There’s a Croatian sniper in Indianapolis: Bojan Bogdanovic

Bojan Bogdanovic has looked like a pure, efficient scorer during his first season with the Indiana Pacers.

Remember when Bojan Bogdanovic made 2 of 15 three-pointers during the preseason? Yeah, me neither. Since the regular season started, Bogie has been on the money for the Indiana Pacers.

With a guy like C.J. Miles departing the Pacers over the summer — who shot over 40 percent from deep last season — Bogdanovic’s shooting display has been very crucial to Indiana’s success.

Remember, the main reason he came to Indiana was for opportunity. He’s not one of the top options on offense, but this has definitely been the biggest opportunity of his NBA career. Let’s dig into the stats.

2-Point Field Goals

People look at Bogdanovic, and simply label him as just a shooter. That’s inaccurate. Bogie is a scorer.

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He is shooting 56.0 percent from the field on two-point field goals. He’s done a good job of getting into the paint and finishing with both his right and left hands. Like most international players, he’s very crafty. He’s got a nice touch around the basket, which results in his 59.6 percentage in the paint. Bogdanovic is also shooting 61.1 percent on mid-range jumpers from the right wing.

3-Pointers

This is Bogie’s bread and butter. He’s shooting 44.6 percent from deep on the season, which is obviously a fantastic number. He’s shooting it better than elite shooters like Kevin Durant, C.J. Miles and Stephen Curry. Yes, Stephen Curry. He’s done a great job at knocking down threes in transition, too.

His best spot on the court is both of the corners, which is common for shooters as the corner 3-pointer is the shortest distance from the basket. Bogdanovic is shooting 55.6 percent from the right corner, and 57.1 percent from the left corner. From the other areas behind the line, he’s combined 39.2 percent.

Free-Throws

Bogdanovic has always been a very good free-throw shooter. For his career, he’s at about 86%. Last season, through 26 games with the Washington Wizards, Bojan shot 93.4 percent from the line. He was a huge asset to their bench.

This season, Bogie is shooting 82.8 percent from the foul line. Not bad, obviously, but it definitely could be higher by his standards. He is shooting about 91 percent so far in November, though.

Players who shoot 50-40-90 (50+ percent from the field, 40+ percent on three-pointers, 90+ percent on free-throws) are typically elite talent. It’s impressive that Bogdanovic’s free-throw shooting is what’s keeping him from that feat at the moment.

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There’s still plenty of season to go, and I don’t expect it to happen, but it would truly be awesome if Bogdanovic could finish the season in the 50-40-90 club. If he keeps shooting lights out like he is right now, you never know. One thing is for sure, the Pacers really appreciate his ability to space the floor.