Don Sloan: Third String Point Gawdfather

With all the — ongoing — injury problems plaguing the Indiana Pacers, it’s remarkable that they have managed to win even 15 games. Point guard has been the worst-hit position, with starter George Hill missing all but five games so far and backup C.J. Watson sitting out the first 15 games of the season.

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So coach Frank Vogel has had to break the glass for Donald Sloan, the In Case of Emergency point guard who has helped give the Pacers a chance to salvage their season.

Since re-entering the rotation on January 2, Sloan has averaged 6.8 assists (best on the team) and 15.5 points per 36 minutes (fifth best) while shooting 44.4% (fourth best). That would be acceptable production from Hill and wonderful from a player of Watson’s caliber. But for Sloan to add such value is a revelation for a team that has caught far too few breaks this season.

Donald Sloan, the Caretaker Point Guard

Donald Sloan started the first 18 games of the season for the Indiana Pacers. It didn’t go well at first. The team won its opener against the dreadful Philadelphia 76ers but then lost six straight games.

This wasn’t exactly shocking. The team was without George Hill (groin injury), David West (ankle), and C.J. Watson (foot) while new acquisition Rodney Stuckey was on a minutes restriction.

All was bleak and the storm clouds were in the forecast. But out of nowhere came five wins in the next seven games. The upswing included wins at Dallas, at Chicago, and at Miami.

Sloan was far from the biggest reason for the turnaround, but the offense scored 103.6 points per 100 possessions in those five wins. Is that number Earth shattering? Well, no, not particularly, but it was a big jump from the disastrous 96.7 points/100 the team had managed up to that point. And Sloan was the guy there care-taking the team.

The win in Chicago marked the first time this year the Pacers shot over 48% from the field, a feat they matched nine days later in a victory over the Mavericks in Dallas that was their most impressive win to date. A.J. Price — the backup Indiana picked up off the waiver wire — was certainly a bigger factor in beating the Bulls. But there is no denying that Sloan did much more than manage the game against the Mavs.

His game-high 29 points ruled the day, and we started to see a new confidence and aggressiveness that for the first time really showed that Donald Sloan deserves minutes in this league.

Don Sloan: The Third String Point Gawdfather

When you watch the dullness that is many Pacers games every other night, you must find some ways to entertain yourselves. God knows that Indiana is liable to spend the better part of full halves entertaining nobody.

So in a friendly mocking way on Twitter, I started to refer to his better plays as being made by “Don Sloan: Point Gawdfather.” Larry Bird never got a Don Corleone “offer he can’t refuse” in a trade offer for Sloan, but after awhile it became clear that the Gawdfather was showing up more and more.

Check the technique in this dribble move leading to a jumper, for example.

Here is the good angle in near-real time isolated (courtesy of @its_whitney)

One thing has become abundantly clear: Donald Sloan has handles.

For awhile, he seemed reticent to bust out anything fancy, apparently lacking the confidence to really let his game hang out.

But now? He’s comfortable putting some of his abilities first while concentrating on game managing second.

Check this pass for example. It’s a pass you would expect from an All-Star, not a third-string point guard who doesn’t belong in a rotation

Of course, everyone in the NBA is a stellar basketball player. And any stellar basketball player can shine for a few plays here and there.

What separates the true pros from the rest is consistency and doing their job when they’re called upon. For Sloan, the consistency hasn’t been there every night. But in his 32 games this season (21 starts), there has been much more quality play than letdown. And the mistakes we saw early on have not become ongoing problem areas.

There are still times when you can see that the speed and physicality of the NBA game overwhelms him. He makes a slow pass that is easily stolen or he underestimates how much space he needs to get off a clean layup.

These are minor issues and relatively unimportant, however, compared to the steadiness he has given a team that has been decimated with injuries. And best of all: He’s always healthy.

Teams shouldn’t expect much from a third-stringer. So the team should be absolutely thrilled by the play they’ve gotten from The Last Don.