Pacers have acquired Brown and Toppin in the last two days. Are these guys difference makers? In the case of Toppin, he seems to need more minutes in order to grow into a difference maker, but with both he and Walker, they’ve got two players now that seem to fit the mold of the player that the Pacers really needed. Also, two 2nd round players for Toppin is a steal.
Pacers
- Thread starter PhyloeBedoe
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He's a 20 point 10 assist player. They win with him and lose without him. JMO, but I'd call that elite.
Toppin, Brown, and #1 pick Walker can all defend well, run the court well, and make shots. I'd say all three will be assets. Hali? You have to pay up. Unfortunately the top third or so of NBA players want/get max deals and so you overpay for a guy in the 70-80th percentile and underpay for a guy in the 90-95th percentile. But Hali might be in that top 10%
Pacers have a hard time attracting top free agents so they need to keep what they can. Haliburtin is a very very good player.
Players want to play with him. He gives up the ball very willingly, and he legitimate loves to play the game, which is not as common as you think. I predict he will end up being the most liked pacer since Reggie, based on his abilities and enthusiasm.
The Pacers are taking his presence seriously. It’s hard to know what really happened with oladipo and PG. Lots of ‘facts’ being tossed around about the front office bungling things with those two players, and I’m not sure I buy many of the rumors. Nevertheless this time they are treating their franchise player a bit differently, making him a formal decision maker with player personnel, something they did not do with PG. I think (hope) we will have Halliburton for a long time.
Indy is trying to push him like Reggie as a city favorite. Using him for things like Indy 500 pace car driver and such.
They've done the same thing with Paul George, Vic and others before. The Pacers and the Speedway have been partners all the way back to the ABA days.
Here's Netolicky in a car and another with him, Ward, McClusky, and Foyt clowning around
This group could...could...become a team I start following and rooting for.
TJD going to the Warriors is going to make it impossible to keep denying my affinity for them, and how they play. I'm probably just going to start openly cheering for them now, especially if he ends up playing any meaningful amount. I love Curry and Looney. But individually, don't really like anyone else. But LOVE how they play.
For the Pacers now with Haliburton, Hield, Mathurin, and now Brown and Toppin...I envision the potential for a Kings/Warriors like team. Very fast, very open, good ball movement, outside shots, etc... If their bigs can keep up, defend, and rebound, I would think the Pacers would be due for some better play. And more fun to watch and follow in the process.
TJD going to the Warriors is going to make it impossible to keep denying my affinity for them, and how they play. I'm probably just going to start openly cheering for them now, especially if he ends up playing any meaningful amount. I love Curry and Looney. But individually, don't really like anyone else. But LOVE how they play.
For the Pacers now with Haliburton, Hield, Mathurin, and now Brown and Toppin...I envision the potential for a Kings/Warriors like team. Very fast, very open, good ball movement, outside shots, etc... If their bigs can keep up, defend, and rebound, I would think the Pacers would be due for some better play. And more fun to watch and follow in the process.
Agree but rebounding and interior defense has to get better. They could score with anyone last year but couldn’t stop anyone or rebound at all
VanPastorMan
Hall of Famer
Myles Turner is one of the big keys. He can. Rebound if he wants to. His interior defense is great as a rim protector
Watching their first summer league game, you can already tell that Jarace Walker is going to be a menace on defense. His offense might be a work in progress, but man, he makes things happen on the defensive end. Great pickup for a team that needs just that.
It will be interesting to see who Carlisle starts between Walker and Toppin. The decision to bring Matherin along slowly last season was, in my view, a good one. One might expect Carlisle to do the same thing between Walker and Toppin and start Toppin, but they look like they want to win right away this year. Walker looks strong.
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