Insider: The Pacers' second unit shows why it’s going to be key to a successful season

CLEVELAND -- In the first seven minutes of Saturday's game against the Cavaliers, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle saw just about all of the concerns he expressed in pre-game come true.

The Cavaliers were without three All-Stars with guards Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland and forward Jarrett Allen out with injuries, but Carlisle knew that didn't necessarily mean the Pacers would steal an easy win against a playoff team on the road. He had to try to guard against a letdown once his team found out Mitchell -- still listed as questionable at the time of Carlisle's pre-game press conference -- was out. He also knew that former Pacer guard Caris LeVert could cause his team plenty of problems without Mitchell and Garland.

"Depending on what happens, Caris is a guy who is capable of huge nights," Carlisle said in his pre-game press conference. "The last game he had for us, he had like 40, 10 and eight or something, and he was playing point guard that night."

LeVert actually had 42 points, eight assists and five rebounds on Feb. 4, 2022, his final game with the Pacers before he was dealt to the Cavaliers, but in Saturday's first seven minutes he put himself on pace for an even bigger night. LeVert knocked down eight of his first 10 field goals and had 19 of the Cavaliers' first 25 points. The Cavs started the game on a 15-3 run and were up 27-12 at the 5 minute mark of the first quarter.

But then Carlisle turned to his second unit -- all of it this time. They stifled LeVert and the rest of the Cavs, helping the Pacers outscore them 48-22 in the last 17 minutes of the first half en route to a 125-113 win that gives Indiana a 2-0 start to the 2023-24 season. LeVert ended up scoring 12 points in the game's final 41 minutes to finish with 31.

The Cavs barely used their bench because of all the injuries. Forward Georges Niang was the only Cavaliers substitute who played more than 10 minutes, and the reserves combined for just 16 field goal attempts. The Pacers' bench outscored the Cavs' 61-11 and did so on 24 of 45 shooting (53.3%). On a night when none of the Pacers' starters posted a plus-minus figure better than zero, all five reserves they used were +6 or better and four of them were at least +17.

"It's a group that plays with good energy," Carlisle said. "They saw the task. The task was to bring more force and posture to the game. We needed to get some stops and get some tempo going. Caris was getting anything he wanted at the start of the game and he's one of those guys who can go for 50."

Saturday's game was a reminder of what might be the central conundrum of the Pacers' 2023-24 season. They can put on the floor a group of five spectacularly explosive offensive players, and though they are still a long way from having one of the league's best defenses, they can also put together a legitimately stingy defensive lineup.

The issue they have, though, is that there isn't much overlap -- center Myles Turner might be the only player who deserves to be on both lists. Their starting five can run and play gorgeous offensive basketball in transition and the half court, but guard Bruce Brown is the group's only proven on-ball perimeter defender. Brown drew the LeVert assignment to start the game, but the Cavaliers ran screens and other actions to change the matchups and LeVert particularly picked on Bennedict Mathurin.

But the second unit proved it can come to the first unit's rescue.

The Pacers' next three best perimeter defensive players all come off the bench -- guards Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell and forward Aaron Nesmith -- and Carlisle went to them early, putting Nembhard and Nesmith in the game with 6:26 to go in the first quarter. He brought in McConnell for Haliburton with 2:40 to play in the first quarter, which was noteworthy because he didn't use the veteran point guard in the rotation in Wednesday's opener and had an emotional conversation Tuesday to tell him he might see his minutes cut. Carlisle said he was prepared to use a nine-man rotation -- not because of anything against McConnell, but because he thought it was time to get Nembhard more minutes at point guard. McConnell played just six minutes in the opener and didn't get in until the fourth quarter when the game was decided.

However Carlisle was still looking for reasons to play McConnell and the lackluster first quarter was a reason.

"This morning I talked to the staff about, 'Hey, let's keep our eyes open and if there's a point in the game where T.J. is the right guy, we have to pull the trigger decisively,'" Carlisle said. "It was pretty clear in the first quarter that we needed him and what he brings."

So the Pacers had the whole second unit -- McConnell, Nembhard, Nesmith, Buddy Hield and Jalen Smith -- on the floor for the first time and the impact was nearly immediate. The Cavaliers turned the ball over three times in the last four minutes of the first quarter, then made just one of their first 10 shots in the second quarter en route to a 12-point period in which they shot 4 of 21 from the floor and posted a minuscule 0.47 points per possession. McConnell, Nembhard and Nesmith each took on the LeVert assignment and he made just 2 of his last 7 shots in the half.

"He got it going early," Nesmith said. "We just tried to pick on him, hit him, foul him a little bit. Get him frustrated."

In the second half, others got going, but LeVert made just 2 of 11 field goals. The Pacers worked Brown in with other second unit members so they had lineups without a player on the floor they couldn't trust to guard LeVert.

"We can throw a bunch of different guys at you in that unit," McConnell said. "And when our unit get stops, we're at our best in transition."

Nesmith is showing the effects of offseason work on his handle and shot. He scored a career-high 26 points on 10 of 16 shooting, making 5 of 9 3-pointers and also grabbing nine rebounds.

"It's just spots, you know," Nesmith said. "Being in the right place at the right time. Teammates finding me, us moving the ball. Just playing together. ... After I made the first layup and then the other one, I thought this could be a really good day. Then I made the 3 in the corner, I thought, 'This could be a really good day.'"

Nesmith is showing the capacity for more really good days after signing a three-year, $33 million extension last week. He averaged 10.5 points per game in preseason.

"I feel like a lot of people focus on his defense because he's elite on that end," McConnell said. "But his ability to shoot, I mean, it's dangerous. When guys run at him, he's finishing at a high level at the rim. I think he's a complete player and totally deserving of the extension he just got."

McConnell posted a +21 in just 18:56, scoring eight points on 3 of 5 shooting and dishing out eight assists against zero turnovers.

"I'm really just trying to do my job," McConnell said. "What I told you guys (Friday), I've just gotta stay ready. Whatever coach thinks is best for the team, that's what he's gotta go with. Like I said, that conversation is disappointing, but I have to stay ready when my number is called."

The reserves all did their jobs and worked well together on both ends. They combined to post 19 assists against just three turnovers on a night when the Pacers finished with 36 assists against seven turnovers as a team.

The performance allowed the Pacers to outlast the Cavs, who had to play their starters at least 33 minutes and played LeVert and fellow guard Max Strus over 40. The Pacers didn't play anyone more than 32:11, and they saw a second unit can provide plenty of scoring and a defensive backbone for the rest of the year.

"We have a good combination of defenders in our second unit, guys who play hard and move the ball with pace," Nesmith said. "I think those three things combine, really help us separate from other teams' second unit."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Cavs: Pacers' second-unit carries them to win