What the flexibility of the closing lineup says about the Pacers

A commentary about Ben Sheppard that isn't really about Ben Sheppard 

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

When it comes to big, late-game shot-making, the Pacers aren't clutch anymore. Not because the lights are too bright, but rather because they've been so lights out that they've rarely even been in the position to take big, late-game shots of late. In fact, since the dreadful loss to Charlotte on December 8 and the four-consecutive practice days that followed thereafter, the Pacers have only logged 14 total minutes of clutch time, which is tied with Cleveland for the fewest in the NBA, while posting a 14-4 record. When looking only at the month of January, the Pacers are the only team in the league that has yet to play any minutes in the clutch, as they've gone 8-1 and led by at least 15 points in all eight wins.

Needless to say, while admitting going up against some lighter competition throughout the early portion of 2025, there hasn't been much opportunity to take stock of the closing lineup for this team now that the roster is fully restocked.

Of course, just because clutch time is technically defined as the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points, doesn't mean that none of the games have been close outside of those very specific parameters. After all, Detroit pulled to within six with 6:32 to play in the fourth quarter, and the Sixers were likewise only down six with 3:11 remaining.

And yet, in addition to the regular presence of Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner, each of those most recent wins also ended with another thing in common: Ben Sheppard.

The circumstances weren't the same. In the home win over Philadelphia, Nembhard picked up his fifth foul at the 5:36 mark of the fourth quarter. On the next defensive possession, he veered back to Pete Nance while attempting to chase Tyrese Maxey in rearview pursuit. That meant Myles Turner was responsible for absorbing the ball, which triggered a a response from Bennedict Mathurin to shift toward the nail in support. As a result, Eric Gordon had space and time to fire up a three from the wing. The shot rimmed out, but the potential domino effect of not having the stickiest possible version of Nembhard at the point of attack was evident.

Consequently, when Maxey canned a step-back triple less than a minute later, with Nembhard flying by to avoid contact, a change was made. But not with the players who were already on the floor. No one simply traded defensive assignments. Rather, Sheppard entered in place of Mathurin to take Nembhard's place against Maxey, as the fleet-footed sophomore could soon be seen playing the role of full-court pest -- albeit with Nembhard still eventually doing what Nembhard does as far as jump-switching onto the ball from the corner to immediately plug the leak.

On the whole, with the exception of the corner three Sheppard made to put the Pacers up by 12 with less than two minutes to play, he mainly blended in while playing within himself during this late-game stint, but that's the thing: While he may not always stand out, he almost always, at the very least, can be counted on to blend in, generally for the right reasons.

In all likelihood, that's probably why he ended up finishing the prior game in Detroit. As was written earlier last week, when comparing the loss against Cleveland to the win over Cleveland, Jarace Walker is starting to figure it out, but he's also still figuring it out. Just as he was somewhat variable from game to game in that miniseries, he also exhibited a few wild and untimely swings late in the win over the Pistons.

With 5:40 to play in the fourth quarter, he wowed with his event creation, as he quickly transformed a bumbled pass from Tim Hardaway Jr. into a tough finish for a nontraditional three-point play at the other end. From there, he tormented Hardaway once again, not only walling up against the smaller guard but also swatting away what was made to look like a feeble attempt at a fadeaway jumper. But then, not unlike the back-to-back possessions in the second game against the Cavs that led to him coming out during a timeout, his tendency to be a bit too casual suddenly took over. After collecting a missed three from Hardaway, he overstepped his grab-and-go privileges, sailing a live-dribble pass out of bounds inexplicably with his off-hand despite the fact that Haliburton and Nembhard were both readily available as passing outlets to his left.

As soon as the Pacers were back on defense, he got whistled for grabbing Malik Beasley from behind while attempting to navigate his way through an off-ball screening action. Before the ball was even handed back to the Pistons, Sheppard entered the game for Walker and never came back out.

Granted, there were obviously some mitigating factors that led to that change. In addition to the hiccups from Walker, Aaron Nesmith was on a minutes restriction in his first game back after returning from injury, and Bennedict Mathurin couldn't play as a result of of his one-game suspension. Still, Mathurin was available against the Sixers, and the Pacers still finished with Sheppard. As was already laid out above, that makes sense for match-up reasons. Nembhard was in foul trouble, and Sheppard is more likely to reliably slide with Maxey's turbo speed at the point of attack than Mathurin.

The same applied in the two-game miniseries against Cleveland, as to why Sheppard got the nod when Haliburton was sidelined due to hamstring tightness that was later determined to be a groin injury. Walker was at his best in those games stalking passing lanes and digging at the nail. For him to have that role, though, Mathurin would've needed to guard Darius Garland, which (again) is a defensive responsibility arguably better suited for Sheppard.

Even so, it's telling that, in the second game against Boston, Sheppard was also in the closing lineup -- only not as a check against a speedy guard, but rather opposite from a bigger wing in Jayson Tatum.

If Nesmith was available, those late-game assignments might've gone to him as last season's starter, but that's also sort of the point. None of this is intended to elevate Sheppard or as a commentary on who should finish or for what reasons; instead, it's to say say that, while the Pacers certainly have plenty of options for the fifth spot in the closing lineup to fit a lot of different situations, none of those options have distinguished themselves to such a degree as to definitively occupy the fifth spot in the closing lineup regardless and independent of situation.

That player still might emerge (It could be Mathurin! It might be Walker! Or, Nesmith! Or, maybe even Sheppard!), and nothing might need to change at the trade deadline (remember, this team is barely even requiring clutch-time right now!); however, with the trade deadline only a few weeks away, the fact that the Pacers have so many options, without necessarily a solidified option, should at least be reason enough to keep their options open.