Player-by-Player BreakdownJune 24, 2009
Individual Player GradesDanny Granger: AThis season, Danny Granger has established himself as an All-Star and one of the top 5 offensive players in the league. He averaged a sensational 25.8 points per game through 67 games, hustled, played hard, hit big shots and led by example, becoming the unequivocal leader of this Pacers squad. His rise has been nothing short of meteroic, becoming the first player in NBA history to lift his scoring average by a minimum of 5.0ppg for 3 consecutive seasons. I was a little surprised (albeit pleasantly) that Granger came out on top in the Most Improved Player Award voting at ESPN (see my post on this), though he has had a crazy hot-streak to end the season, averaging 31.1ppg in his last 11 games, leading the team to a 7-4 record. While his scoring did go up, his rebound stats actually went down, and he hasn’t added a whole lot more to his passing. That, and the Pacers’ uninspiring record were the only things holding Granger back from an A+ season.
The next step is of course to become an even better all-round player and realise his defensive potential. With guys like Ford, Rush, Jack, Daniels and Murphy (and Dunleavy, when he returns), he doesn’t need to average 25 points a night. This season, while he has put up big scoring numbers, he hasn’t really made his teammates better, as evident from the period in which he was injured. He averaged 2.7 assists per game, but there were plenty of nights where I recall seeing a big ZERO next to his name in the assist column. That’s what he needs to work on to take his game and the Pacers to the next level.
Troy Murphy: B+Murph has been a surprise this season, returning to the peak form (if not beyond) he exhibited during his best days in Golden State. He broke the franchise single-season record for double-doubles and rebounds, and became the first player in NBA history to finish in the top 5 for rebounds (11.8rpg, 2nd) and 3P percentage (0.450, 3rd)! Overall, he averaged a solid 14.3ppg, 11.8rpg and 2.4apg, shooting 0.475 from the field and 0.826 from the free-throw line. On paper, that’s an A+ season – but unfortunately, Murph still has a lot of work to do on the defensive end. He often gets abused down low by the big guys and burnt by the smaller, more athletic guys. To be fair, there’s only so much he can do with his natural abilities – that is where the rest of the team needs to pick up the slack and work as a collective unit on defense. In any event, if he can keep this up next season then the Pacers have a lot to be optimistic about.
Mike Dunleavy Jr: InconclusiveLast season, Granger and Dunleavy were the stars. This year, it has all been Granger because Dunleavy only played 18 games. In those games, he was still their second best scorer, averaging 15.1ppg in just 27.5 minutes. He’s an underrated passer too, creating the potential for a lethal 1-2 punch with Danny. For a guy that’s only missed around 10 games in his first 6 seasons and was coming off by far his best season as a pro, this injury must come as a huge shock. Now his career is hanging by a thread and there is no confirmation of when he’ll be back, if EVER, a frightening thought for the Pacers. At the moment they are proceeding with next season as though he won’t be back. Early 2010 has been projected by some as a possible return date. The good thing is with Brandon Rush developing they might not lose all that much.
TJ Ford: B-Statistically, Ford ranks up there with the mid-tier point guards in the NBA (see above). He has also hit some big shots in crunch time, but in some ways you can say he has struggled to run the Pacers’ offense. Beginning the season as a starter and ending it coming off the bench does hint at his leadership capabilities (though it may also say a lot about Jarrett Jack’s performance). There is a rumour that TJ still wants to be ‘the man’ too much, leading to inconsistent results on a nightly basis. Despite leading the Pacers in assists, Ford actually registered a career low in that category. He needs to get back to that pass-first mentality to make the team better next season. With his quickness and ability to break down the defense with his dribble, Ford has underachieved in the eyes of some.
Jarret Jack: BJack has been another pleasant surprise for the Pacers this season, brought in predominantly as a back-up combo guard but finishing the season as the clear starting PG. He isn’t as fast or explosive as Ford but he’s tough as they come and he knows how to run O’Brien’s offensive system better. Plus he has better size. Jack’s also had some wonderful games and some terrible ones, but in general the Pacers look more comfortable with him running the point than Ford. Jack played in all 82 games this season, averaging 13.1 points, 3.4 rebounds (both career highs) and 4.1 assists. I’ve always said if the Pacers could somehow manage to combine the abilities of Ford and Jack (without averaging them out) then they’d have a PG that can truly take them to the next level. Or they can just get Chris Paul.
Marquis Daniels: C+Another shame of a season for Marquis, who slotted in admirably in the place of Mike Dunleavy for a large portion of the season before getting injured. He averaged 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds (both career highs) in 54 games, showing tremendous promise at times but has also been inconsistent. With younger players developing, his value is falling with the Pacers. If he can stay healthy and reproduce these numbers again next season he can still be a valuable contributor off the bench – if he’s still here, that is (unlikely).
Brandon Rush: BHalfway through the season, Rush would have probably gotten a D, but he’s proving with his play that the Pacers didn’t make a mistake when got him instead of Jerryd Bayless. Statistically, his season stats are not particularly impressive (see above), but his late season play has been very encouraging, averaging 16.1ppg in his last 13 games, scoring in double figures in 12 of them, including back to back games with 29 points. And he did it shooting 53% from the floor including 44% from 3-point range. Even Granger didn’t exhibit this kind of potential in his first year. Rush can shoot, drive and defend. If he keeps improving, he could be the Pacers’ best player in 3 or 4 years. With Rush and Granger, the Pacers may not have to be staring into the darkness forever. It will be interesting to see whether he can maintain his confidence next season and what strides he has made in the off-season. Rush has definitely established himself as one to watch for the future.
Roy Hibbert: C+Another rookie that has shown glimpses of brilliance. The Pacers haven’t had a decent C anchoring the middle since Rik Smits retired. Hibbert is not as slow as projected and he has the ability to change the game with his shot-blocking and shot-changing skills. And he is huge. The problem is he can’t seem to stay on the court for more than 5 minutes without fouling out. No one is expecting him to be the next Dwight Howard, but perhaps he could be a reliable starting C for the Pacers in a year or two – someone on the level of say Andrew Bogut or Thaddeus Young in terms of production. Whatever he turns out to be, let’s just hope it’s not another David Harrison.
Jeff Foster: C+Mr Plus-Minus, Rebound Ace Jeff Foster has given up a lot of time to the youngsters but he is still as reliable as ever in the paint, setting picks, doing the dirty work and grabbing boards. He is still one of the best offensive rebounders in the league, averaging 2.9 orpg (8th in the league) in just 24.8 minutes per game, but his total rebound average of 6.9 is the lowest he’s had since 2002-3. I think it is clear that Jeff has reached his peak and won’t ever be more than what he is now, as valuable as that is to the Pacers. Let’s just hope he can continue to give the team what he has been giving them for the rest of his career, in Indiana.
Rasho Nesterovic: D+Rasho is a guy that, frankly, seems to have fallen off the face of the planet. He commenced the season as the starting center, but has somehow morphed into the quiet underachiever of the team. I remember seeing an article on Pacers.com about what a tremendous asset Rasho is to the team, blah blah blah. Now most people have trouble remembering that he’s even on the team. He averaged 6.8ppg and 3.4rpg for the season, but he’s only reached 10 points a grand total of 3 times since February and didn’t even score in his last 3 games of the season. I think it’s safe to say he won’t be back next season – besides, the Pacers only brought him in for his expiring contract anyway.
Travis Diener: D+With Ford and Jack and Rush it was hard to see Diener getting consistent minutes. He has the ability to hit the 3-ball and play within the offensive structure but he hasn’t proven himself to be tough enough to battle against the bigger, tougher top-tier PGs. Given his injury problems earlier in the season, Diener only played in 55 games, averaging 3.7ppg and 2.2apg.
Josh McRoberts: DAnother guy that rarely sees any action. Hometown hero McRoberts played in 33 games, averaging 2.4ppg and 2.2 rpg. However, he’s only 22, so there’s potential for growth.
Jamal Tinsley: FWell technically, he’s still part of the team, isn’t he? From Jamal’s point of view, A+ might have been more appropriate to describe his season (0 games, $6,750,000, not bad), but I cannot emphasise enough how disappointingly the Pacers have handled the Jamal Tinsley situation. Let’s hope they don’t start next season with this still hanging over their heads.
Coach O’BrienCoach Grade: B-How can a team that doesn’t make the playoffs still have a coach that gets a B- rating? Well, O’Briens done a decent job of keeping the team motivated all season despite a brand new line-up, the Tinsley problems, the injuries, the instability in the line-ups. The team is now at least entertaining to watch and not the complete disgrace they were a year or two ago. Granger has developed under his guidance and the rookies are starting to show promising signs too. The problem is still with defense and getting the team prepared mentally for teams that they should beat. There have been too many games where they have lost when they should have won, including losing after giving up huge leads. However, current signs indicate that management is willing to give Coach O’Brien at least another season to see if he can take the team to the playoffs.
Courtesy of: PaceJMiller
Good luck, I'll be following.
