How the Philadelphia 76ers stack up against the Central Division

Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers Projected Starting Five:

• Malcolm Brogdon
• Victor Oladipo
• T.J. Warren
• Domantas Sabonis
• Myles Turner
• Other Notable Players — Jeremy Lamb, Doug McDermott, Aaron Holiday, Goga Bitadze

After getting the five seed in last year’s playoffs, the Pacers underwent some significant roster changes this summer.  They lost two starters in Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic, and also lost bench contributors Tyreke Evans and Wesley Matthews.  Matthews was technically a starter as well, as he filled in for Victor Oladipo in the second half of the season. They are attempting to replace that group with Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren, and Jeremy Lamb.  They also are counting on some second year improvement from Aaron Holiday.

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Last season, the Pacers made an effort to get to the rim, coming in at the 71st percentile in shots attempted in that area.  They were near the bottom of the league in attempting threes. This played into the Sixers defense a season ago, which focused on preventing threes, as I detailed in a previous article for this site. I expect the Sixers defense to change this season with the new personnel and coaching, putting more emphasis on rim protection.  If they are able to execute that scheme, the Sixers should shut down the Pacers first option and force them to take shots from the outside.

The Sixers outsize just about every team in the league, but the Pacers are one of the closest to matching them.  They will likely be playing a twin towers lineup featuring both Turner and Sabonis, and they also will have 6-foot-8 T.J. Warren playing the three.  Malcolm Brogdon is also a physical defender who can guard above his size.

The Pacers gave up a lot of threes last season, and allowed opponents to shoot 36.2 percent on those shots, which put them in about the middle of league in that department.  The Sixers should get open looks from the perimeter, and their success rate on those looks could be a determining factor in this matchup.

I think the Sixers’ new-look defense will eliminate what the Pacers like to do offense, and they should find enough on offense to handle this team.  Embiid averaged 28.8 points and 14 rebounds in the four games against the Pacers last season, per Basketball Reference, and the Sixers went 3-1 in those games.  The Pacers’ bench is also very thin, and their defense could take a big hit when some of the starters take a rest.

I see the Sixers once again taking the season series, and if they meet in the playoffs, the Sixers take this matchup in five.