Central Notes: Toppin, Pacers, Allen, Pistons

Pacers forward Obi Toppin doesn’t view the upcoming series with the Knicks as a chance to get revenge on the team that traded him last summer, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Toppin appeared to have a bright future in New York after being selected with the eighth pick in the 2020 draft, but he was stuck behind Julius Randle on the depth chart. He got an expanded opportunity in his first season with Indiana and averaged career highs with 10.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per night.

“I feel like I’m preparing myself just like I did for Milwaukee,” Toppin said, referring to the first-round series that the Pacers won in six games. “Just locking into everything the coaches are telling us to do offensively and defensively, and playing my role.”

Toppin started 28 games this season, but he’s primarily a mainstay of Indiana’s second unit. He’s coming off one of his best games with 21 points and eight rebounds in the closeout victory over Milwaukee. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said the organization recognized Toppin’s value while he was there, but he was never going to get the chance to fully develop his game with Randle on the roster.

“We always thought he was a good player,” Thibodeau said. “I don’t think anything has changed. Very athletic, runs the floor great, shoots the ball, can score the ball. He’s always been able to score. Like I said, we loved having him. He was in a situation here where he’s playing behind Julius. So that was the story behind that.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

• Brian Lewis of The New York Post looks at how the Pacers were able to rush through the rebuilding process. It began at the 2022 trade deadline when Tyrese Haliburton was acquired from Sacramento in exchange for Domantas Sabonis. Another building block was added the following summer when Indiana sent Malcolm Brogdon to Boston for Aaron Nesmith. “Look, when we had to basically squash this thing two-and-a-half years ago and start over, when you start using the ‘R’ word, it can get ugly. There are teams that were rebuilding for nine years,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “(Team president Kevin Pritchard) and (general manager Chad Buchanan) struck gold with Tyrese and it turned out to be a great trade for Sacramento. And then the Nesmith trade was another important piece. … It’s been super fun with this group. When you work with a guy like Tyrese Haliburton on a day-to-day basis, there’s nothing better.”
• Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen will miss today’s Game 7 with a rib injury, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Allen has been unavailable since Game 4. Isaac Okoro, who started Game 5 but was replaced by Marcus Morris in Game 6, will be back in the starting lineup, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic (Twitter link).
• The Pistons‘ search for a new president of basketball operations should accelerate soon, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. He notes that some of the candidates Detroit wants to interview have been involved in playoff runs, making it difficult to get permission from their teams.