Pacers Player Review: A cost-benefit analysis of Lavoy Allen

Lavoy Allen ended up being the Indiana Pacers third big despite every other forward and center on the bench taking their shot.

Lavoy Allen isn’t the type of player the average fan gets excited about. Hell, he isn’t the type of player hardcore fans gets excited about. However, season after season he proves his worth as one of the team’s deep players.

Despite the addition of Al Jefferson and attempts by Kevin Seraphin and Rakeem Christmas to supplant him as one of the reserve bigs, Allen ended up holding on to his job.

Are there better players than Allen? Sure, but it is hard to watch Allen and think he is the problem with the bench. Allen goes out, grabs rebounds — and an uncanny amount of offensive ones — plays defense, and makes the most of his opportunities.

When you throw in the fact he is only slated to make $4.3 million next season, it becomes clear that the Pacers get value out of the often overlooked power forward.

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And that is why it matters if the Indiana Pacers keep him around for one more season. There is always calls for Indiana to find better players, which of course, they should look to do, but what gets lost in that conversation is the value of low salary guys that can have a positive impact. Allen is ranked 74th in VORP (value over replacement player) among forwards according to Basketball-Reference. That isn’t amazing or anything, but that puts him in the top half.

If you can find a better player for the right price, sure, replace Allen. This is the first full season with the Pacers that he finished with a negative +/-, (and actually led the Pacers in that category last year), but a lot of that came from the bench’s terrible performance to start the season. As the year rolled on his play improved. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d bet a good deal of that was tied to team’s struggles off the bench that slowly got better as the rotation changed.

More often than not, Allen’s impact on the Pacers is a positive one, and at his low price, I’m good with that for another season. I wouldn’t cut him for the sake of cutting him. Unless you have a solid plan to replace him off the bench, then why cut him. As we saw this season, there wasn’t anyone on Indiana’s bench who could take that role consistently.

Significant Digits

13.3% offensive rebounding percentage

Lavoy Allen’s ability to sniff out offensive rebounds continued last season despite his so-so season. The team needs rebounders and Allen is still one of there better options.

1.17 points per a possession

When Lavoy Allen shared the floor with Lance Stephenson, we saw the power of the #LanceEffect. He was below average this season before Stephenson joined the team, but if Lance can make him great again, then for sure, let’s see him dish the ball off to Allen for easy buckets all season.

Lavoy Allen’s Season Summed up in One Archer GIF

via GIPHY

If you followed the Indiana Pacers, you needed a sense of humor. Laugh so you don’t cry. And what’s funnier than Archer? Nothing. Nothing is the answer.

Sweatin’ Bullets

Sweatin’ Bullets is an 8p9s tradition started by Jonny Auping in which we offer standalone facts, observations, and commentary, often devoid of context or fairness.

• Allen attempted his first 3-pointer as an Indiana Pacer this season, but it missed. He’s a career 13.3% 3-point shooter.
• On his birthday he scored a season-high 18 points against the Detroit Pistons. He also had 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block.
• How bad was the Indiana Pacers bench to start the season? Bad enough that Allen had a -4.4 +/- going into the new year. But as the Pacers sorted out their rotation, Allen’s +/- from January 1 was basically was at breaking even.

One Key Question

Will the Indiana Pacers pick up their team option on Lavoy Allen?

The Situation: The Pacers must decide this offseason if they want Lavoy Allen around for another season, at the price of $4.7 million.

Best-case Scenario: For Lavoy, the obvious best-case is the team picks up his option and he continues to succeed in his role as a deep rotation big, and gets back to being on the right side of the +/- stat. You don’t need big numbers from Allen for him to have an impact, but he can’t struggle like he did before January 1

Worst-case Scenario: For Lavoy, it is not getting another season with Indiana and being forced to wait for a team to pick him up in free agency. For the Pacers, it is for them to pick him up but he plays more like the player we saw to start the season, and nothing like the one we saw in the 2015-16 season.

Next: Indiana Pacers mock draft roundup

Prediction: The Pacers pick up his option, and he has another decent season with the Pacers as a bench contributor.