Winning the first game of the season on the road is always a difficult challenge, but the Indiana Pacers were able to do that with a gritty 123-120 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Pacers were carried the majority of the game by their starters, but the play of Obi Toppin off the bench was just as important. With Aaron Nesmith and T.J. McConnell both sidelined with hamstring injuries --as well as foul trouble early in the first half-- this weakened the Pacers' bench depth and caused them to play lineup combinations nobody ever envisioned.
To start the second quarter, Coach Carlisle inserted Larry Nance Jr. into the lineup for Toppin with Tyrese Haliburton, Quenton Jackson, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Pascal Siakam. This group struggled mightily and put up a -133.3 net rating in just 2 minutes of play.
After Oubre and Siakam got quick second fouls, Carlisle subbed in Toppin and Jarace Walker. The new five-man lineup combination had a -80 net rating and looked like they had never shared a basketball court together --which they hadn't. After 5 minutes and 14 seconds of play, Indiana finally replaced Nance with Zubac as they had been outscored by 11 points during his minutes for the game.
During the second half, Indiana only used one player as their backup center and that was Toppin. He showcased why he is the best option to backup Zubac, even though he does lack the physical frame that a center usually has.
But the unique thing about Toppin's skill set is that he is not just a big. Throughout tonight's game we saw the Pacers not only utilize him at the power forward and center spots, but as the three next to Siakam and Zubac.
Indiana's wing options of Ben Sheppard, Walker and Oubre all failed tonight to produce at a high-level, which caused the Pacers to play Toppin at the small forward spot when the game was on the line. Toppin was the team's best three-point threat, making 4 of his 9 attempts, and he is the most familiar with where to be at in the offense for this system.
As the Pacers continue to integrate new players like Nance, Oubre and Zubac into their system, relying heavily on Toppin's experience and chemistry will help them win games early on.
His athleticism combined with his off-ball, rim, and shooting gravity forces teams to pay attention to where he is at on the floor at all times. However, it is inevitable that the attention the Pacers' stars draw is greater, and he will be able to find cracks in the defense to attack.
Toppin scored 20 points on 7-12 shooting in 24 minutes of play. He will need to continue working at being more of a presence on the glass, but with his elite offensive skills there is no reason he can't be a serious contender for the Sixth Man of the Year.
Indiana is a team built on depth and chemistry, and Toppin perfectly fits into that. Carlisle needs to lean into Toppin as much as he can to give his team the best chance to win, while also making sure he doesn't overtax his backup forward with too many responsibilities.
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