These Indiana Pacers were free to be themselves. That’s why they’re overachieving
Channel: Sports today
Date: 2018-04-15

These Indiana Pacers were free to be themselves. That’s why they’re overachieving
A week before the 2018 NBA Playoffs began, Indiana Pacers fans were treated to a sight they’d seen many times: a David West wide open mid-range jumper. He missed, but this was the type of shot that spawned (and arguably doomed, in a way) the bruising, defensive-minded Pacers of the Paul George era.

Ironically, West’s midrange game has found a home with the Warriors, who pushed the NBA towards modernity by cranking up the pace and 3-pointers en-route to two championships in three years. These days, they’re shooting more midrange jumpers than ever, with scorching accuracy, a reminder that the past can become the future as fast as the future can dismantle the present.

Today’s Pacers aren’t quite as efficient from midrange, but they’ve benefited from taking a similar approach.