(This is Jordan Yant’s first post on 8 Points, 9 Seconds writing about the Indiana Pacers. Welcome Jordan, follow @JordanYant32 on Twitter, and please let us know what you think of the piece in the comments. – JW)
It’s that time of the year again. The time where completely arbitrary power rankings are released in order to appease the insatiable thirst of NBA fans. There is definitely no exact science in how to go about ranking the top 100 players, though it does always seem to spark a debate.
In Sports Illustrated’s list the Indiana Pacers had 3 players make the cut. This yearly exercise by Rob Mahoney and Ben Golliver gives NBA fans something to talk about during the doldrums of the NBA offseason. For those who get upset by perceived slights to your team, be prepared. If you are curious about how SI calculated their ranking, click here.
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Now without further ado, it is time to check out the Indiana Pacers who made the cut and how accurate that ranking appears to be.
80. George Hill (Last Year: Unranked)
Who he ranked above
Reggie Jackson, Roy Hibbert (thrown in for some sentimental value), Kenneth Faried, DeMarre Carroll
Who he ranked below
Tobias Harris, Jonas Valanciunas, Ryan Anderson (?!?!?!?!), Danilo Gallinari
Breakdown
Here’s the thing, people might forget that George Hill had a career year last year. Yes it was in the midst of Paul George’s absence and numerous injuries, but he performed well above expectations.
He averaged 16.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, and 5.1 apg while shooting 49% from the field and 37% from 3-point range. He also averaged a career high PER (player efficiency rating) of 21.5.
Maybe a contributing factor is he only played in 43 games last year. Maybe his ranking is because of his tendency to disappear when surrounded by better players. That could be a major fear with Monta Ellis and Paul George playing alongside him.
Overall, the ranking seems relatively fair, even though Ryan Anderson should absolutely not be ranked ahead of him. Look at the bright side; at least he is actually in the top 100 this year.
57. Monta Ellis (Last Year: 66)
Who he ranked above
Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday, Derrick Rose, Bradley Beal, DeMar Derozan
Who he ranked below
Luol Deng, Nicolas Batum, Kobe Bryant, Tony Parker
Breakdown
This ranking seems a little bit off- could be because they have Luol Deng ahead of both Derozan and Ellis. Maybe the Kobe ranking is a lifetime achievement award? Despite the success that Ellis has had in the past, his arrival in Indiana has flown under the radar for the most part. Could he actually be underappreciated? He is a defensive liability, but for a team who has struggled offensively he may be the remedy. He is an underrated distributor and before the arrival of Rajon Rondo in Dallas, was the primary ball handler for the then most efficient offense in the league. You have to take the good with the bad of course; he will take some bad shots and force some things. Ultimately, his ranking this year is higher than it was last year. Compare him to two other top shooting guards in the Eastern Conference (Derozan and Beal) and SI has him ranked better. That should give Pacers fans some relief.
20. Paul George (Last Year: Unranked, injury)
Who he ranked above
Al Horford, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Dwyane Wade, DeAndre Jordan
Who he ranked below
Dwight Howard, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love
Breakdown
The fiery argumentative side of every Indian Pacers fan will want to argue this ranking endlessly. How can he be ranked below Jimmy Butler, Dwight Howard, and Carmelo Anthony?! He was a top talent before his injury!
Therein lies the truth of the matter. Due to the catastrophic nature of George’s injury last August this ranking is fair.
Does he have a chance to blow this ranking out of the water and return to his top-10 form? Absolutely, but who’s to say he will for sure return to that form at least this year.
There are great hopes about his return as well there should be, but fans should temper their expectations. It will take some time for him to return to form and honestly there is no guarantee that he will. Obviously everybody wants him to, but let’s try to view this from a non-biased objective standpoint. The overall 20th highest-ranked player after his injury is an honor, not a matter of disrespect.
Final Thoughts
So there it is, that is how the Indiana Pacers personnel rank in the eyes of Sports illustrated. Again it is nowhere near an exact science and bias and opinion will always factor in.
As far as how the rest of the league faired? Well the two teams with the most players on the list were the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers with 6 apiece. As far as in the Eastern Conference Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago, and Miami all tied with 5 players each on the list.
Who was the lowest? Surprisingly it was a tie. Philadelphia was a dead giveaway, but Portland also comes in with only 1 player on the list.
Indiana falls right into the middle of the pack with their 3 players and they seem poised to try to improve that status. Again, these rankings are just a tool that generates debate and not a concrete fact. At least this will give people something to talk about until camp beings in a little less than a month.
Next: Paul George Prime Candidate for Comeback Season
More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds
- 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
- Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
- 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
- Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?