Love/Hate series: Darren Collison
By Tony East
Throughout the offseason, we’ll be analyzing what we love and hate about everybody on the Pacers roster. To kick things off, let’s look at the prodigal point guard, Darren Collison.
The Pacers were in the point guard market early on in free agency, thanks to the departure of Jeff Teague. With the front office having dual goals of retaining future flexibility while still being good this season, finding a quality ball handler willing to take a one or two-year deal became the challenge for Kevin Pritchard and company. The point guard ultimately selected to fill that gap is former, and now current, Pacer Darren Collison.
The best part about Darren Collison is that he is only guaranteed one season at a little under $12 million in total money, but this segment will focus on his on-court value. He brings a lot to the Pacers on offense, and specifically, his overall ability to create scoring opportunities will be incredibly useful for the squad this season.
Love: Ability to create scoring
Darren Collison can put the ball in the hoop. He shot over 40 percent from 3-point range during each of the last two seasons, and he had an effective field goal percentage of close to 53 percent over the same span. Last season specifically, Collison showed his ability to play in the modern NBA, knocking down 42 percent from deep and shooting 60 percent at the rim.
His athleticism allows him to get by guys and create his own shot, he shot 43 percent on pull-up jumpers last season. Combine that with his finishing at the rim, and it’s clear why defenders always have to stay close to Collison when he has the ball.
He isn’t the greatest passer, his career high in assists is only 5.7, but that doesn’t mean he can’t create for his teammates. Collison had 4.5 drives per game last season, and passed the ball on over 30 percent of those drives. He is a willing passer, and that alone has value.
His offensive fit with Myles Turner has a chance to end up being perfect. He spent a year playing with DeAndre Jordan in Los Angeles, and let’s just say…
LOBS!
LOBS!!
AND MORE LOBS!!!
Put the high flying Turner on the end of some of those lobs, and you could see quite the tandem. There is a lot to be excited about on offense with Collison, but no player is perfect…
Hate: Defense
You won’t see many gifs or highlights of Collison’s defense. Why? Because, frankly, it isn’t very good.
With each passing year since the departure of George Hill, the Pacers stray further and further from having defense at the point guard position. Jeff Teague was not a good defender, and Collison is worse.
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Collison ranked 419th in the NBA in Defensive Box Plus-Minus last season. Four hundred and nineteenth. FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETEENTH. He is not exactly respected as an NBA defender, and it was barely the worst season of his career. He simply just can’t stay in front of guys. In addition to that, he doesn’t rebound, block or steal the ball very well. Already a bad combo, it’s combined with the fact that he allows his man to shoot 61 percent at the rim. The Pacers have themselves a bad defender.
The worst thing about Collison on defense is he will not help Myles Turner develop as a rim protector. Opposing teams will run a pick-and-roll 30 feet from the basket, and with Collison unable to help or stay in front of his man, Turner will be forced to play up away from the rim. This will give him less opportunities to grow as a defensive player and as a rim protector.
Collison overall was a good signing for the Pacers. He is a good stopgap point guard in a year when that’s exactly what the Pacers need. He will be an integral part of the offense next season, and could even offer leadership as a 30-year-old veteran.
Next: How should the Pacers fill their last two spots?
Get excited, folks, Darren Collison is back.