Oct 22, 2022; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers center Goga Bitadze (88) shoots the ball while Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Goga Bitadze shows off growth in Indiana Pacers win over Pistons: 'I love what I saw from Goga'
Soon after being traded to the Indiana Pacers last season, Tyrese Haliburton had his first first practice with the team. He didn't know his teammates well yet, but he was building chemistry with them both on and off the court.
In that practice, Haliburton and the Pacers were scrimmaging. Center Goga Bitadze was one of Haliburton's teammates, and the point guard fired a bounce pass to Bitadze near the basket.
"He finessed [a layup attempt]. Missed the layup," Haliburton remembered of the moment. "We hadn't even known each other for 24 hours yet but I said, 'If you ever do that again, I'm not passing you the ball. Dunk it every time.'"
Bitadze has 59 dunks in his career, but none are more memorable than one he threw down on Saturday night in a win over the Pistons. Rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin turned around a screen and threw up an alley-oop toward Bitadze, but the pass was a little behind the Georgian center.
It didn't matter. Bitadze went up, grabbed the ball with one hand, and threw it down. The dunk gave the Pacers a nine-point lead, the exact margin they would go on to win by.
"The whole bench was turnt because Goga usually doesn't dunk," young big man Isaiah Jackson said.
"If you look back at his dunks last year, I'm always celebrating, always super excited," Haliburton said after the game. "Definitely full circle [moment], I love what I saw from Goga."
The rest of the roster, the coaching staff, and the fans all also loved what they saw from Bitadze. It was perhaps the best game of his career, rivaling the 23-point outing he had last season in which he didn't miss a shot. In the win over Detroit on Saturday, the fourth year center finished with 14 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, and four assists. He grabbed eight offensive rebounds and didn't miss a two-point shot all night, and the Pacers won his minutes by eight points.
The 23-year old hyped up the crowd on multiple occasions and made numerous plays on defense, holding his matchup to 5/13 shooting. The Pacers needed a win, and Bitadze helped them get it for the first time this campaign.
"Goga was tremendous. He's been really good in all three of these games," head coach Rick Carlisle said after the game. "His emotion really got the crowd into it, kept them into it. That was really great to see."
In the absence of Myles Turner so far this season, the Pacers have needed Bitadze to step into a bigger role. And as Carlisle noted, he has done well for the blue and gold.
On opening night, he was the Pacers best defensive big versus the Wizards. Indiana won his minutes by six and he finished with two rebounds, one block, and one steal in barely over ten minutes.
Two days later, he scored eight points in 18 minutes as the Pacers nearly pulled off a comeback win against San Antonio. Other Pacers bigs struggled that evening, so Bitadze was needed on both ends.
And then Saturday happened. Bitadze's performances have crescendoed as the season has progressed, and it reached a loud roar when he did it all against the Pistons. During the preseason, it looked like the Georgian big man would be outside of the rotation once the meaningful games started. But he's been a crucial piece for the blue and gold through three games.
"He's a guy that everyone in our locker room pulls for all the time," Carlisle shared. Bitadze is the second-longest tenured Pacer, but he struggled to put together long stretches of strong play until late last season. That has continued into this season, which is encouraging for the Pacers, and for Bitadze.
"I guess I was ready," Bitadze said to Bally Sports Indiana after the game. He was appreciative of Carlisle giving him an extended opportunity. "Most importantly, we got the win."
The Pacers building a younger team has been better for Bitadze. When the goal of every day is about growth and development, as opposed to maximizing the chances of victory, inexperienced players can find their groove. That has been true for the 2019 first-round pick, as he has clearly improved since Indiana changed directions at the 2022 trade deadline.
His ability to read the game and be in the right positions has been refined, which has done wonders to make up for his lack of speed. Bitadze's timing, screen setting, and force have all improved. While he still needs to work on his consistency and covering ground on both ends, he's become a rotation-level NBA player over the last eight months.
"He was a big presence," Carlisle said Saturday night. "He was a presence at the rim, he was a presence blocking shots. He's one of our best kind of movement, flow players. Great feel for the game."
Bitadze also kept his team engaged with intense moments in the post against Detroit bigs and fun moments where he pumped up the crowd. His personality shined as much as his game did in the win.
"He was doing everything. The energy was there," Jackson detailed in the locker room after the game. Several Pacers, including Haliburton, Mathurin, and Jalen Smith had big nights for Indiana on Saturday. But Bitadze turned in an impressive night and provided his teammates with energy in a way he hadn't before in his career. It was a game to build on for the Georgian center, and both Bitadze and the Pacers will hope it's the start of a successful fourth season for the young big man.
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