Pacers Enhance Elite Wing Depth with SEC Standout in Mock Draft

Cleveland had been without All-Star point guard Darius Garland for two games, and missed All-Star power forward Evan Mobley and sixth man forward De'Andre Hunter for one game apiece. All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell missed the second half of a blowout Game 4 defeat with an ailment of his own.

More Indiana Pacers News: Donovan Mitchell Game 5 Status Revealed vs Pacers

But everyone important was on the court for Cleveland, although it was clear that the backcourt was not on its A-game. Mitchell struggled mightily to connect from the floor and relied on drives to generate a lot of his offense.

In the 114-105 Pacers Game 5 win, Mitchell finished with 35 points, despite shooting just 8-of-25 (32 percent) from the floor. He went 15-of-21 from the charity stripe. Mobley, meanwhile, notched a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double. Garland scored just 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting from the field.

Indiana, meanwhile, thrived with a balanced offensive attack from its starters, all of whom scored in double digits. Two-time All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 shooting from the foul line, while chipping in eight assists, six rebounds, one steal and one block. His fellow All-Star Pascal Siakam scored 21 points, grabbed eight boards and dished out five dimes.

Wings Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard combined for 31 points on 12-of-25 shooting and 16 rebounds. Although Bennedict Mathurin and Ben Sheppard had modest nights, they've had strong overall series runs against Cleveland.

Now, Indiana has an opportunity to add even more elite two-way talent along the perimeter in this year's draft.

For a fresh mock 2025 NBA Draft, The Athletic's Sam Vecenie suggests that the Pacers could take a flier late into the second round on some more wing help.

Vecenie projects that the club drafts 6-foot-7 Kentucky swingman Koby Brea with the No. 54 pick. A fifth-year senior shooting guard, Brea averaged 11.6 points on .470/.435/.914 shooting splits, 3.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.5 steals a night during his 36 games (16 starts) with the Wildcats.

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