What If: The Pacers Acquire Darren Collison

Written by Evan Massey

After seeing the rumors when I woke up this morning on the possibility of the Pacers trading the #10 pick to the Hornets for Darren Collison, I just had to write up an article about it, so here we go.

The Pacers desperately are in need for a starting point guard, and if they were to acquire Collison that would fill that need completely. Not only would he bring a young player that could start for many years to come, but they would be trading for a young player that put up Chris Paul like numbers last season while filling in for the injured star. Collison brings a pass first mentality, with an uncanny ability to score the ball at will.

I’ve noticed a few things about him that I like, and I’m going to try to break his game down to the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Offensive

Like I stated earlier, one of Collison’s biggest attributes is his ability to pass the ball. During his rookie season, Collison put up the numbers of 12.4 PPG, and 5.7 APG, but those numbers really don’t give him justice on how well he played. Let me take you through some game logs here.

3/1 vs. Spurs
10 points, 15 assists, 5 rebounds.

3/3 vs. Grizzlies
17 points, 14 assists, 5 steals.

3/5 vs. Spurs
32 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds.

3/8 vs. Warriors
16 points, 20 assists, 3 steals.

Those are just a few of his games when he was starting for the injured Chris Paul, and that shows you waht he can bring to the court. Two games in particular, show what he can do. Against he Warriors he showed that he could pass the ball exceptionally well, but then you look at the 3/5 game against San Antonio, and he put up 32 points against a very good defensive team, that shows he can put the ball in the bucket as well.

Basically the point I was making with those stats, is that he brings a perfect balance of what the Pacers need. Last season they had guys that could do one or the other, but not both. Ford was a scoring guard who you could always mark up for double figure points, but also for just a couple assists. Watson on the other hand could put up the assist numbers, but he wasn’t a very effective scorer.

All that being said, I think this proves that Darren Collison would be a perfect fit for the Indiana Pacers. Only giving up the #10 pick for him would be a great deal for us, and I think would make us a playoff team assuming we can stay healthy.

Defensive

There isn’t really a ton I can talk about him defensive, but again some of those stats that I put in up there show that he is very good at reading the passing lanes, and he also has quick hands. Basically if you don’t pay attention to where your dribbling or passing the ball, you can expect Darren Collison to take it from you. Also, he’s very quick with his feet, so he’s able to stay in front of even the best point guards in the NBA, something the Pacers haven’t had in their point guard for a long time. That’s about all I know to put about his defense.

Thoughts?