The Chicago Bulls tried to invoke ‘Hack-A-Ian.’ Similar to ‘Hack-A-Shaq,’ the point is, while playing from behind, to send a poor free throw shooter, typically a center, to the foul line instead of allowing the opposing team to run their offense.
“Take that,” Ian Mahinmi said. No, not really. But he had the last laugh.
Mahinmi hit four of his final five free throw attempts, including the final two, to help the Pacers to a 98-84 win over their Central Division rival from Chicago in front of the ninth sellout crowd of the season at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It was the Pacers’ second win this season over the Bulls (39-24), who are currently second in the Eastern Conference Standings — but notably playing without Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, and Taj Gibson due to injuries.
The win for the Pacers (27-34) moved them into eighth place, but there are a cluster of teams contending for the final few playoff spots in the East.
Mahinmi is often overlooked, his play undervalued. He’s accepted as a role player who can give Roy Hibbert a breather and maintain the rim protection that is asked of the team’s bigs. This is his third year with the Pacers, seventh in the NBA, and Mahinmi has now settled in and provided more than that. In particular, he’s contributing energy off the bench, an improved touch around the hoop, and a knack for the ball, especially on the offensive end.
“Ian’s always had that,” attested starting point guard George Hill. “I think he’s just getting more of an opportunity now to show what he can really do. He’s been a great asset for us here as of late. We demand a lot from Ian.”
Friday night, Mahinmi recorded his second double-double of the season and just the third of his career. He turned in 14 points, 11 rebounds (six offensive), and had a couple of rejections. He played all but 85 seconds in the decisive fourth quarter — the game was tied at 66 through three quarters — and it was the bench that seized control of the game.
“I think this is his best year,” coach Frank Vogel said of Mahinmi this week. “He’s really in control and poised on the offensive end. He’s playing a physical brand of basketball, winning the paint, sealing his man inside and winning the rebounding battle. He’s just making solid plays around the basketball.”
Added Hibbert: “He’s being aggressive on the offensive end and not looking to pass out of the post whenever he gets it. He’s a winner. He’s won a championship, he’s been in this league for a long time, and he’s working. He’s just not trying to collect a paycheck.”
Ian Mahinmi’s struggles at the foul line this season aren’t a secret, but he’s putting in extra time to turn it around.
Mahinmi’s Achilles heal, though, this season more than any other has been free throws. They just will not go through.
When the Bulls began to hack him 90 feet away from the Pacers’ goal with about three minutes to go, Mahinmi said he wasn’t thinking about the strategy and instead was focused on replicating what he does in practice.
“I work on it a lot and I just tried to execute my routine and let it go,” he shared.
At first, it was here we go again…
But then, he settled down and connected on four of his final five chances.
“Apparently Paul [George] told him something and then he hit 2-for-2 and was good,” Hibbert joked afterwards. George laughed at his neighbor’s remarks but chose to keep his magic words to himself.
“Once he sees those two baskets go in,” Hibbert continued, “it’s a wrap. I swear, I see him in practice when we have to make 50 or 100 free throws, he’ll make 40 out of 50, 85 out of 100. I’ve seen him make them and that’s no lie. He’s going to make them, once you see a couple go in, you’re good.”
And Hibbert’s not the only one saying that.
“In practice, when we shoot 100, he’s always making 85 to 90 so we don’t now what the issue is,” Hill said. “I told him once he sees 2-for-2 go in in a game, he’ll get more relaxed. You can tell the difference between when he actually hit 2-for-2 and the next free throws he got, he was a little bit more relaxed.”
Mahinmi’s poor free throw percentage (32) isn’t for a lack of effort. He’s putting in the time at practice, as his teammates noted, and working with coach Vogel and assistant Popeye Jones. It seems to be mental more than anything.
“He’s doing things that will stabilize his free throw shooting down the stretch,” Vogel said.
This season has not been easy on Mahinmi whatsoever. He injured a shoulder while practicing with the French National Team ahead of the World Championships that he then wouldn’t be able to play in. That shoulder injury also forced him to miss some of training camp in October. Later, he missed 17 games with a torn left plantar fascia, an injury that would fully heal until the offseason, and he continues to play through that pain daily. Most recently, in early February, a right ankle sprain caused him to miss three games. He rigorously rehabbed that injury over All-Star break back home in San Antonio.
All that, and yet Mahinmi has plenty of reasons to be positive.
“I feel good,” he responded to how his body is holding up. “I feel like I’m building. Game after game I’m feeling better. As a group, we’re feeling better.”
Much like Mahinmi, the Pacers are playing much better basketball in time, really since about February. That’s when they began to get everybody back. Positivity has been contagious throughout the locker room, they are as connected as they’ve been all year, and the focus is at a season-high.
“We’re really focused and myself, I’m focused and willing to do anything to win every game,” said a selfless Mahinmi.
The Pacers have now won 10 of their last 12 games, which leads the league, including a season-best four in a row. No longer are the playoffs just a goal for this team, it’s become a reality.
“We know where we want to be,” Mahinmi said. “We understand it’s a journey, we understand everything we’ve been through. For us, right now, we have good chemistry, guys are healthy. … We just want to keep this train going.”
A better touch from the Frenchman at the foul stripe, however, is needed to prevent ‘Hack-A-Ian’ from actually becoming a thing.