Edey, Bane help Grizzlies get best of preseason Pacers leaving last practice game against Hornets before things get real

The Pacers had another forgettable start to their third preseason game, now turn attention to final warm up game after making a roster move with the regular season less than a week away from tipping.

A couple of local legends put in work against the Pacers on Monday night, leading to a far less than stellar night at the Fieldhouse with the Pacers losing to the Grizzlies, 120-116.

The Pacers actually outscored the Grizz by ten over the final three quarters, but the -14 first quarter had the Pacers chasing the lead all night. The Pacers sat a few key players with Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Aaron Nesmith and TJ McConnell taking the night off. Nesmith had a balky ankle, the rest were, well, resting.

The Grizz also were without some key firepower, namely Ja Morant and Triple J, so the opportunity for Bennedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker to start was on the table. However, neither made a bold move for starter consideration, let alone heavy minutes in the rotation. Walker was not assertive early but eventually got his game going, including a big fourth quarter. However, that was against the lower end of the Memphis roster…but Jarace doing Jarace things against any NBA players is a good development. He finished with 15 points, 4 assists and 6 rebounds.

Mathurin had an off shooting night, which is not the worst thing in the world if he’s getting good shots. He finished with 12 points and made 2 of 6 threes which actually showed a bit of maturity. Stick with me here. He was struggling and tried to shoot through it but didn’t go crazy. In 29 minutes he shot just 12 times, appearing to realize he needed to defer to others on that end since he didn’t have it going.

Defensively, though is where it was rough for Mathurin. Richmond’s Desmond Bane showed up ready to go for the Grizz and seemed like he was hell bent on taking it to Mathurin early, which he did en route to 23 points in 22 minutes. The first impression of Mathurin’s D on the first bucket of the game was hard to overcome (you could hear it in Quinn Buckner’s voice).

Purdue’s Zach Edey also had 23 points along with 9 rebounds, having his way at times with all three Pacers big men. Myles Turner created a few stops against Edey, but also had to hope for misses when the big fella had the ball in the paint. James Wiseman actually stoned Edey in a block on his first possession on the floor, holding his ground when the two clashed which alone was impressive. Wiseman was again, productive in minimal minutes with 10 points in 10 minutes. He just needs to shore up that defensive end which remains a theme for the squad.

With the starters in this game not seizing any extra minutes in the rotation, Ben Sheppard had a little, ‘don’t forget about me’ effort off the bench. Made a couple of threes, finished with 12 points and +13 on the floor. Made me think the coaching staff always knows what they have in Shep and while Walker and Mathurin have bigger upsides and will be given opportunities to play and develop this year, I won’t be surprised to see Shep in certain second half situations in close games when his reliability will be more valued in the context of a specific game or player matchup. At least something to keep an eye on.

Roster move

On Tuesday, the Pacers signed and released Jahlil Okafor in an effort to add him to the Mad Ants roster. They also waived Kendall Brown ending his tenure with the team. The second round pick seems to have all of the tools you need with his athleticism to defend 94 feet. Unfortunately, he’s struggled to develop a shot to add the 3 to the D which is how guys like him stick in the league. Crazy thing is, Brown is still only 21 so we may look up in three or four years and the guy has it all together for another team and is still under 25. Much work ahead to get there. Certainly a case of a guy who could’ve used another year or two in college to get big game reps at Baylor.

Cole Swider has played quite a bit in preseason and looked good on Monday as a guy who can shoot it and holds up pretty well overall on the court, finishing with 12 points on 5 shots, 3 assists and 5 rebounds. Like Brown, Swider’s contract isn’t guaranteed and neither is his spot as the 15th man on the roster. Rick Carlisle has mentioned they could convert a current two-way guy or leave the spot open, in addition to keeping Swider. Seems like it would be most likely that they initially keep Swider, allow the two-way guys to get game reps with Mad Ants and adjust as the season unfolds.

All will be answered in a matter of days as the Pacers finish the preseason at the Fieldhouse on Thursday against the Hornets. Then they have five days to prep before showing up for opening night in Detroit, next Wednesday. Can’t come soon enough!

Pacers vs. Hornets Preseason

Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

When: Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, 7:00 p.m. ET

TV: Bally Sports Indiana

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

Odds: Pacers -5.5

Projected Starters

Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Jarace Walker, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner

Hornets: LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, Tidjane Salaun, Nick Richards

Injuries

Pacers: Johnny Furphy (ankle) - questionable, Aaron Nesmith (ankle) - questionable

Hornets: Ja Morant (ankle) - questionable, Jaren Jackson Jr. (hamstring) - questionable