Larry Nance Jr. has played in the NBA for more than a decade. He thinks the Pacers have figured something out.
Nance said Indiana’s pace, conditioning and willingness to go deep into its roster were major reasons he wanted to join the team, describing the Pacers as being “at the forefront of the new NBA.”
“You know, the pace being played right now across the league is blistering,” Nance said, via Alex Golden of Setting The Pace. “You can’t do that with nine guys in a regular season. You’re not going to make it.”
That’s one way to sell the 10th man on playing time. Nance pointed specifically to the Pacers and Thunder, saying both have figured out that playing 10, 11 or even 12 players can help teams maintain that pace over an 82-game season.
Indiana’s conditioning stood out to him, too. Nance said he’d watched Rick Carlisle‘s teams from afar and viewed the Pacers as one of the league’s most relentless teams for a full 48 minutes. Now he wants in.
“It’s a new NBA, and that’s one of the major reasons I wanted to come to the Pacers,” Nance said.
Nance, 33, also said he’s healthy after dealing with injuries in recent seasons and wants to get back to playing an up-and-down style.
He should get his wish. The Pacers don’t exactly specialize in walking the ball up the floor.
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