Caitlin Cooper
Caitlin Cooper is one of the most detail-oriented and thoughtful writers covering the Pacers today. Her articles on indycornrows.com are must-read material for any Pacers fan. With less than a week until the Pacers season kicks off, Caitlin did a Q&A with us to discuss this season’s team, player-pizza topping equivalents, and her favorite pizza place in Fort Wayne. So check out the Q&A below and make sure to read Caitlin’s work on Indy Cornrows!
Go Pacers! And Eat Pizza!
Q. From everything we've read so far and heard in interviews from the players, it sounds like new head coach Nate Bjorkgren is making a positive impression. In particular, Doug McDermott had some nice comments about training camp thus far under Bjorkgren. Most of the members of our club felt that McDermott was underutilized in Nate McMillan's offensive scheme. This is a long-winded way of asking - Do you think McDermott could have a bigger impact scoring points off the bench this season?
A. Including both the playoffs and the seeding games, Doug shot 30 percent (12-of-39) from three in the bubble, with only two attempts coming from the corners in the team’s first-round series against Miami. On that front, being reunited with Sabonis should move the needle to at least some degree. In addition to sharing a wavelength with the sharpshooter when it comes to passing, screening, shooting, cutting, feigning, and fading out of dribble hand-offs and two-man game, Sabonis gives the Pacers a big who can find open shooters as the trigger man. Prior to the hiatus this past season, McDermott hit on an otherworldly 51 percent of his 68 three-point attempts off of passes from Sabonis. Combine that with a system that has already generated more threes per game in preseason (42) than the Pacers attempted in 72 of 73 games in 2019-20, and all signs seem to point toward McDermott being more seen in his role under Bjorkgren, assuming he can tread water in a more aggressive defensive scheme.
Q. The big rumor in the shortened offseason was that former Butler Bulldog Gordon Hayward would return to Indianapolis, this time to play for the Pacers. Instead the Pacers got a different ex-Bulldog in Kelan Martin. What do you expect to see out of Martin this season? Could he crack the rotation?
A. According to defensive versatility metrics compiled by Krishna Narsu of Nylon Calculus and Andrew Patton of The BBall Index, Martin spent at least 25 percent of his floor time in 31 games with Minnesota last season defending the 2, 3, and 4 positions, a balanced split which suggests he may be able to lend Justin Holiday a hand in sparring with bigger forwards off the bench. From what we’ve seen thus far in preseason, T.J. McConnell, Aaron Holiday, Doug McDermott, and Justin seem poised to have the inside track on composing the second unit once T.J. Warren returns and until Jeremy Lamb gets back with Domantas Sabonis acting as the through line. That said, given that the roster is compiled mostly of combo guards and centers, Martin may come in handy on nights when the team needs more lateral size in spots, especially with how aggressive the defense is purposed to be in the gaps. If his shooting can more closely mirror his conversion rate from deep while on assignment with the Iowa Wolves (36 percent) as opposed to the Timberwolves (31 percent), that’s an added bonus.
Q. Stick with us on this one - Last season we asked Pacers blogger Alex Golden "If the Pacers starting lineup was a pizza, which topping would each player be?" Since the starting lineup will probably be the same this season, we'll ask you the same question but with this lineup off the bench.
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Aaron Holiday – Fresh Basil. Like basil, Aaron is prone to high highs and low lows in a way that is somewhat dependent on how he’s deployed. When he’s the primary ball-handler on the floor and responsible for making plays for others, he can be a bit like dried basil that’s been added to a pizza before baking. Slot him alongside other guards, however, when he can spot-up away from the ball and drive from the slot in more of a score-first role; and suddenly, he’s considerably more fresh and bright – like basil leaves placed on top of a pie fresh out of the oven.
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TJ McConnell – Banana Peppers. Don’t get me wrong, I like banana peppers. They aren’t so spicy that they overwhelm my mouth and taste buds and when paired with the right combination of toppings (like, say, black olives, salami, and shredded parmesan cheese) they offer a satisfying zip of flavor, as does McConnell when he’s wheeling-and-dealing alongside a flock of shooters while playing the role of full-court pest. Granted, I don’t want banana peppers on all of my pizzas, nor would I want McConnell in every lineup, especially given his limited upside in the playoffs, but I appreciate his ability to come in off the bench and change games like an unexpected crunch of banana pepper on a bite of pizza.
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Jeremy Lamb – Fresh Mozzarella. When healthy, Lamb glides around the court, stopping-and-popping for gentle tear-drops with all the silky smoothness of fresh mozzarella. Much like the sliceable curd cheese, however, the rest of his game doesn’t offer much in the way of flavor variety, particularly when his shot isn’t falling. In addition to being a variable scorer, he closes out at weird angles and barely gets to the line. When he’s good, he’s good; but his leaky defenses can be akin to the risk posed by fresh, undrained mozzarella to leak moisture and result in soggy crust and don’t expect the last bite to taste much different than the first.
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Justin Holiday – Classic Pepperoni. Ah, pepperoni, the 3-and-D pizza topping. Similar to the ease of slotting a sweeting-shooting, wing defender into almost any lineup, there aren’t many pizza topping combinations that pepperoni doesn’t pair well with. The same goes for Justin, whether he’s providing spacing at the four-spot off the bench or guarding twos and threes as part of closing lineups. Granted, pepperoni isn’t as trendy as prosciutto or as bold as chorizo, but it is a cherished staple. That’s Justin.
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Goga Bitadze – Tomatoes. You know what pizza already has on it? Sauce made from tomatoes. You know what the Pacers already have? Two centers making approximately $18 million apiece. Consequently, like a sliced tomato, Goga feels a little redundant on this roster, especially since his defensive positioning is currently more comparable to his topping equivalent when mushy and raw as opposed to tangy and fire-roasted. That said, if he can somehow manage to crack the frontcourt rotation in spots while tightening up his coverages, then the 21-year-old’s upside as a floor-spacing, screen-and-roll shot-blocker could very well manifest him into being more of a sun-dried tomato, offering a welcome touch of accentuating, rustic flavor, in the event a trade one day bumps him up the pecking order.
Q. We're assuming you like pizza. If that assumption is correct, do you have any favorite places to get pizza in Indiana?
A. I’m not much for mounds of cheese and prefer Neapolitan-style, so I’ve never felt more seen than when I once ventured into 800 Degrees Wood Fired Pizza during a trip to Fort Wayne. Don’t be dissuaded by the unassuming strip mall location, their crust is everything that thin and crispy crust (the best crust!) is supposed to be. Made from flour imported from Italy and baked in a wood-fired oven also imported from Italy (bellissimo!), what emerges from the flames of the fiery furnace is a well-painted canvas, artfully adorned with your choice of house-made and locally sourced toppings. If ever in the Summit City, my recommendation is the Verdure, which includes white sauce, mozzarella cheese, roasted red pepper, zucchini, mushroom, red onion, fennel, goat cheese, and basil finished with chive oil. Trust me, you and your pizza-loving heart will thank me later.
Q. If you could have a pizza dinner with any three professional basketball players (past or present), who would you choose to eat a pizza dinner with and why?
A. I have a confession to make. I was the nerd in college who went to the lecture with free pizza for the lecture as much as the free pizza. If ever given the chance to share a slice with three experts in the field of basketball, you better believe I’m co-opting this thing into a learning opportunity, registering for the following one-time classes with three of the best to think the game: Advanced Film Study with Rajon Rondo (come on, his memory and recall of plays is legendary!), Critiquing Defensive Coverages with Draymond Green (he crushed his breakdowns on TNT during bubble play), and The Art of Pick-and-Roll Set-Up with Steve Nash (because, duh, he’s Steve Nash). As the saying goes, pizza is almost always good even when it’s bad; but with all of the knowledge I would be gaining from the aforementioned course load, I might even be able to find whatever the heck Chicago-style deep dish is appealing (well, maybe).