Aaron Nesmith, the decisive all-around player for the Pacers
Trailing by six points with 2 minutes and 30 minutes remaining, the Pacers continued to get off to a bad start against the Bulls. One man, however, has taken on the responsibility of being the driving force behind this umpteenth comeback signed by the Rick Carlisle-coached team: Aaron Nesmith.
His first money-time feat: a corner 3-pointer after a baseline layup to bring his team back within one possession. The shot is all the stronger when we know that the winger, despite his career-best scoring average (13.5), is in serious trouble in terms of skill this season (36.5%).
Then, on the next defensive sequence, he was the one who recovered the ball that was deflected by a teammate. Subsequently, the author of the decisive pass for Jay Huff’s equalizing shot, Aaron Nesmith stood out again 15 seconds from the end by starting a “drive” and finishing with a “reverse layup” in front of Nikola Vucevic.
This shot gave the Pacers a point back and this time the Bulls couldn’t answer. The mistake, again, is that devil Aaron Nesmith who came on to defensively help Johnny Furfee to counter Kobe White’s penetration. ” My priority was to make no mistake, to force him into a complicated shot », describes a wingerwhich was therefore omnipresent in this return.
“Double A returns to form”
« We fought a little harder against their screens, and we blocked better to get rebounds. We just did the little things better “, he notes, before adding: ” It’s always good to score the winning basket. It (address) always shows up, so I knew it was only a matter of time. »
« Double A is back in form, obviously, we’re seeing him find his groove again », Remark Pascal Siakam Speaking of his teammate who finished with 14 points (5/9 shooting including 3/5 from distance), 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
« He had a pretty good shooting game, but it wasn’t a spectacular offensive explosion either. He continued to work and take care of small details », reacts their coach, pointing out a similar influence from Benedikt Maturin.
Rick Carlisle reminds that Aaron Nesmith is one of the most experienced players in the team. ” He is one of our veteran leaders. He’s a guy who really relies on his experience: his first year, he was on a really good team in Boston, made it to the finals, so he knew basketball at that level », notes the coach regarding the 2022 NBA Finals, in which his player participated with the Celtics.
« He knows what it requires from a collective point of view and what state of mind you need to have to be part of such a project. That’s one of the things he brings here and it showed tonight “, says Rick Carlisle.
| Aaron Nesmith | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saison | The team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | That | Pd | Ft | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2020-21 | BOS | 46 | 14:33 | 43.8 | 37.0 | 78.6 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 4.7 |
| 2021-22 | BOS | 52 | 11:02 | 39.6 | 27.0 | 80.8 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 3.8 |
| 2022-23 | IND | 73 | 24:53 | 42.7 | 36.6 | 83.8 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 1.3 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 10.1 |
| 2023-24 | IND | 72 | 27:43 | 49.6 | 41.9 | 78.1 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 1.5 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 12.2 |
| 2024-25 | IND | 45 | 24:57 | 50.7 | 43.1 | 91.3 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 12.0 |
| 2025-26 | IND | 27 | 30:31 | 37.0 | 36.1 | 80.6 | 1.4 | 3.6 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 13.5 |
How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.
2026-01-29 10:32:00
