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    • Ben Sheppard's engine leads the Pacers to victory
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    Ben Sheppard's engine leads the Pacers to victory

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    INDIANAPOLIS – Ben Sheppard, listening to the question about his four-point play that tied Thursday's preseason game against the Hornets, flashed the smile of a man who has a secret he just can't keep, lowered his head, picked it up and revealed this secret.

    The Pacers' second-year guard isn't so sure he earned the free throw that came after the 3-pointer he made with 3.9 seconds left in the regular season. Charlotte winger KJ Simpson fought for the ball, slipped and fell at Sheppard's feet, but even Sheppard was surprised that the officials called a foul.

    “I don’t know if I was really touched,” Sheppard said. “Let’s say I did.”

    Maybe it was a fluke, but Sheppard earned it by pulling the Pacers out of a deficit of as many as 16 points and refusing to allow them to erase that deficit in the fourth quarter of their final preseason game. Sheppard scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Pacers outscore the Hornets by 12 in the period. That four-point play with 3.9 seconds left sent the game to overtime, where they won 121-116 and finished the preseason at 2-2.

    The 3-point shot itself was a product of Sheppard simply never giving up and remaining determined even in a game that didn't count. The Pacers were down by four when they rebounded the ball from the baseline with 8.6 seconds left and seemingly needed a miracle to decide the game. Guard Quenton Jackson received a diving pass from guard Tristen Newton, but lost control of it and his feet and fell over as the ball rolled toward the left wing on the way out of bounds. Sheppard was above the key line and wasn't particularly close to the play, but he sprinted to the sideline, collected the ball, planted his feet and fired, hoping that maybe he could land on Simpson and get a call because the Pacers otherwise it would be the end of time. That break and Sheppard's subsequent free throw allowed the Pacers to keep playing.

    That shot capped a quarter in which Sheppard made four of six field goals after making just three shots in the first three periods. The Pacers trailed 85-73 early in the period, but Sheppard stole a pass and took it the distance for a layup and a foul with 10:03 left that seemed to send them into disarray. At the end of the game, Sheppard was on the field with three players on two-way contracts – Newton, Jackson and Enrique Freeman – as well as forward Cole Swider, who is still fighting for the final spot on the roster. But Sheppard and Freeman, who scored nine of his 15 points in overtime, provided the energy the Pacers expected from their starters and second unit and didn't get nearly as much of it as they had hoped.

    “We were just motivated,” Sheppard said. “The first few moments of the game just didn’t go our way. We had no energy. We just came into the game with a spark and tried to get ourselves back in the game and make something happen.”

    Of course, that's why Pacers coach Rick Carlisle is such a big fan of Sheppard. He is always motivated, even in a game like Thursday's that ultimately doesn't matter. He always makes something happen.

    That's why Sheppard earned a rotation spot last season and even started playoff games after being the No. 26 pick in the 2023 draft and spending most of the first half of the season on the bench. Carlisle noticed that Sheppard brought energy every time he was on the pitch – he ran around the pitch as quickly as he could, chasing every loose ball he could reach, defending his position well and hitting the open balls, who came to him. He averaged 4.4 points in 14.3 minutes per game in the regular season, but the combination of Bennedict Mathurin's shoulder injury and Sheppard's unstoppable motor gave him 19.7 minutes per game in the playoffs. There were only seven other players in the NBA playoffs who earned more total minutes off the bench, and two of those were Pacers teammates TJ McConnell and Obi Toppin.

    “He’s a proven competitor,” Carlisle said of the former Belmont star. “I can’t really give a guy a higher compliment at the start of his second year. You.” knowledge what you will get. It's limitless. It's pure. It's all about the team. It’s about winning a game.”

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    Rick Carlisle talks about the Pacers' comeback win against Charlotte

    Rick Carlisle called his third unit's play “inspiring” but said the starters weren't where they wanted to be in the regular season.

    It was particularly pleasing on a night when the problems of the starting five left Carlisle in serious consternation and even the second unit didn't do enough to alleviate the problems.

    The Pacers made seven of their first eight field goal attempts to start the game, but even then they only built an 18-14 lead because they didn't do enough to stop the Hornets. They took a seven-point lead after halftime, 29-25, but were outscored 36-20 in the second half with starters Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner and Andrew Nembhard in In the 9th half at -15 minutes and 21 seconds, they spent that time together on the floor, shooting a total of 3 of 10 from the floor, grabbing just two rebounds and turning the ball over five times. Turner scored 18 points, including 14 in the first quarter, and Haliburton scored 14, but all four finished the game -12 or worse. Forward Aaron Nesmith played fewer minutes and was -7.

    There were enough trends towards slow starts and subpar defense that Carlisle was justifiably concerned.

    “We still have a lot of work to do between now and next Wednesday,” Carlisle said. “We are not yet where we need to be. I really have to see what happens. Our starting group is simply not cohesive and we are not doing well enough physically in many important areas.” Rebounding, with cohesion. That's up to me. We will continue to work on this.

    But while the rest of the team struggled to get back to the form of April and May, Sheppard appears to have picked up where he left off. He's averaging 9.0 points per game in the preseason, with more aggression off the dribble and the same consistent determination on defense. And as usual, the Pacers are better off with him on the field, as they have more than 23 of his minutes in four games. Only Newton (+33) has a better preseason value.

    “I'm just saying that every chance I get that I step on the floor, I just try to show the player that I am,” Sheppard said. “I'm just a team player, a high IQ player who just plays the right way. Every time I go out, I feel like I don’t have to do anything beyond my capabilities.”

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    Aaron Nesmith talks about the Pacers' comeback win against Charlotte

    Aaron Nesmith discusses Ben Sheppard's heroics and the first unit's struggles in Indiana's comeback win over Charlotte in the preseason.

    And Carlisle makes a point of letting Sheppard know he's taking notice, even if some of the rotations he used in preseason suggest Sheppard could be the underdog – more specifically, the 11th man in a 10 -Man rotation.

    As concerned as Carlisle is right now, there is little evidence that he would change his starting lineup of Haliburton, Nembhard, Nesmith, Siakam and Turner. McConnell and Toppin have every reason to feel confident in the second unit spots at point guard and power forward after outstanding playoff performances and lucrative offseason contracts. Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman are in a battle for the center position on the second unit. That leaves the shooting guard and small forward spots for Sheppard, his draft classmate Jarace Walker and guard Bennedict Mathurin.

    Sheppard has a disadvantage in the race. The Pacers invested more in Mathurin and Walker than Sheppard, as they were selected No. 6 and No. 8, respectively, in the 2022 and 2023 drafts, making them the Pacers' first draft picks in the top nine since Rik Smits went in 1988 2 landed and George McCloud went No. 7 in 1989. Mathurin earned first-team All-Rookie honors in 2022-23 as the third-leading scorer among Pacers rookies in franchise NBA history. Walker saw fewer minutes than Sheppard as a rookie, but he has a rare collection of offensive skills for a 6-8, 235-pound forward with a 7-2 1/2 wingspan. Walker is making a transition from power forward to small forward and has played more minutes total, 94, than any other Pacer on the roster as Carlisle gives him the opportunity to navigate the court more consistently.

    But that doesn't mean Carlisle has forgotten Sheppard. The 6-6 winger has played some minutes with the second unit and some with the third, but he played a total of 89 minutes in the preseason, second only to Walker. Sheppard may or may not be in the second unit on opening night, but in some ways he is the player Carlisle trusts the most of the three. He may be the player Carlisle trusts most in the team to go cold in the second half when he wasn't used in the first half, or to play difficult minutes after missing a few games hasn't seen the field for a long time.

    Whatever role he plays at the start of the season, Carlisle will ensure he has the chance to make an impact.

    “Guys like that are often taken for granted because they are great people and seem easy to care for,” Carlisle said. “But it's important that we keep reminding him how important he is to our culture, how important he is to our team. Certainly, all the really, really positive things he did in the playoffs last year. This is a new year, but the great thing is that he hasn't changed a bit and probably never will.

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    Kathleen William
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