The Pacers are putting innovation before tradition with zone defense

With 6:49 to play in the first quarter against the Brooklyn Nets, the Indiana Pacers did something they haven’t done all season. Coming out of a timeout at the first dead-ball under the seven-minute mark, they quickly assembled into two regimented lines and switched from their standard man-to-man defense into a 3-2 zone.

For a team which has long-prided itself on sticking to and succeeding with simple defensive principles (i.e. staying in front of their men, keeping their hands up, and funneling all dribble penetration to the middle of the floor), it was a bold move offering an alternate way out as well as a seat at the table with the ever-expanding in-crowd, but it also felt borderline sacrilegious.