The intersection between winning & development

On Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard, and staring straight ahead

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

Winning? Development? Depending upon whom within the Pacers organization was asked, it wasn't exactly clear what this season was supposed to be about. Rick Carlisle played both sides of the fence, saying the team would "keep an eye on development" while also trying to "take competitive steps." Chad Buchanan, meanwhile, seemed to offer more of a long-term view, as he pointed toward wanting to see "growth" and "progress." As for Tyrese Haliburton, he only had one goal in mind:

“I really don’t care (about All-Star game), I just want to win," Haliburton said. “I’ve done what I need to do individually for myself, now it’s just about winning games and getting into the playoffs.”

Well, the Pacers are in the playoffs, and they are currently winning, but the path to getting here, in a tied series, wasn't always met with development being kept on equal footing. After starting the first 12 games of the season, Bennedict Mathurin was replaced in the starting lineup by the veteran presence of Buddy Hield for the team's group-clinching win over the Atlanta Hawks. When T.J. McConnell was told that he wouldn't be part of the rotation for the regular-season opener, he ended up playing in the next game. It was evident early on that Jarace Walker would be more likely to find consistent minutes in the G League than with the Pacers, and Ben Sheppard didn't fully latch on until after Hield was traded.

Granted, none of those decisions were indefensible at the time, nor did they entirely preclude the younger players from making strides at various points throughout the season, but the fact that they were made and could oftentimes be supported by valid reasons only reinforces the difficulty of maintaining a singular vision while attempting to look in two directions at once without going cross-eyed.

And yet, the win in Game 2 stands as an isolated example of staring straight ahead. After going 1-of-6 from the field during the spare couple of minutes that Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam weren't on the floor during Game 1, the Pacers didn't take that risk again, trimming the rotation down while also making a split decision between the two stars until the final minute of action. Doug McDermott didn't play, and neither did Jalen Smith nor Isaiah Jackson, as the team instead downsized with Obi Toppin at the five, matching his minutes mainly to that of Bobby Portis. As such, while the center position was rightfully slashed and another more experienced, albeit flawed, movement shooter didn't see the floor, Ben Sheppard was part of the eight-man rotation, racking up mileage on offense as well as defense. This isn't exactly new. He's known for covering ground and standing his ground.

Here, he sprints out of the trap from Damian Lillard and then projects his presence larger than he is with a cleanly, two-hand contest against Bobby Portis.

That's what keeps him in the game -- even when his shot is fickle, which it wasn't on this night. He filled lanes in transition, both from deep and with a double-clutch finish at the rim. More than anything, though, he played 23 minutes in a playoff game -- as a rookie -- to avoid going down 0-2. Likewise, Andrew Nembhard also existed at the intersection of both paths, not only just by stepping onto and staying on the floor, as did Sheppard, but also with the steps he took forward while doing so.

Just think back to the semi-finals of the In-Season Tournament. After only playing four minutes in the prior game against Boston, Nembhard didn't check-in against the Bucks until there was five minutes to play in the first quarter, as he had been replaced by T.J. McConnell at back-up point guard after already getting squeezed out of the starting lineup following the signing of Bruce Brown. Nembhard ended up making an impact in that game, finding the soft spots of Milwaukee's zone and making plays on defense both on and away from the ball, but his spot in the rotation was definitely unsteady -- even before his knee buckled and forced him into an earlier than expected exit. Shortly thereafter, his game seemed to be in flux, too. In addition to battling a string of injuries, which had him appearing somewhat hesitant and stiff, he also seemed to be battling with his handle. Whether stemming from an inability to train while managing a balky knee followed by a bad back or perhaps a long-term product of inconsistent playing time after missing the entire preseason with a kidney stone, he wasn't often venturing into tight spaces and his control of the ball proved loose in his efforts to avoid them.

Take this possession against the Nuggets. Rather than weaving around the seal screen from Myles Turner, he turns to pull the the ball back with his left and dribbles far outside the circumference of his body, lengthening the time it takes for him to gather into his shot.

Now, look at the difference here, when he attempts that same move, only spinning away from the stunt in isolation. This time, because he's able to keep the ball on a string, he creates separation without also squandering it.

This play grabbed attention because of the way it ended, with Nembhard staring Patrick Beverley down after bowling him over, but the finesse of the start is rarer to see from him than the physical finish. Nembhard routinely uses a shoulder bump to create room for himself in the lane and around the basket. He doesn't often drive below the free throw line after stringing out a hedge and splitting between two defenders.

Of course, he also doesn't often draw that much attention. During the regular season, as someone who made a total of eight pull-up threes, he was only blitzed on 15 picks -- none of which included split. Even so, there he is -- actively tunneling through a defense he hadn't been tested by much instead of taking pains to worm away from it, as he did while perhaps dealing with actual pain a few short months ago. In that regard, this performance from him was about more than trying to stay attached to Damian Lillard at one end of the floor or purposefully forcing the star guard to chase over on picks at the other; it was a show of his "growth" and "progress" in a game with stakes as high as any this season. To be fair, he was overtaxed at times in both efforts, trailing Lillard without as much assistance as was necessary at the level of the screen while also initiating without always being able to connect to the next action with Haliburton continuing to be denied away from the ball.

For instance, this play would normally continue from Nembhard with a boomerang pass for Haliburton to attack out of middle pick-and-roll against a tilted defense; however, given that Haliburton is being face-guarded, the onus instead gets put on Nembhard to reject the empty screen on his side of the floor in order to set up the double drag for Turner to pop.

For those keeping track, Lillard was forced to defend through two off-ball screens, the rejected screen, and two subsequent ball screens. That's a lot of heavy lifting for Nembhard, which might start to weigh on him as the series progresses depending upon how the coverage shifts against Lillard when, and if, Giannis Antetokounmpo returns to action.

Still, for two players who weren't firmly in the rotation during the In-Season Tournament, Nembhard and Sheppard met the moment. It may not apply to the full roster, given that Jarace Walker isn't playing and now neither is McDermott, who closed out the season siphoning potential minutes from Walker; however, with respect to the team's first and second-year guards, Game 2 offered a steely gaze, seeing with one eye what had been occluded with varying views to start, and at times throughout, the season.

Winning? Development?

Maybe, just maybe, as it pertains to looking back at this moment, from this game, and the current constraints of this roster and this series: why not both?