The Evolution of Donald Sloan

Donald Sloan is not your prototypical backup point guard. Though he submitted a fine senior year at Texas A&M, he wasn’t spectacular. To most, he lacked elite skills that would translate into making an NBA roster. He was only a mediocre 3-point shooter from the shorter 3-point line, he never averaged more than 3 assists per game, and while he wasn’t a bad athlete he was in no way comparable to the Russell Westbrooks, Derrick Roses, John Walls, and Eric Bledsoes of the NBA world. Physically, he wasn’t even on par with the Jeff Teagues and Mike Conleys of the world.

After going undrafted, he bounced around the D-League for a while before catching on for small stints with the Hawks, Pelicans, Cavs, and Pelicans again. At the end of the 2013 season, it looked as if Sloan would have to ply his trade overseas, but in July, he signed a 2-year contract with the young, loaded, and up-and-coming Indiana Pacers. When Indiana signed C.J. Watson just a week later, it looked as if Sloan would only stick around on his minimum salary to simply fill a roster spot.

Sloan helped the Pacers some in 2014, filling in for Watson when he missed most of March with an injury. His per-36 minute stats weren’t exactly awful, but few Pacers’ fans saw Sloan as anything other than the nice guy at the end of the bench that probably did his best to make George Hill work hard in practice.

Yet, five games into 2014, Sloan stands nearly alone as the bright spot of the Indiana season. After last night’s gutsy 31-point effort against the aforementioned Wall, Indiana fans in search of light at the end of the tunnel are asking each other whether Sloan has a real future in the NBA.

The former Aggie is averaging 16 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds for the 1-4 Pacers. Sloan’s jump shot has improved dramatically, as evidenced by his four triples yesterday. His playmaking has been a delightful addition to the stagnant Pacer offense. While his defense hasn’t exactly been stellar, he’s also been limited by the Pacers’ lack of a backup point guard due to injuries. Sloan has had to avoid foul trouble at all costs in order to stay on the floor and help his team.

Perhaps most impressive, though, is his evolution as a teammate, game manager, and leader.

Before the game in Atlanta, I asked Sloan what he was specifically focused on in order to help the team in his new role. His answer was atypical from that of many young point guards. Sloan immediately focused on his teammates, demonstrating his knowledge of what a point guard in his position needed to do

“You know mainly, I just want to get guys in the spots they need to be — making sure everything is running fluidly offensively and defensively,” said Sloan. “I’m just being an all-around floor general, making sure guys are in gaps defensively, making sure guys are knowing assignments, and we’re getting play calls. I want to make sure everyone is aware of everything that’s going on.”

Sloan’s mature answer was enlightening, and practically forced the follow-up question: “How are you, as a guy that hasn’t been able to play much behind some other players, able to play so confidently and take control of the team?”

“You have to believe in yourself and be confident in the player that you are, which I am,” responded Sloan. “I’ve been playing with a lot of guys, even the guys that are hurting, and they are comfortable with me being out there. We’ve got a lot of guys that are banged up right now, but even in the preseason when I was playing with them, they were real confident in me being out there, running the show, and telling them what to do. They were the guys that were playing all the minutes last year, the eight-year vets and all this stuff, but they were confident in letting me run the show and really listening. You know, I’ve been in situations before where that really wasn’t the case — being the young, new guy where you don’t have guys that want to listen or who are willing to listen. These guys around me have really made it easy for me.”

A good point guard will walk a fine line between involving himself and involving his teammates. It has been said that the all-time great point guards were able to get everyone else involved for 44 minutes before taking over, if need be, down the stretch. A point guard that completely lacks self-awareness or self-identity will never max out his potential, and it appears that Donald Sloan has started to fully realize just what his role on this team is.

This was no more fully evident than when I asked him if he had one piece of advice for all the young point guards out there:

“First of all, you have to know what your job is,” he said. “You have to know what you need to do coming into the game. A lot of point guards in the league think that they have to score first just because of the Russell Westbrooks and Damian Lillards. They think they have to go out there and put on a show or exhibition when that’s not the case at all. You have to go out there and make sure everybody, the other four guys, are where they need to be and then your shots are gonna come. I really just focus on my guys first. I know I can get my shots when I want them, but I have to make sure my wings are getting shots, my posts are getting touches, and that will open up so much for me later on in the game. It’s not about going out there and scoring 30 points. It’s about doing things the right way.”

Sloan proceeded to go out and score 14 points while dishing out 7 assists in a game against Atlanta that was far closer than it should have been.

It’s unclear whether Sloan is a real NBA player that is proving it in the midst of his team’s injuries, or a player who is simply benefiting from a specific situation on a very bad team. All NBA players are supremely talented, and there have been many players that washed out of the league after scoring 30 points in a game. With Sloan, though, it’s the stuff outside the box score that should be encouraging. Early on in this season from hell, Sloan has demonstrated real value that could help an NBA team in the future.

Perhaps more impressive than the 31 points last night was the timing of those points. The Pacers got out to a really slow start before Sloan put them on his back, scoring 8 straight points on his way to eleven in the first quarter. He then scored the Pacers’ final 7 points of regulation to help force overtime.

In between, he was able to dish out seven assists and was the one Pacer who seemed to take it upon himself to find open looks for Chris Copeland. Throughout it all, Sloan’s hustle and grit were indicative of the entire Pacers’ squad. At no point in the last four losses have the Pacers ever given up, and while moral victories really don’t translate into anything tangible, Sloan was quick to point out that the effort they were putting out would pay future dividends.

“The injured guys are looking and they’re eager to get back with us,” said Sloan. “If anything, it’s making us that much closer as a team and not just as a first group having to go through it or the normal five having to go through it. We’re not just playing the background anymore. I think at this point, once the guys come back, everyone will have the feeling that we can get over the hump together.”

Reality says that Sloan is not a superior player to either George Hill or C.J. Watson. Nobody knows whether Sloan would be as effective in a diminished role while playing less minutes per game. A point guard like Sloan who excels at reading the rhythm of a game (think, the bizarro Kyrie Irving) may not be as effective in only 12 minutes a night. This much is certain though: Donald Sloan, right now, makes the Indiana Pacers a better basketball team.