The Indiana Pacers entered last summer fully aware of how they wanted to change their roster. After watching a dominant starting lineup get undermined by weak reserve play during the 2012-13 season, the team overhauled its entire bench, shuttling out several key contributors in favor of fresh faces.
Pacers’ former reserves thriving for new teams
The Pacers gave up on these guys after rough 2012-13 seasons. Now they’re all playing well for different clubs.
Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
That's all mostly gone well for the Pacers, a team that's comfortably atop the Eastern Conference and looks to be one of the top contenders for this year's title. Guys like Luis Scola and C.J. Watson have been solid, and the impressive core Indiana has assembled looks as strong as ever.
However, the real story here might be the guys who left. D.J. Augustin, Miles Plumlee, Gerald Green and Tyler Hansbrough may not have fit with the Pacers, but now they're all playing well elsewhere. Why that bench didn't pan out remains an interesting question, but for now, let's take a look at these resurgent hoopsters.
D.J. Augustin
Not only was Augustin not good enough to stick with Indiana, but he got waived by the Raptors after appearing in just 10 games earlier this season. That's when the Bulls and Tom Thibodeau brought him in, a move that might have changed the former Texas Longhorns star's career.
While most coaches might be hesitant to hand the reins to a player who struggled so badly at previous stops, Thibodeau embraced Augustin right from the beginning. With Derrick Rose out and Kirk Hinrich being only a limited playmaker, Augustin quickly adjusted to Thibodeau's system and became one of the team's most important players.
Getting his most consistent playing time since being the Bobcats' full-time starter at point guard in 2010-11, Augustin clearly relishes the opportunity. He's averaging 13.3 points, 5.5 assists and a career-high 1.1 steals per game, and he's hitting 41 percent of his three-pointers in Chicago.
Miles Plumlee
It's rather remarkable to consider that Plumlee played just 55 minutes for the Pacers last season. Since an offseason trade to Phoenix, Plumlee has replaced Marcin Gortat, helped lead the Suns to a possible playoff berth and proven to be one of the most surprising players of the season.
It’s mostly the result of opportunity, not unlike Augustin. Plumlee simply didn’t play as a rookie in Indiana, spending most of the year as a practice squad player while getting a few garbage minutes every other week. Two trades -- the first sending Plumlee to Phoenix, the second shipping Gortat to Washington -- quickly changed that.
While his play has fallen off somewhat in recent weeks, Plumlee has firmly proven that he can compete at the NBA level. Armed with size and athleticism, he’s shown enough footwork and rebounding sense to make an impact in the paint despite a limited skill set.
This is a guy who knows where he can, and can’t, shoot it:
Sticking with what he knows, Plumlee is averaging 8.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game with the Suns. He’s shooting 50 percent from the field, but can’t really do more than finish around the rim, as reflected by his 54 percent free throw efficiency.
Gerald Green
Another former Pacer powering the Suns’ surprising success, Green has blossomed at small forward this season. Averaging a career-high 14.8 points per game on 44 percent shooting -- including 37 percent on 6.2 three-pointers per contest -- he’s made good on the potential he showed in New Jersey two years ago.
It's hard to say precisely why Green struggled so much in Indiana. Often playing next to Paul George, Lance Stephenson or Sam Young on the wing, you'd think Green's combination of athleticism and shooting would've been potent. That never materialized, though, and Green seemingly lost confidence in his jump shot by season's end.
Playing in Jeff Hornacek's fast-paced offense has been a boon to Green's game. The shifty penetration of Goran Dragic has opened up numerous shooting opportunities, and obviously there aren't a lot of guys who can finish like Green in transition. It's been an ideal situation.
Tyler Hansbrough
Unlike the other players on this list, Hansbrough didn’t really struggle with the Pacers last year. However, he has continued the steady progression he’s enjoyed over the past few years. Now playing a part-time role off the bench in Toronto, he’s been a useful piece for the Raptors.
Looking at his per-game numbers, Hansbrough has career-low figures across the board, but that’s the result of playing a career-low 16.3 minutes per game. He’s actually become a smarter player over the past few years, taking fewer shots away from the rim in favor of shots he’s more capable of making.
The result has been a more efficient shooter from the field. Two years ago, Hansbrough took just 52 percent of his shots near the rim. He shot 41 percent from the field that season. This year, he’s taking 84 percent of his shots near the rim and shooting 48 percent overall. This is improvement he began making last season in Indiana.
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Seeing all this, it might be easy to wonder if the Pacers regret all their offseason activity, but that ignores important context. Indiana was never prepared to offer Augustin, Plumlee or Green the opportunities they’ve received elsewhere, and it seems pretty clear those guys have thrived partially as a result of the new roles they’ve received.
It just goes to show you the importance of fit, particularly when it comes to role players. The best guys might be able to tailor their games to fit different systems, but for many players, the role is everything. Once these guys were put in the right spots, they quickly gained confidence and expanded their games. It’s hard to say if that ever happens in Indiana.
Ultimately, this is just the nature of the business sometimes. Guys work out in certain places for certain reasons. Just because they played well on one team doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll play well on another. Most likely, the Pacers knew this, and it’s why they decided to move on. They just wanted guys who fit their system better.
Fortunately, it seems to have worked out well for everyone.
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