Reason #2: Frontcourt Development

The Indiana Pacers have two really promising young bigs in Turner and Sabonis. Both of those players have their flaws, as Sabonis isn’t much of a three-point shooting threat, and Turner needs to be more aggressive, but both are just scratching the surface. Turner had 12.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per contest. He has been rightfully criticized at times, but he’s only 22. As our own Grant Afseth demonstrated, the young big has enormous potential.

He has a nice mid-range face-up game, a respectable career 34.6 percent three-point rate and is developing as a more consistent post-up scorer. Being around veteran frontcourt man and steady two-way contributor Thaddeus Young will only help his interior development. Young will have a key role this year again and has had his share of playoff experience.

In 24.5 minutes per game last season, Sabonis had a robust 11.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He also led the Pacers in rebounding percentage (excluding Edmond Sumner, who played in one game), per NBA.com. Sabonis is only 21, and like Turner, should only get better on both ends with more backcourt talent around him.

T.J. Leaf could add a nice spacing element for Indiana, too. Leaf is a good shooter off the catch with some post-up ability with drop steps and hooks, but he has a long way defensively. Playing next to Turner or Sabonis to protect him on the backline on defense could make Leaf more effective this season.

Bogdanovic and McDermott should be deadly coming off screens to receive feeds from Oladipo and others, and they’ll give Turner and others more room to operate in the post. Only three NBA teams shot less free throws per game last season, per NBA.com. I expect that to change. Turner and Sabonis should get more free throw attempts as rollers and keep progressing as jump shooters. That will allow them to take advantage of slower bigs.

In the case with O’Quinn, Indiana added another good mid-range shooter and secondary rim protector. He’s shot 47.1 percent from 10-16 feet and 41.4 percent from 16 feet to the three-point arc, per Basketball-Reference. O’Quinn has good vision to see cutters with the ball in his hands, and he utilizes ball fakes well to get space to finish near the basket. He projects well as a reserve roll man. He sets solid screens and is reliable in the pick-and-pop game.

Defensively, O’Quinn is really active helping near the rim and cleans the glass at a high rate. His per 36 minutes career block average is 2.4. His great instincts are a key reason why his career defensive box plus-minus is an impressive 3.1.

KYLE O'QUINN BLOCK pic.twitter.com/zD1cgjA6nI

— The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) February 9, 2018

His career rebound average per 36 minutes is 12.2 as well, per Basketball-Reference. Even playing around just 15 minutes per game, he’ll make his presence felt. Second-round pick Alize Johnson could make things happen in short stints, too.

Thirdly, team chemistry matters and this team has clear roles.

Next Up: Team Chemistry and Clear Roles