David West Will Make No Excuses as His Game Ages and Evolves

David West doesn’t really mess around.

The Pacers locker room is pretty loose. While a few guys are with the training staff getting taped up for the game, the rest of the team is casually stretching out in front of the television, eyes glued to the matchup between Cleveland and Oklahoma City. Several guys groan when LeBron argues a call; it’s clear that old wounds from postseasons past have not yet fully healed. Everyone seems pretty jovial before what seems to be a pretty meaningless mid-January game in Orlando.

Everyone, that is, except for West.

It’s clear that West has other things on his mind. Maybe the Pacers’ seven-game losing streak has him in a sour mood. Maybe he’s just tired, relieved to be finishing up a long and grueling road trip.

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Or perhaps, he’s just focused; David West is a professional, and the Pacers have a job to do.

West would eventually lead the Pacers to a tough-fought win over the Magic, coming back from 9 points down in what would eventually become known as “The Damo Rudez Game.” While Rudez and George Hill (who returned to the lineup from injury and lifted the team with a ferocious tomahawk late in the game) received most of the postgame credit, the 17-Foot Assassin finished with 20 points while hitting 8-of-15 field-goal attempts. In the crucial fourth quarter, he took it upon himself to modify the Pacers’ defensive strategy against the pick-and-roll and helped to create two big-time turnovers that helped to flip the outcome.

The post-game locker room was full of joy and happiness, but off in the corner, West had a different look — a look of relief and satisfaction.

“There’s a certain way you need to conduct and carry yourself and be, and you don’t compromise on that,” said West after the win. “You don’t compromise your integrity and you don’t compromise who you are. Things you’ve built in terms of the legacy you want to believe. You walk around excuse free, and rather than trying to find excuses, you try to find solutions and be accountable.”

David West’s Season

Digging through all the noise of this Indiana Pacers season is difficult. Nearly every player not named Solomon Hill has been hit with some injury this season, including David West, who missed the first 15 games with a sprained ankle. Traditional numbers only tell a fraction of the real story.

While many around the league seem to feel that David West is slipping, for the most part, West’s numbers look pretty similar to what he’s done for the past three seasons in Indiana. After an early-season mini slump, his field-goal percentage has mostly returned to normal and his rebounding is nearly identical to what it was last year.

Per NBA.com, West is shooting 49% from midrange and 46% on catch-and-shoot jumpers, good for fifth best in the league among guys that take more than 5 such shots per game. Coming into the season, Kirk Goldsberry proclaimed that West was the 12th best shooter in the entire league, right behind Klay Thompson. While many of the names on this list would probably swap spots right now (Kyle Korver only fourth?!?), West has remained one of the elite shooters in all of basketball.

But a more detailed look shows a few troubling signs. Even though West has excelled on the perimeter, he’s only taken 34.9% of his shots within 10 feet from the basket, down from 49.5% last year, according to Basketball-Reference.

As recently as two years ago, David West could lower his left shoulder and come away with points seemingly any time he wanted. In fact, this was Indiana’s go-to play when trying to close out games.

This year’s version of David West has simply not done that as much.

Not only has West been less able to create for himself off the dribble, but he’s also been less effective in getting to the free-throw line. West is averaging 2.6 free-throw attempts per-36 minutes this year, and that number has continued to fall during his tenure in Indiana (down from 3.7 last year and 4.7 the season before).

“You don’t compromise your integrity and you don’t compromise who you are … You walk around excuse free, and rather than trying to find excuses, you try to find solutions and be accountable.” – David West

Fortunately for West, he has been able to improve his accuracy both at the rim and at the free-throw line, making the quality of a David West drive still quite good. But the quantity just hasn’t been there this season. West, himself, admitted that he’s mostly been trying to do the same things this year as last, but as he gets older, he hasn’t been able to do as much off the bounce.

Instead, West has often found himself floating around the perimeter.

In this potential game-winning play from last month, watch as West never even enters the lane, despite being defended by Ryan Kelly. Roy Hibbert took the brunt of the post-game blame, but West’s inability to create anything going towards the basket was just as much of a concern.

Next: Continued - David West: Present and Future