Victor Wembanyama scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Spurs to a 133-104 win over the Pacers in a preseason game Friday night at the Frost Center in San Antonio.
The Pacers finish preseason play 2-2. Their regular season opener is an NBA Finals rematch against the Thunder at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in a game televised on ESPN.
Guard Stephon Castle added 16 points for the Spurs. Forward Julian Champagnie and Luke Kornet scored 15 each. Forward Aaron Nesmith led the Pacers with 12 points. Bennedict Mathurin had 11 and Andrew Nembhard and Cam Payne had 10 each.
Here are three observations:
The Pacers’ starters had a rough start but a better second quarter
With the Pacers’ bench depleted by injury, they used the first half as sort of a dress rehearsal for the starters, giving them a heavy portion of the minutes. Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith and Pascal Siakam played about 18 minutes each with an especially early check in for the second quarter with more than 9 minutes to play.
The core four has had a mostly strong performance in the preseason, but their first quarter performance left something to be desired. The Pacers were outscored 39-28 in the first period and the Spurs built most of that lead while Indiana’s starters were on the floor. Nesmith was -9 in his minutes, Siakam -10 and Nembhard and Mathurin were both -12. The group combined for four turnovers. Siakam didn’t attempt a field goal and though the other three combined for 16 points on 7 of 13 shooting, they played a part in particularly shaky defense. The Spurs made 12 of their first 15 field goals and finished the first period 16 of 25 from the floor, and 5 of 10 from 3-point range for 1.40 points per possession.
The second quarter was considerably better on both ends. The Pacers won the period 35-27 and those four combined for 26 points on 9 of 16 shooting including 5 of 10 from 3-point range. SIakam and Nesmith were +8 in the period and Nembhard and Mathurin +6. None of those four re-entered in the second half.
Nesmith’s shot was particularly sharp as he finished 5 of 7 from the floor and 2 of 3 from 3-point range for his 12 points. He continues to show more aggression off the dribble but hasn’t lost much accuracy. Mathurin made some wild drives in the first quarter and had a pair of turnovers but ended up 4 of 6 from the floor in what has been an excellent preseason. Nembhard had 10 points and five assists and was 4 of 11 from the floor but 2 of 5 from 3. Siakam made his first three shots including a 3 and also had four assists.
Rookie Taelon Peter gets work at point guard
With roster decisions imminent with the cut-down date coming at 5 p.m. Monday, the Pacers put some intriguing, unexpected lineup combinations on the floor.
Obviously, injuries had a lot to do with that. The Pacers were already short-handed thanks to the Tyrese Haliburton Achilles tendon tear suffered in the NBA Finals. During preseason they have lost T.J. McConnell for a month with a hamstring strain. Forward Johnny Furphy (sprained left ankle) and productive two-way contract guard Quenton Jackson (sore right hamstring) are out for undisclosed periods. Rookie guard Kam Jones (back) is on the same timeline as McConnell. Third-year wing Ben Sheppard came back from a calf strain on Friday but draft classmate Jarace Walker didn’t make the trip to San Antonio for precautionary reasons related to back soreness, according to Pacers PR.
Still, the Pacers stepped outside of what had been their rotations to date at a few spots. Most notably, rookie guard Taelon Peter handled point guard duties in the first half when Andrew Nembhard went off the floor. Peter has had a strong preseason, but is more of a shooting guard by trade and is on a two-way contract for the season. It was particularly intriguing considering that the Pacers recently added point guard Cameron Payne to the roster to give them a veteran option who could handle backup duties while McConnell is out and a third option when he returns.
Peter handled point guard duties reasonably, well particularly in the first half. He was +3 in six first-half minutes, scoring four points with a field goal and two free throws and had an assist, a steal and a rebound. He seemed fairly in control of the offense and didn’t have trouble being pressured with the ball. He got more work in the second half, some of it with Payne. Peter finished with nine points on 3 of 7 shooting including 1 of 4 from 3-point range. He added five rebounds and four assists, a steal and a block against three turnovers. The Pacers were blown out in the second half and he was -15, but wasn’t particularly to blame for that.
Payne didn’t play at all in the first half. He scored 10 points on 3 of 9 shooting including 2 of 5 from 3-point range with the 3s coming close together. However, he had just two assists against two turnovers and was a team worst -26 in his minutes. He didn’t get much work with players who would be in his lineup if he is the second-unit point guard, but his late entry makes his roster spot seem a little less safe. He is on a non-guaranteed contract and could be cut before the deadline without counting much against the salary cap. He would seem to be a necessity with the Pacers’ point guard depth being what it is, but if the Pacers believe that much in Peter they could go another direction.
The Pacers played just four players off the bench in the first half — Peter, Sheppard, forward Obi Toppin and center James Wiseman. Jay Huff has operated as the second-unit center for most of the preseason, but he didn’t appear until the third quarter.
Center position still murky
One reason Payne’s position might still be safe is the alternative would be keeping four centers on the roster including Wiseman and Tony Bradley, who are also on non-guaranteed contracts. The Pacers haven’t seen great performances from any of the four, the other two being Huff and Isaiah Jackson.
Jackson started every preseason game so it does seem like he will be the opening day starter. He had a decent performance with eight points on 4 of 7 shooting and had two steals, getting underneath Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama, but he also had just two rebounds against three personal fouls. Wiseman had six points on 3 of 6 shooting and also just two rebounds. Huff actually got work at power forward at the second half and hit a step-back 3, but he was 2 of 7 from the floor, 1 of 4 from 3 for nine points. He had five rebounds, but was -13 in his minutes. Bradley had four points in three rebounds in seven minutes, and was arguably the most productive on a per-minute basis.
Jackson and Huff are on multi-year contracts and seem safe, but it’s not clear how they’ll decide between Wiseman and Bradley or if they’ll keep both.
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