The J-Notes
Fansided

Examining the Utah Jazz, Indiana Pacers connection

By Josh Padmore

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 07: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers holds the ball against Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 7, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 07: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers holds the ball against Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 7, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 18: Nate McMillan of the Indiana Pacers speaks to the media after game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Two of Round One during the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 18, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 18: Nate McMillan of the Indiana Pacers speaks to the media after game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Two of Round One during the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 18, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Coaching

Nate McMillan is the Head Coach of the Indiana Pacers. He and Quin Snyder, Head Coach of the Utah Jazz, are awfully similar. They’re both old school, defensive-minded coaches. BUT, they have done a great job of adapting to the new era of the NBA.

Both coaches preach ball movement. When you watch Pacers games, you can hear McMillan screaming to his players, “MOVE IT! MOVE THE BALL!”. For the Jazz, this one play sums up their ball movement:

While the Jazz are now consistently one of the top defensive teams in the league, the Pacers are consistently above-average on that end of the floor. Remember, before the Utah Jazz became a defensive juggernaut, it was the Pacers that had elite team defense. Times have changed, and the Pacers are picking up the pace. Despite that, the defense remains consistent under Nate McMillan.

Snyder was a finalist for the 2018 Coach of the Year Award, but fell short to Dwane Casey formerly of the Toronto Raptors (now of the Detroit Pistons). Just outside of the finalists was Nate McMillan, who led his surprise Pacers to 48 wins. Both of these coaches are extremely respected, and were given plenty of recognition for it this past year.

If you’d like to know the official stats, I’ve got you covered. The Jazz finished last season 2nd in fewest points allowed per game at 99.8. The Pacers finished 9th, allowing 104.2. Defense is very important to both of these coaches and teams.

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