Insider: 4 things we learned about the Pacers rotation in first preseason win

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers claimed their first preseason victory of the season in their first preseason home game, holding on to beat the Hawks 116-112 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday night.

The Pacers are 1-2 in preseason play and close it out Friday at home against Cleveland before the regular season opener on Oct. 25 at home against the Wizards.

Here are four observations.

First unit rolls with Tyrese Haliburton

In his pre-game press conference, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle bristled at the idea that guards Bennedict Mathurin and Bruce Brown, and forward Obi Toppin were part of a "presumptive" starting lineup along with All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and center Myles Turner because Haliburton hadn't participated in a preseason game yet and they had to prove they could fit in well with him.

But Monday night, it was clear that fitting in with Haliburton wasn't a problem with those three, and it wasn't a problem for anyone else who took the floor with him either. Haliburton excels in making the game easy and fun for everyone else he's on the floor with, and on Monday night when he was on the floor in the first half the Pacers blew the Hawks' doors off.

Haliburton scored a modest 10 points on 3 of 6 shooting to go with five assists in the first half, but his pushing of the tempo kept the floor open for everybody and his passing was contagious. He was +22 in just under 15 first-half minutes, helping the Pacers outscore the Hawks 43-15 in the second quarter en route to a 73-46 halftime lead.

Haliburton worked with the starters and also an offense-heavy lineup that included Buddy Hield with Mathurin, Toppin and Turner instead of Brown, and he helped all of them get clean looks. Brown hit a pair of 3-pointers after failing to hit one in the first two preseason games, Haliburton setting him up for both. Brown finished with eight points on 3 of 6 shooting. Mathurin was 4 of 6 from the floor for nine points. Hield struggled early, but Haliburton helped him get going and also got him sharing the ball. Hield finished with 11 points on 3 of 10 shooting -- 3 of 9 from 3-point range - and five assists. Turner finished with 13 points on 4 of 5 shooting, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range, though he fouled out in just 15:34 minutes of action. Toppin took advantage of the transition game just as he was expected to do with seven points on 3 of 6 shooting.

The Pacers cooled significantly in the third quarter, but Haliburton still finished with 15 points on 4 of 9 shooting, including 2 of 7 3-pointers and eight assists against two turnovers. The Pacers finished with 36 assists on 42 field goals and turned the ball over just 12 times, shooting 48.8% from the floor and posting 1.16 points per possessions.

"The ball was moving well," Haliburton said. "Their defense was dramatizing a little in terms of how much they were in the gap and stuff because they're obviously working on things. With the way their defense is, you know you're going to be playing a lot of two-on-one, because there's a heavy nail (presence.) If you split the nail, you make the pass and read the guy on the weakside, if you kick it ahead, then the guy is kind of splitting the two and you got a read out of there. Their defense really forces you to play two-on-one. I thought we did a good job a majority of the time."

Ben Sheppard is helping himself

One of the Pacers' rookies got second-unit minutes in Monday's game, and it wasn't the lottery pick.

Rookie guard Ben Sheppard's combination of hustle, unselfishness and shooting ability has made an impression on Carlisle, which was clear by the fact that he played second-unit minutes and Carlisle was willing to play small to get him in there. Aaron Nesmith, who started last season at power forward but was supposed to move to small forward, was back at the 4 on the second team so the Pacers could put Sheppard, Nesmith and Hield together. Sheppard responded by hitting three first-half 3-pointers and finishing with nine points on 3 of 8 shooting to go with four rebounds and an assist.

It's hard to imagine Hield and Nesmith won't be part of the second unit, and if they are, it's hard to imagine that the Pacers would want to leave Jarace Walker and Jordan Nwora out of the group and only put one player over 6-6 in that lineup, so that means minutes could still be hard to find for Sheppard. Still, he's giving the Pacers every reason to trust him, as he leads the team with preseason 3s with nine.

"Sheppard is playing a mature game for a rookie," Carlisle said. "He is older. He did play four years (of college basketball at Belmont) and it shows. But he understands what we need of him. He's a great runner. His shooting is on-the-come. He shoots it easy. He's really dialed in on a precision approach to shooting. He's going to be the kind of guy that's a pain in the (expletive) to guard. He's constantly running around. He's a little bit like Buddy. He's doing a lot of good things."

Walker played 14 minutes in the second half and finished with four points on 2 of 8 shooting.

Jalen Smith continues to make case

Jalen Smith has been the most productive of the three players vying to be the backup center behind Turner in preseason games, and Carlisle has apparently noticed.

Smith played center with the second unit and also took advantage of Turner's foul trouble in the first half. He played 20 minutes in the first three quarters, and neither Isaiah Jackson nor Daniel Theis got on the floor. Smith turned those minutes into points and rebounds, making 4 of his 6 field goal attempts including a 3-pointer and grabbed seven rebounds. He also blocked two shots and mostly defended without fouling, committing just three.

"Between last year and this year, he's just raised his level of presence and intensity," Carlisle said. "He's worked hard at his game. He's worked hard on his body. He's stronger. He's more physical. His feel is constantly evolving. He's one of our best offensive rebounders too. That generates possessions."

Jackson didn't play until the fourth quarter, finishing with five points on 1 of 3 shooting. Daniel Theis never entered the game.

T.J. McConnell making it hard to bench him

Andrew Nembhard has missed all three of the Pacers' preseason games as he recovers from a kidney stone. The preseason presumption was that Nembhard would take over the backup point guard job and move T.J. McConnell to the end of the bench, but the 31-year-old veteran is not going to make that easy.

McConnell continues to run a tight ship with the second team and create for others while continuing to find ways to get a foot in the paint for easy buckets. On Monday he finished with seven points on 3 of 5 shooting and nine assists against two turnovers. The second unit wasn't quite as offensively potent as the first and they missed some shots McConnell created, but still, he's clearly been one of the most effective players on both ends of the floor.

"T.J.'s just doing what he does," Carlisle said. "He brings amazing pace to the game. He's a serial paint attacker. Defensively, he creates havoc."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Hawks: Pacers get 1st preseason win with Tyrese Haliburton