Ty Lawson’s First Assist in a Pacers Uniform Was a Beauty
By Jared Wade
Ty Lawson’s debut was short but he showed his talent with one remarkable pass that led to 3 points.
The Ty Lawson experiment officially started — and was quickly interrupted by injury — last night.
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The 28-year-old point guard played just five minutes in the Indiana Pacers improbable victory over the San Antonio Spurs, coming up hobbling after a drive to the the hoop left him falling down on the baseline holding his lower leg.
The official diagnosis for Lawson was a sprained foot, and it first resulted in a “questionable to return” announcement by the Pacers before the team later ruled him out for the rest of the contest.
Hopefully, this won’t keep him out long. There are still questions about what he can actually bring to the Pacers night in and night out, but not even the biggest skeptics want to see him fail to impact the team’s season due to injury.
And even in his brief stint, Lawson showed why he was once considered one of the better point guards in the world.
In a pick and roll with Paul George, Ty Lawson blew by Patty Mills and rushed to the hoop. As David West came over to try to block a layup attempt, Lawson hung in the air and made a double-clutch kick out at while hovering. Not only did the angle of the pass have an incredibly high degree of difficulty, but he delivered it perfectly, leading Rodney Stuckey into open space at the 3-point arc and hitting him right in the shooting pocket.
The vision to know Stuckey was there would have been impressive even for a guy who had been playing in this offense all season.
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But for a person who just got his uniform earlier that day, it shows an innate talent and court awareness that few humans possess.
It really was a tremendous pass, and it extended the Pacers lead by 3 points over a team nobody thought they could beat.
Of course, one flash of brilliance doesn’t mean everything. Lawson’s talent really was never in question, as the concern was more his motivation, professionalism, and general ability to consistently do the things we all knew he was capable of.
Hopefully, his foot heals quickly and the world will get more answers to all the questions about what he can bring to the Pacer soon.