Indiana Pacers starting five closes out preseason strong

The Pacers new-look starters ended the preseason well

The Indiana Pacers were evaluating everything during the preseason — lineups, roles, minutes, new players, schemes, you name it. And that started at the top. The opening five was being assessed every day.

Indiana has a new-look first group this year. Last year, the starting five most often deployed by the team contained Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, and Myles Turner. This season, only Haliburton and Turner could be starters again.

In the preseason, Bennedict Mathurin, Bruce Brown, and Obi Toppin filled the other three spots. Brown and Toppin were acquired this offseason and have a good amount of NBA experience while Mathurin is a terrific young talent worth investing in. It's the Pacers way of blending their long-term vision with short-term success.

Hield and Nesmith instead had significant roles with the second unit. Hield finished fifth on the team in minutes per game during the preseason — his role may be different, but it won't be too much smaller. Nesmith, meanwhile, had a significant role in the first three games but had his average playing time pulled down by a 13-minute outing on Friday. He is still firmly in the rotation. Nembhard was hurt, so his role is tough to evaluate.

All of that context is needed to say that the Pacers are changing their lineups, but the key figures from last season are still relevant. They are hoping that adding Toppin, Brown, and Mathurin into the starting five will make the team better.

But that group is still fighting to earn their title as starters. "There's a presumptive starting lineup. That's just that, presumptive. I'm very interested to see how they play tonight," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said before his team's third preseason game. He wanted the group to play hard, together, and connected. "It's not a foregone conclusion that that will be our starting group."

Things were just too competitive during Pacers training camp for anyone to be handed a role — save for Haliburton and Turner. Minutes had to be earned. The starting lineup had to be evaluated.

It was also important to evaluate how everyone fit with Haliburton. As the face of the franchise, seeing how certain units and players work alongside the brilliant floor general is important to the blue and gold.

In their first outing, things were a mixed bag. The offense was excellent, but the defense was poor. Atlanta outscored Indiana by one point when the Pacers starters were on the floor. For a group that was playing their first minutes together, things looked smooth. But there were some concerning defensive lapses, especially in the second half, and the Hawks took advantage.

"I think we got out and did some good things," Turner said after the game. "Obviously some stuff we've got to work on, but I like the way we were able to play as fast as we did."

The Pacers were happy with their ability to play their style with little time together. But there were obvious things to work on. By all accounts, the lineup looked great in practice. It didn't quite translate to the first preseason game.

Haliburton's excellent start to the preseason provided a reason for optimism. In his first-ever minutes with Brown and Toppin, the All-Star point guard had no issues setting them up and keeping the offense humming. That was the most important takeaway of the night.

"[There's] going to be a lot of things we can work on. Always room for improvement," Toppin said at practice the next day.

That lineup in general, though, could have been a little better. They knew it, too. Three nights later, they got a chance to prove it against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Everything looked more crisp. Almost immediately, too. Indiana went ahead 15-9 in the first six minutes of the game and had a lead before they made substitutions. The starters looked strong and were getting stops.

Toppin was finding space for easy buckets. Brown was routinely wide open from deep. Mathurin, despite some turnover issues, defended well and made half his shots. Turner anchored it all while Haliburton ran the show. It looked like a cohesive group, and one that can be relied on.

When the game ended, the Pacers starting five had logged nearly 21 minutes of action together. They scored 49 points while holding the Cavs to just 35. Their shot quality and efficiency numbers were better than Cleveland's despite a poor night from deep.

"When we get on the court, it's just natural," Toppin said of some of his teammates in the starting five after the game. He thinks that more time will help the group improve.

It has been just two games, and things should be fluid for a deep, young Pacers team. But the results speak for themselves, as does the rapid improvement. The Haliburton, Brown, Mathurin, Toppin, and Turner lineup should be the Pacers opening five when the regular season commences. The group has complementary skill sets and can make Haliburton better. That's what this season will be about for the blue and gold.

It was just the preseason, and things can be different when the games count. But a strong close to exhibition play should remove almost all doubt. When the Pacers open the season at home against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, they have a good idea of what their starting lineup can be.

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