Pacers 2019-20 Depth Chart Preview
In preparation for the upcoming 2019-20 NBA season, I am going to break down each position for the Pacers, looking at depth, skill and dependability at all five spots in the lineup. The final spot left to look at in the Pacers lineup is the center position, where we find a mix of youth and experience.
Center: Myles Turner, Goga Bitadze
Starting at center for the Pacers is a familiar face in Myles Turner, who is now the longest tenured Pacer as he enters his fifth year in Indiana. Turner has been a mainstay in the starting lineup for Indiana the past few seasons as the defensive anchor for the Pacers starting five.
After securing a 4-years, $72 million contract before last season, Turner showed he was worth the investment by scoring 13.3 points, grabbing 7.3 rebounds and swatting 2.7 shots per game last season. The big man also helped the Pacers stretch the floor last year by knocking down a career-high 38.8% of his 3-pointers.
Turner’s ability to protect the rim on defense and stretch the floor on offense make him a perfect example of what the ideal center looks like in today’s NBA. Both of those skills will also be key factors in making his partnership with Domantas Sabonis work while the two natural centers share the floor this season.
Last season, Turner showed a tendency to chase after blocks instead of altering shots while still finding good positioning down low for the rebound. One advantage of the Turner-Sabonis pairing is that Sabonis is an excellent rebounder, so this partnership might free up Turner to truly chase down blocks while Sabonis cleans the glass afterwards. With Victor Oladipo out until at least December, the Pacer will likely live and die by how well this duo can perform early on in the season.
Backing up Turner at the center position is the Pacers 2019 first round draft pick Goga Bitadze. The Georgian rookie made 13 appearances in the EuroLeague last season and averaged 12.1 points and 6.4 rebounds in just 24.1 minutes per game. Bitadze shot the ball very well in those 13 games, making 59.7% of his shots from the floor and 31.3% of his shots from beyond the arc.
When the Pacers picked Bitadze in the first round in June, many fans were upset, but that was before Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard announced that Sabonis and Turner would be playing together in the starting lineup. Now that Sabonis will be playing most of his minutes at the power forward position, Bitadze will be thrust into an important role off the bench for the Pacers.
Bitadze might be the most important backup on the Indiana roster this season because of the lack of depth the Pacers have in their frontcourt. With Sabonis shifting to power forward, the Pacers won’t have anywhere to turn if Bitadze isn’t able to quickly adjust to the pace and style of NBA basketball. In that case, the Pacers will have to lean on the Sabonis-Turner duo to do all of the heavy lifting in the frontcourt, and I'm sure that is something the Pacers will try and avoid by any means possible.