Andrew Nembhard and His Playoff Breakout
The Indiana Pacers were eliminated a week ago and were swept in the process, but the emergence of Andrew Nembhard and his potential to become a star has somehow been overlooked. To most, Nembhard is probably seen as just a young role player on a team that made a conference finals appearance way ahead of schedule. However, to me, he is a player not far from becoming someone an offense can rely on.
The 2024 playoffs marked the first playoff appearance for Nembhard and several other players on the Pacers. They weren’t expected to make any noise in the playoffs and were predicted to be eliminated in the first round. We all know that wasn’t the case; in fact, they made it all the way to the Conference Finals, a milestone to be proud of regardless of the health of the teams they beat to get there. The narrative that Indiana didn’t deserve their improbable run because of the injury-riddled teams they faced is flat-out pathetic. Throughout their playoff journey, Andrew Nembhard stood out the most to me. He went from averaging 9 PPG, while shooting 50% from the field on 7 shots a game, to 15 PPG on 56% from the field and almost putting up 11 shots a game.
This goes deeper than just the stats. Nembhard makes game-altering plays that you won’t see in the box score. Every time the Pacers needed a bucket, whether during a rough offensive stretch or in need of a clutch score late in games, he was, in my eyes, the go-to guy. I don’t know what the stats say, but it felt like he delivered time after time in these scenarios. He hit multiple big shots this playoff run, most notably the game-winner against the Knicks where he bobbled it twice and still hit the shot. It’s hard to ignore the fact that he is certainly capable of hitting very deep shots.
What he lacks in his handle he makes up for in other areas, such as his strength. He has a fantastic way of creating a mid-range look around the free throw line using his body. In this clip: he muscles off the defending Derrick White while going downhill, creating a ton of space for an easy float shot. He does this a lot. The awareness that Nembhard possesses is not something that can be taught.
You’ll also see him take advantage of having a larger defender on him by taking them to the elbow and hitting a quick step-back jumper. He goes to this shot often as well. Here, Nembhard takes complete advantage of the screen by Turner when he recognizes that Horford isn’t going to step up on the screen because he is in drop coverage deep in the paint and simply beats Tatum to his spot before he can recover. Essentially, he isn’t the shiftiest guy in the world, but his strength and intelligence allow him to get to his spots easily.
It’s impressive for Andrew Nembhard to have such a complete understanding of the game at the age of 24. He doesn’t make mistakes, doesn’t turn the ball over much, and always seems to understand the situation and take advantage of it. The Pacers' philosophy this season was to get out in transition and score, and it worked. They had the second-highest pace in the NBA this season, only behind the Wizards. Nembhard thrives in transition, which might be surprising given that he probably isn’t faster than his defender, but he always makes the right play when running.
He had no fear of being defended by Derrick White or Jaylen Brown, both All-NBA level defenders, and didn’t have much trouble creating looks when guarded by them. This says a lot about Nembhard since he was forced to step up and fill the shoes of his star running mate, Tyrese Haliburton, and continued to attack despite playing a role he hasn’t been asked to do in his career. Assuming Nembhard’s progression remains linear over the next couple of years, he will undoubtedly become a star player that every team in the association would want.
