the last three or four years. Now, they've gotten better. You alluded to the fact they're ranked 23rd in defensive rating right now. I think like 10 days ago, they were 29th. So they have been much better over these last couple of weeks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
I think core correlating with that fact is, um, Andrew Nembhard, the guard coming back and, and he's been such an influence already. He's not a guy that's going to put up the numbers or have the double doubles or a 30.9 necessarily. Now in his rookie year, we saw what he did a game winning shot against the Lakers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
And I think he did have like a big performance in golden state, which is notable because they're playing in golden state next week. But, um, Andrew Nembhard's return has probably been the biggest factor in their recent success. And then to the greater point here, I think they've done a much better job now of starting to settle in, get a little bit more comfortable with what they are.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
I think to an extent. The challenges back then, they were flying under the radar both as a team and as a player. What we're seeing more so now is teams scheming against it, especially this physicality that everybody is talking about. Tyrese hadn't complained about it. He says, I love basketball, so this is good for the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Rick stood up on his behalf and said, hey, look, I'm trying to get a technical out there certain games because... This team is out here swarming him from half court where he can't even move. It's like a defensive end is all over him, not able to get the ball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
And again, to reference Andrew Nembhard, him returning to the lineup helps alleviate that stress and pressure for him to be the only ball handler other than TJ McConnell primarily when he's out there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
You go back to what's working right now, I think a lot of it is Tyrese clicking a little bit, and they've had multiple instances here in the last two weeks, which I think is a big factor of having three and four days between games. We just had that with the NBA Cup, and Tyrese... for the most part, has not really had significant time off for the last two years.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
That's a big factor that I always try to emphasize. He played with the USA World Cup team, went right into the magical season last year, felt pressure all season long, not just to show up for his team, but for himself by playing the 65 games and eventually qualifying for All-NBA. And he later, after the fact, admitted, yeah, of course, I was not going to miss as many games as I needed to.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
I was going to make sure... I got those 65 games in. Well, he had that hamstring injury in January. Then he had another injury in the playoffs that kept him out of the final two conference finals games. Then he had a couple more injuries during Team USA and his training to get ready for this season. So he has not been completely healthy and therefore also didn't have a...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
A beneficial offseason, I'd argue, right? Like where you're working on your game, where you're balancing rest with working on things that may be counters to how teams are defending you. So Tyrese clicking has has been significant. And yes, I do think he'll get back to more of what he was. But I think you add Pascal Siakam into the equation and he's kind of that best player at the moment.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Yeah, so he's been the one benefactor of all those wings being out because he would have been playing off the bench But instead here, he's now getting the starting role and starting minutes. And so, first of all, I think, Andrew, the number one thing has been his rebounding.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Many games now, he's chasing after the rebounds, almost stealing rebounds, like we previously saw here several years ago with Lance Stevenson. Yeah. And Ben would just go get them. And you can tell that it's been said, but you can also visibly tell that's been one of the things that the coaching points have made a point on.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
The other thing is, I think his vision and utilizing that vision has been much improved. He's used to being the best player out on the floor. He's used to being the focal player who can put his head down, drive to the basket, laid in. Well, oftentimes the best is just moving it around the perimeter, just keeping the ball moving. And so I,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
I think some of his passes and his vision and just utilizing it. It's always been there. I just don't think he's ever went to it. Has been the other thing. And all along, he continues to be kind of the best player on this roster, getting to the basket, drawing contact, and getting to the foul line.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
This is easy. It's the most coveted position, 6'8 wing. That's what they need. They need a Paul George. Okay, well, that's easy. It makes it easy for Pacer fans, so I continue to reference it. But that's the type of guy, a two-way player, who can do a little bit of everything.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Not in particular. To me, it's just a running joke that whoever you play that is probably a 6'8 wing is going to go off. So, you know, it's Scotty Barnes one night and Kevin Durant the other night. I mean, he's obviously taller, but at least 6'8". Hmm. Those guys have tremendous success.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
So also, that's why they struggle with the more quote-unquote modern teams like Toronto, Orlando, who has just full of size and athleticism and length. They give the Pacers all kinds of fits for that reason. So filling in that gap at the three spot would be their number one focus.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Yeah, I would say offensively come along better than I thought to this point, especially his three-point shot. So last year, the challenge in all this is he was drafted to fill a need. And then one month later, they acquired Obi Toppin. And six months later, they acquired Pascal Siakam. Those two guys obviously fill in the four spot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
So here's this 19-year-old rookie who has a lot to learn, who played in a very different system under Kelvin Sampson at Houston that year. required much different things of him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
And he acknowledged there was a steep learning curve in trying to break old habits, especially what he could do defensively at Houston versus what the Pacers are trying to impress upon him and force them to do and all those sorts of things. So defensively, I think I expected more and I've gotten less. And offensively, conversely, I think that's where he really benefited in particular from his
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
significant time last year in the G League is he didn't hesitate from three, and now he's shooting, I think, about 40% from distance. But you would like to see more from him, demand more from him. And the hope coming into this season, guys, was, okay, we know there's not many minutes at the four spot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Starting at Summer League, they tried him at the three spot and said going into this season, for you to get on the floor, you're probably going to have to play more at the three because that's the spot of need, right? So that was one of his emphasis for the last year. first couple of months leading into training camp.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Not specifically, no. I would say there's right points, but as many of those there are, there's also some questionable, like, what are you doing? You're in the wrong spot, or you didn't follow your man, and little things like that. So I don't think there's anything convincing one way or another, which probably speaks to his lack of experience and his age a little bit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
And again, like Matherin, he benefited from these early minutes that were made available due to injury. I will mention, too, here, Going into any season here in the last probably decade, the one position the Pacers had not had to worry about was center. And so it's notable that this season that's probably been their biggest issue because of the injuries. But here's why it's even more notable.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Isaiah Jackson, who suffered that Achilles injury, he's in a contract year. They didn't have an agreement coming off his rookie extension. Secondly, Miles Turner, they could not, by CBA rules, negotiate at all. So that window has to wait till free agency after he did a renegotiation and extend over a year and a half ago.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
So the Pacers will enter free agency without a center on their roster, which is different from when Pacer fans were like, do we really want to see Turner and Sabonis and... Because of that, several years ago, neither player was really able to maximize their effort. So that's something I'm significantly watching here in the next six months as well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Because also, if you're in this position and you don't want to bring back miles or maybe you can't afford them because the luxury taxes may be something else we need to get into, then you would trade off that player. But right now, they don't have that benefit right now just due to health and youth.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Well, here's the challenge in that. They are right up against the luxury tax. Now, that's where, if anything, I could see them making moves is to offload a contract or two because the Pacers' front office essentially chose to run it back this season. They liked what they saw last year. Obviously, the team had success. I call it a little bit of fool's gold, though, given the injuries.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
They definitely outperformed anybody's expectation. The goal was to get to the playoffs again for the first time in about a half dozen years, and they reached the conference finals. But in terms of Miles, I think this is probably that last significant contract for him. And if you're him, you're probably pushing for $25 million, $27 million.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
I think you look at a guy like Isaiah Hartenstein, who just got that four example, and they faced him. in the playoffs. But if you're the Pacers, you have to have significant reservations giving that much, given your current status, how you're not a contending team right now, how you have two max contracts already with Tyrese and Siakam.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
And on top of that, Halliburton's contract is a super max, which takes another $10 million or so, roughly, from the availability. So there's no simple equation here. And I'm curious how far the Pacers will be willing to go.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
I hesitated with them to be clear just because they took a while to get going here, so I figured that number wasn't quite there yet.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
I have no idea why they come to mind. Sitting on the brain, maybe because they're such a disruptor for the Pacers, but I say Charlotte.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Malcolm Brogdon would be my guess.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
My original inclination was New Orleans just because everybody's been in and out of that roster. Has anyone played enough to do 20 points per game? So I'll lean into that. It's a good guess.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Correct. Let's play 20 games. That's the hardest part in all this. It's like, otherwise, James Wiseman. Like, Moses Brown. Right, Moses Brown. Moses Brown. This is great radio. It's got to be a wing, right? Closest to the basket. I have no good guess. Um...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Oh, duh. That's so bad. Everything was layups in those. Yes, that was bad.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
But I always go back to, Andrew, there's a reason this question was asked. Yeah, there you go. What is the anomaly here? I'll go lower, even though I don't feel good about it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
There's one massive game I remember C.J. Miles going off. I don't think he hit quite this many.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Yeah, it was in Washington. What a pull. Victor Oladipo, I don't think he pushed to nine. It's my only hesitation there. Nine is a lot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
I feel like this just happened in the last few years, too. Who am I missing? Let's just go with Victor, I guess.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
He did have that one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
I would think Reggie did once.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
You said five players in total in Franchise History?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
It could be if you have any other ideas. Do we go back to ABA? No. Those ABA days were good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
I just like to give them credit, I guess, right? Did Jermaine do it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
Now, the franchise leader, Brian Miles, It was 13-14, yeah. All-Star Lance season. Sir Lance-a-lot season.